RIZVI SYED MEHDI ABBAS
Research assistant
During his PhD, Mehdi Rizvi (Syed Mehdi Abbas Rizvi) focused on interaction design and tangible design with physical computing for the scaffolding of positive social interactions based on conversations in primary school classrooms. Currently, his work focuses on enabling children to reflect on online privacy and security using a gamified approach. Before PhD, Rizvi obtained his degrees in Electrical Engineering (CIIT, Pakistan) and Mobile Broadband Communication (Lancaster University,UK). During his research work, he has enjoyed working with an interdisciplinary team and has collaborated with experts of child development, education and special-needs. He has also worked with teachers and children in local schools in the area of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy. The results of this work have been published in a number of international venues, such as ACM TEI, AVI, IS-EUD, and journals such as MTAP, Behavior and Information Technology. He was among the top 3 finalists of the international ASLERD conference design competition, sponsored by Springer, and his paper was awarded the best student paper at the ACM SIG-CHI CHItaly 2017 conference. Apart from his research on interaction and tangible design, he also focuses on using 3D printing as an art-medium, as well as using it in interactive art installations. His artwork was exhibited in the provincial cultural centre of Bolzano, Italy.