Rate My Professor Juan Fernando Maestre

Dr. Juan Fernando Maestre is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Wales, Swansea, within the Faculty of Science and Engineering. His research specializes in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), investigating HCI methods with marginalized and vulnerable populations to design ethical, inclusive technologies collaboratively rather than for them. He utilizes surveys, interviews, observations, and participatory design (PD) in in-person and online settings, applying value-sensitive and speculative design to engage stakeholders throughout the process, amplify impacted voices, and address potential negative technology effects.

Maestre earned a Ph.D. in Informatics from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University Bloomington and a Master’s in Informatics from the University of Iowa’s Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Informatics. His career encompasses a President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering (GroupLens Research Center), affiliations with the University of Michigan’s Department of Information Science and University College London’s Department of Computer Science. Awards include the 2022 President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2021 Luddy Research Award (Indiana University), 2020 Mentor of the Year (University of Pittsburgh iSchool Inclusion Institute), and 2020 CHI Honorable Mention for “Evaluating ’Prefer not to say’ Around Sensitive Disclosures.” Key publications: “Decolonial Pathways: Our Manifesto for a Decolonizing Agenda in HCI Research and Design” (CHI 2021), “Defining through Expansion: Conducting Asynchronous Remote Communities (ARC) Research with Stigmatized Groups” (CHI 2018), “It’s Like With the Pregnancy Tests: Co-design of Speculative Technology for Public HIV-related Stigma” (CHI 2023), “Conducting Interdisciplinary Research with Vulnerable Populations in Computing” (ECSCW 2024), “Signal Appropriation of Explicit HIV Status Disclosure Fields in Sex-Social Apps” (CHI 2019). His work impacts HCI by promoting inclusive practices for stigmatized groups in health and social media technologies.