Emma Morley

Hailey Smith

Hailey Smith is a senior majoring in Industrial Design with a main focus on accessibility at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. She specializes in creating designs for devices and products that promote independence and ease of everyday living for people with physical disabilities. The initial spark in her design career was influenced by having to adapt to life after a spinal cord injury and having to integrate ideas that would help navigate new situations. Her passion can be seen in giving a voice back to those who are often underrepresented, through Activism in local communities and public speaking.

Zoe Niezyniecki

Zoe is a senior in Industrial Design at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her designs focus on creating user-centered solutions that address the needs of underserved populations. She approaches design to improve usability and dignity through empathy and attention to form and context. Zoe hopes to contribute her designs to underserved populations in the medical field. She prides herself on combining technical functions with social impact, by using design innovations to solve problems and reflecting care and respect for the people who use them.

Niveditha Iyengar

Niveditha is a senior studying industrial design with a minor in business. She comes with a background in performing arts which gives her a unique perspective of communicating and storytelling through design. Through her design work, she hopes to foster community building and uplift cultures. She is especially interested in the connection of design and personal identities. She wants to design objects and experiences that encourage confidence and pride in one’s identity.

Olive Wang

Stephanie Hu

Stephanie Hu is an undergraduate in Kinesiology and Developmental Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from Chicago, Illinois.  Her dedication to advancing inclusion and accessibility is informed by her experience as a personal assistant and volunteer in clinical and academic settings. She aims to create inclusive environments that support people with disabilities and foster social connection.

Deekshitha Paruchuri

Deekshitha Paruchuri is a senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, dual majoring in Industrial Design and Psychology. Her work is rooted in human-centered design and driven by a deep interest in how empathy shapes the way we interact with products, systems, and each other. She is especially passionate about the intersection of design, psychology, and accessibility, creating experiences that are not only functional but emotionally resonant and inclusive. She strives to design with care, intention, and a focus on real-world impact.

May-August 2025

Daniel Hogan

Daniel Hogan is a senior double majoring in Statistics and Psychology here at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His involvement is multifaceted. From his teaching assistantship to research experiences, he aims to understand the influence and impact of statistics. He is especially interested in the interconnectedness of statistics in public health. In his research experiences, he has collaborated as a Psychologist, a Biostatistician, and as an Auditory Statistician. In all these roles, visual communication, project management, and problem-solving were bridged together to create actionable insights and developments. Currently, he is collaborating as an Empathic Designer/Statistician with the (dis)Ability Design Studio. He strives to explore the diverse applications of statistics in various fields.

Tarun Gopinath

Tarun Gopinath is an Industrial Design student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, pursuing a minor in Business. His work bridges creative design with technical execution, drawing on skills in CAD modeling, prototyping, visual communication, and project management. With a strong foundation in design thinking and user-centered methodologies, Tarun approaches each project with an emphasis on functionality, clarity, and meaningful impact. He is especially interested in the intersection of industrial design and consumer electronics, where thoughtful design can enhance everyday experiences.

May-August 2025.

Eunmi Moon

Eunmi Moon is pursuing a Ph.D. in the Informatics Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She also holds a BFA and MFA in Graphic Design from the same institution. Her research is focused on the Empathic User Experience Research Method and Process. She emphasizes an empathy-driven research method by engaging makers in immersive simulation and experiential role-playing workshops, the scenarios of which are created by users to develop user-inspired solutions. Eunmi's goal is to extend the applicability of this method to diverse domains, especially in education. She aims to foster future professionals who are ethically responsible and care about environmentally sustainable solutions for users. Recently, she joined the (dis)Ability Design Studio team and is actively working with Dr. McDonagh on various projects and publications. In addition to her academic pursuits, Moon is also active as a graphic designer and user experience researcher, contributing her expertise to the field.

Eunmi's profile

Aziz Zeidieh

Aziz Zeidieh, an Informatics PhD student advised by Dr JooYoung Seo, is a human-computer interaction (HCI) researcher at the intersection of orientation and mobility (O&M), artificial intelligence (AI), and usability. He is actively exploring opportunities to leverage novel technologies and advancements in AI to facilitate safe, efficient, and independent travel experiences for blind and low-vision individuals. As a legally blind member of society, Aziz is passionate about finding ways to improve the accessibility and usability of life experiences for all individuals with the help of a universal design approach.

Dana Delaney

Dana Delaney is a rising senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, majoring in Chemistry with a minor in Art & Design. Her involvements center on health equity for underserved populations: she secures medication assistance and low-cost services for patients as a case-management volunteer at Avicenna Community Health Center; coordinates free preventive healthcare screenings to under- and uninsured residents each semester as an executive board member of the Illini Medical Screening Society; and provides long-term companionship to elderly patients through Transitions Hospice Care.

Dylan Pales

Dylan Pales is a senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, majoring in Graphic Design in the School of Fine and Applied Arts and minoring in Psychology in the School of Liberal Arts. Passionate about the intersection of design, accessibility, and public health, she will be continuing her education with a Master’s in Public Health with a focus on health behavior and promotion. Dylan has worked as an Accessible Design and Communication Specialist for the National Park Service’s Public Risk Management Program, where she specialized in creating inclusive design solutions to improve public safety communication. Her work blends human-centered design principles with a deep understanding of psychology to craft disability-friendly, impactful experiences.

Carter Schott

Carter, an undergraduate student in Mechanical Engineering from Orland Park, Southside of Chicago, Illinois, is dedicated to the development of engineering devices aimed at enhancing the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. His projects include the design and implementation of wheelchair side pouches, illumination systems for wheelchair users, rear lights for wheelchairs, and high-strength backpack hooks tailored for wheelchair users. Carter's commitment to assistive technology is evident through his collaborative efforts to address everyday challenges faced by people with disabilities. He intends to advance his education by pursuing a Master of Science in Management, followed by a Master of Business Administration at the Gies College of Business, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Carter's website.

Sanchita Kamath

Sanchita S. Kamathis a Ph.D. candidate in Information Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, specializing in Human-Computer Interaction. Her research explores immersive and inclusive technologies, including virtual reality (VR) experiences, Human-centered eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (HCXAI), and conversational agents. Advised by Dr. JooYoung Seo, she aims to develop multimodal co-designed systems that challenge dominant interaction paradigms.

Joining the (dis)Ability Design Studio would offer her the opportunity to collaborate with a vibrant, cross-disciplinary community dedicated to inclusive innovation. She is especially excited about contributing to projects like the ultrasound accessibility initiative, while learning from and building alongside others equally committed to equity in design.

Sanchita Kamath's profile.