Hello World!

I'm Shadi Nourriz!

PhD Candidate

Human-Computer Interaction

I'm a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science with research focus on Human–Computer Interaction (HCI) at the Colorado School of Mines, where I study how technology can strengthen human connection, trust, and well-being in online environments. My research bridges social computing, human–AI interaction, and digital governance, exploring how intelligent systems can better support the social and emotional dimensions of online community life.

My work examines how people build trust, navigate conflict, and sustain care in online spaces, advancing socio-technical frameworks and computational models that inform the responsible design and governance of AI-mediated communities.

Broadly, I'm driven by the belief that technology should expand—not erode—our capacity for understanding and connection. My goal is to help shape human-centered AI systems and infrastructures that reflect the ethical, social, and emotional complexity of the communities they serve—aligning innovation with care, responsibility, and human impact.

See My CV

Research Projects

Spiritual Care in Online Communities

Design Research Co-Design Workshops User Testing Sessions Interviews Grounded Theory Methodology Thematic Analysis Affinity Mapping Qualitative Research

In a time when many seek meaning, comfort, and connection online, this multi-phase research project explores how digital communities can be intentionally designed to support spiritual care. Through in-depth interviews, grounded theory analysis, national survey research, and co-design workshops with professional spiritual-care providers, we investigated how spiritual care principles can inform the design of online environments for reflection, healing, and relational connection.

Human–AI Collaboration Conflict & Controversy Prediction Community Wellbeing & Digital Safety Machine Learning Integration Toxicity & Sentiment Analysis Moderation Dashboard Design

Conflict in online communities and social media happens all the time—often escalating before moderators can intervene. This project addresses that challenge by developing AI-assisted tools that help communities recognize potential conflict early and support more restorative forms of governance. The Governance Bot analyzes Reddit posts and comment threads using machine-learning models trained on toxicity, controversy, and polarity signals to predict the likelihood of conflict. These predictions are transformed into interpretable vibe scores, visualized through a moderation dashboard that helps moderators reflect on tone, and managing risks within discussions.

Community-Centered Design Empirical Studies Human-AI Interaction Predictive Modeling Machine Learning Integration Contextual Inquiry AI-Driven Recommendations Ethical & Transparent AI Designn

This two-phase project explores how community-centered design and human–AI interaction can enhance engagement and knowledge-sharing in academic online spaces. Working with the r/CompSocial community, we co-designed and deployed CSSpark_Bot, a Reddit bot built to strengthen multi-user discussion and surface relevant research. In Phase 1, the bot offered keyword-based subscriptions and “ping” alerts. In Phase 2, community members chose to evolve it into an AI-powered paper recommender. Using a machine learning model trained on an HCI arXiv dataset, it recommends the top three recent papers based on each post’s keywords—displaying the title, authors, venue, summary, and DOI link to spark richer scholarly dialogue. Read more →

Mental Models of Privacy and Security

Scenario-Based Research User Interviews Qualitative Data Analysis Research Design & Protocol Development Thematic Analysis User Perceptions of Risk and Safety Mental Models of Computer Security

This study investigates how people understand and respond to digital security threats in everyday life. Through interview-based qualitative research, our team explored how users think about hacking, privacy, and data protection across computers, smartphones, and IoT devices. The project focused on uncovering how mental models have evolved over time and what misconceptions still persist. Insights from our analysis inform human-centered approaches to cybersecurity design, helping bridge the gap between technical systems and user understanding.

Publications

Shadi Nourriz, Rui Zhang, and C. Estelle Smith. Stay Ahead: Designing a Community- Driven, AI-Powered Bot for Predicting Academic Paper Impact and Enhancing Multi- User Engagement. Poster Paper at the Collective Intelligence (CI) Conference. La Jolla, California. August 2025. CI 2025.

📄 ACM DL

Alemitu Bezabih, Shadi Nourriz, Anne-Marie Snider, Rosalie Rauenzahn, George Handzo, and C. Estelle Smith. Meeting Patients Where They’re At: Toward the Expansion of Professional Chaplaincy Care into Online Spiritual Care Communities. CSCW 2025.

📄 ACM DL

C. Estelle Smith, Alemitu Bezabih, and Shadi Nourriz. On the Challenges of Implementing Online Spiritual Care Communities (OSCCs) in Collaboration with Diverse Healthcare Teams. Paper for CHI 2024 Workshop: Conducting Research at the Intersection of HCI and Health: Building and Supporting Teams with Diverse Expertise to Increase Public Health Impact. Honolulu, Hawaii. May 2024 CHI 2024 Workshop.

🔗 link

Shadi Nourriz, Alemitu Bezabih, and C. Estelle Smith. On the Design Risks of Empathy Fatigue. Paper for CHI 2024 Workshop: Empathy-Centric Design: Scrutinizing Empathy Beyond the Individual. Honolulu, Hawaii. May 2024. CHI 2024 Workshop.

📄 ACM DL

Alemitu Bezabih, Shadi Nourriz, and C. Estelle Smith. Toward LLM-Powered Social Robots for Supporting Sensitive Disclosures of Stigmatized Health Conditions. HRI 2024 Workshop.

🔗 link

Hello World!

I'm Shadi Nourriz!

PhD Candidate

Research Projects

Spiritual Care in Online Communities

Governance Bot

Community-Centered AI Reddit Bot

Mental Models of Privacy and Security

Publications

Let's Connect