OLIVER L.
HAIMSON,
Ph.D.

Assistant Professor



TOOLS & RESOURCES
OUR TEAM CREATED




CRIT LAB
The Community Research on Identity and Technology (CRIT) Lab research group conducts research to examine how marginalized individuals and communities use social technologies and how they envision future technologies, often during times of identity transition, so that we can understand how to design technology that is more equitable and has potential to improve people’s lives.

Prospective students: I am not currently planning to admit PhD students for the foreseeable future. If you are a current UM student interested in joining the lab, please email with your CV/resume and research interests.

   
lab photo fall 2024!
back: Ben, Oliver, Kat, Francesca. middle: Aloe, Mel, Samuel, Josh. front: Senami, Denny, Ria, Hibby.

   

Postdoc

Kat Brewster
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
pronouns: she/they
research interests: computer history, LGBTQIA+ history, digital archives, DIY networking, BBSs, online communities, value-focused design, physical media

   

PhD Students

Josh Guberman
PhD Candidate, co-advised by Silvia Lindtner
pronouns: he/him
research interests: the intersections of critical disability studies, feminist science and technology studies, and computer-supported cooperative work

F. Ria Khan
PhD student
pronouns: they/them
research interests: HCI, disruptive play, embodied interaction, critical design, and design justice all to leverage for socio-technical inquiry and participation of PoC and LGBTQIA2+ communities

Senami Kojah
PhD Candidate, co-advised by Kentaro Toyama
pronouns: she/her
research interests: content moderation, marginalized populations, social media, disinformation, censorship, digital surveillance, human rights in the Global South

Francesca Lameiro
PhD student, co-advised by Eric Gilbert
pronouns: he/him
research interests: online communities, social media, transgender studies, social computing

Samuel Mayworm
PhD student, co-advised by Michaelanne Thomas
pronouns: he/him
research interests: preservation, archival practices, digital preservation, internet/social media preservation, library policy, LGBTQ+ inclusion and equity in library and information spaces

Denny Starks
PhD Candidate, co-advised by Tawanna Dillahunt
pronouns: they/them
research interests: LGBTQIA+ safety, BIPOC safety, online communities, social computing, identities, underserved communities, transgender studies

Hibby Thach
PhD student, co-advised by Michaelanne Thomas
pronouns: they/she
research interests: content moderation, online identity, gaming, HCI, social media and computing, online communities, trans technologies

Ben Zefeng Zhang
PhD Candidate, co-advised by Michaelanne Thomas
pronouns: he/him
research interests: social media, platform labor & work, mobility & migration, life transitions, identity & marginality

   

Project Manager

Aloe DeGuia
CRIT Lab Project Manager; Researcher; Masters Student, Health Informatics
pronouns: she/her
research interests: LGBTQIA+ health, transgender health technologies, gender and decolonization, organizing and advocacy

   

Visiting Researcher

Mel Monier
Researcher; PhD student at UM Dept. of Communication & Media
pronouns: she/they
research interests: digital media; intersectional trans and queer feminisms; gender, race, sexuality, and the body

       

Alumni


Dan Delmonaco
Education and
Research Librarian,
Rutgers University

Avery Everhart
Assistant Professor,
University of
British Columbia
   

Taika
Augustaitis

Justin Buss

AJ Carter

Shanley
Corvite

O (Ollie)
Downs

Dykee Gorrell

Jasmine
Glover

Oliver Higgins

Shruti Jain

Hayden Le

Shannon Li

Kimberly
Liang

Alexxus Lige

Tianxiao
(Sharol) Liu

Malaya
Mañacop

Kai Nham

Peipei Nie

Christian
Paneda

Virginia
Pollock

Anushka
Raheja

Caoyang
Shen

Shakira Smith

Lingbo Wang

Andrea
Wegner

Zu Weinger

Brookelyn
Wheeler