Some students from the ACE Lab (photo taken 6/02/2022)

What is the ACE Lab?

The ACE Lab at the University of Washington comprises students from information science and computer science doing original research in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). The lab is directed by Prof. Jacob O. Wobbrock, whose primary appointment is in The Information School with a courtesy appointment in Computer Science & Engineering.

ACE Lab members create Accessible Computing Experiences, believing that interactive technologies should serve and enhance human experience for all people.

ACE Lab members also create Advanced Computing Experiences, using AI/ML, sensing, human factors, statistics, crowdsourcing, and design thinking to craft and evaluate interactive systems that empower users.

Our past work has influenced accessibility on the iPhone, made gestures easy to design and implement, and has been the basis for startup companies, among many other contributions.

ACE Lab members are active in the cross-campus DUB Group, the world-class multi-departmental HCI & Design group. Some members are also part of UW CREATE, the Center for Research and Education on Accessible Technology and Experiences.

Mission

To create interactive technologies that improve people's access to and experience of computers and information, especially (but not exclusively) for people with disabilities.

Feature Story

Read about the ACE Lab (formerly known as the MAD Lab) in this feature story by UW Information School News.

Our Values

1. Vision. "The world has arrived at an age of cheap complex devices of great reliability, and something is bound to come of it."   — Vannevar Bush (1945)
   
   
2. Creativity. "The most dangerous phrase in the language is, 'We've always done it this way.' "   — Grace Hopper
   
   
3. Elegance. "The stuff I design, if I'm successful, nobody will ever notice. Things will just work."   — Radia Perlman
   
   
4. Utility. "The value of an idea lies in the using of it."   — Thomas Edison
   
   
5. Inclusion. "Everybody has to be able to participate in a future that they want to live for. That's what technology can do."   — Dean Kamen
   
   

Support the ACE Lab!

Please consider a tax-deductible gift to help us further our research and dissemination. Your gifts make a huge difference in the lives of students and our ability to advance the state of the art in human-computer interaction. Please contact Prof. Jacob O. Wobbrock at .

======= 2023 – 2024 News =======
•	Ather Sharif was featured in an "I am CSE" video about his accessibility research at UW. Nice job, Ather! March 2, 2024.
•	Jacob O. Wobbrock was interviewed on Voice of America about the Macintosh turning 40. January 27, 2024.
•	Jacob O. Wobbrock was interviewed on the Shaye Ganam Show about the Macintosh turning 40. The program airs on 630 CHED in Edmonton, Alberta and on QR Calgary (AM 770 and FM 107.3). Have a listen! January 22, 2024.
•	Jacob O. Wobbrock writes about the 40th anniversary of the Apple Macintosh in The Conversation. January 19, 2024.
•	Jerry Zhang's work on A11yBoard for Google Slides was written up for the University of Washington News. October 30, 2023.
•	ACE Lab members had three papers at ACM ASSETS 2023... First authors Rachel Franz on accessible locomotion techniques in VR, Momona Yamagami on accessible freehand gestures, and Jerry Zhang on A11yBoard for Google Slides. October 23, 2023.
•	Ather Sharif's paper on extending VoxLens to support drilled-down information seeking was accepted to W4A 2023. UPDATE: Ather's paper won the Best Technical Paper award at W4A! Congratulations, Ather! May 2, 2023.
•	Congratulations to Claire Mitchell for receiving a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (NSF GRFP)! She will use the funding to investigate ability-based design in human-computer interaction. April 5, 2023.
•	Jerry Zhang's paper on A11yBoard for making digital artboards more accessible was accepted to CHI 2023. Congratulations, Jerry! March 1, 2023.
•	Rethinking disability and advancing access by reporter Alice Skipton reports on the progress made by CREATE and its approach to improving technology accessibility. February 21, 2023.