Dr Antonella Nonnis

Biography

Dr Antonella Nonnis obtained her PhD in 2021 from the Media and Arts Technology CDT at Queen Mary University of London, in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. Her Research Through Design approach following a neurodiversity narrative explores how a more inclusive research and design approach to tangible user interfaces (TUI) for play could benefit marginalised children, such as non-conventionally verbal autistic children. The focus of design is not just on the technology but on the environment created and the experience and opportunities offered, including neurotypical researchers' attitudes towards and appreciation of neurodiversity. This allows us to take a holistic approach to TUI's development for autistic children, focusing on the broader context in which the technology is deployed, the ecology, not just the technology. She has actively conducted and participated in research initiatives focusing on human-centred design and its impact on user experience. During her PhD, she collaborated with a primary school specialising in autism based in North-East London, UK, where she has (co-)designed and tested two playful sonic e-textile TUIs and developed a framework for observing social play mediated by sonic e-textile TUIs. Her interdisciplinary works have been exhibited nationally (London, UK) and internationally (USA, EU). Her academic background and professional experience allow her to bring a critical understanding and innovative approach to the curriculum, ensuring it remains at the forefront of creative practice.

She has a multidisciplinary background with degrees in Media Arts and Technology, Multimedia Arts, Design for Interactive Media, and Fine Arts. Her areas of passion include people, ethical research and design, autism, research with children, play, inclusive and accessible design, experience design, human-human interaction, human-computer interaction, interactive and tangible art and technologies, art and hacktivism, neurodiversity HCI, disability studies, qualitative research.

Antonella has a good publications record, and her work has been published and presented in high-level academic international conferences such as the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) and journals such as the ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI) and the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS), and other middle-level international conferences such as the Interaction Design and Children (IDC), where the work won the Best Demo Award, and the New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) where she published on music-making to scaffold social playful activities and self-regulation. She has co-authored a workshop on exploring design fiction and absurd making for critical NIME design that won the Best Workshop Prize. Antonella has provided peer reviews for publications submitted at CHI, TACCESS, NIME, TEI and IDC and, in 2021, received Special Recognition for Outstanding Reviews for CHI 2021 Papers.