
User Experience Researcher

Hello! I'm Tiffany Knearem. I'm trained as human-computer interaction researcher and have led and collaborated in many research projects in a wide variety of domains. Recently, I'm most interested in topics around how we might align human values to AI systems, utilizing genAI responsibly to support human creativity, and support collaborative practices in product design. I center my work through an inclusive, sustainable, and human-centered approach.
Previously, I led UX research for a suite of design tools on Google's Material Design team. I earned my PhD at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology with Dr. John M. Carroll, where I investigated community innovation through information and communication technologies, with a dissertation focus on online mutual aid as community-based care during COVID-19.
Prior to earning my PhD, I spent time in industry at Silicon Valley, where I worked in operations & project management. Before that, I taught English abroad in Japan through the JET Program. My educational background is in the humanities, having received dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and East Asian Languages and Cultures from the University of Kansas.

tiffanyknearem at gmail dot com
News
-
Mar. 2025: I'm excited to partner with SVB Boston and Boldstart Ventures to share my expertise on conducting UXR with the founders in the upcoming Inception Program cohort!
-
Feb. 2025: Looking forward to giving talks on the implications of AI in the civic realm during my short tour of the UK at St. Andrews University and Northumbria University with my amazing hosts Miriam Sturdee and Anna Carter!
-
Jan. 2025: Our CHI Special Interest Group (SIG) on Bidirectional Human-AI Alignment: Emerging Challenges and Opportunities has been accepted to CHI 2025! Excited to meet others in the community interested in this problem space!
-
Dec. 2024: Our workshop on Designing and Developing User Interfaces with AI has been accepted to CHI 2025. See ya'll in Yokohama!
-
Dec. 2024: I spoke on AI and Design at Birmingham City University's UX Industry Seminar. Thank you for the invitation, Arthur Theil!
-
Nov. 2024: I will attend CSCW 2024 as Accessibility Chair. Looking forward to connecting with the community in Costa Rica!
-
Sept. 2024: Invited speaker and panelist for Reflections | Projections, the largest student-led tech conference in the Midwest
-
Sept 2024: Invited to give two talks to graduate students in HCI at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Thank you, Prof. Sarah Sterman, for organizing!
-
Aug. 2024: I am an AC for CHI 2025 Understanding People: Mixed and Alternative Methods
​





Chen, X. A., Knearem, T., Li, Y. (2025). A Formative Study to Explore the Design of Generative UI Tools to Support UX Practitioners and Beyond. arxiv: https://www.arxiv.org/abs/2501.13145
Wan. R., Tong, L., Knearem, T., Li, T. J., Huang, TKH., Wu, Q. (2025). Hashtag Re-Appropriation for Audience Control on Recommendation-Driven Social Media Xiaohongshu (rednote). To appear, CHI 2025. arxiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.18210
Shen, H., Knearem, T., Ghosh, R., Yang, Y.J., Mitra, T., Huang, Y. (2024). Valuecompass: A framework of fundamental values for human-ai alignment. arxiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.09586
Shen, H., Knearem, T., et al (2024) Towards Bidirectional Human-AI Alignment: A Systematic Review for Clarifications, Framework, and Future Directions. arxiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.09264​
​
Lu, Y., Knearem, T., Dutta, S., Blass, J., Kliman-Silver, C., Bentley, F. (2024). AI Is Not Enough: A Hybrid Technical Approach to AI Adoption in UI Linting With Heuristics. CHI EA '24​.
Knearem, T., Jo, J., Alliyu, O., Carroll, J.M. (2024). Empowering Local Communities for Disaster Relief during COVID-19 through Grassroots Support. Journal of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).
​
Lin, J., Knearem, T., Giesing, K. (2023). Relay: A Collaborative UI model for design handoff. UIST EA '23
​
Knearem, T., Khwaja, M., Gao, Y., Bentley, F., Kliman-Silver, C. (2023). Exploring the future of design tooling: The role of artificial intelligence in tools for user experience professionals. CHI EA '23​
​
Knearem, T., Jo, J., Tsai, C.H., Carroll, J.M. (2022). Making Community Beliefs and Capacities Visible Through Care-mongering During COVID-19. GROUP '22.​
​
Knearem, T., Jo, J., Tsai, C.H., Carroll, J.M. (2021). Making Space for Support: An Exploratory Analysis of Pandemic-Response Mutual Aid Platforms. In Communities and Technology '21
Knearem, T., Jo, J., Wang, X., Carroll, J.M. (2021). Seek and Reflect: A Mobile Scavenger Hunt to Develop Community Engagement. Communities and Technology (C&T) '21​
​​​
Knearem, T., Wang, X., Wan, J., & Carroll, J. M. (2019). Crafting in a Community of Practice: Resource Sharing as Key in Supporting Creativity. Creativity and Cognition (C&C) '19 [Link to paper] [PDF]
​​