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ATLAS researchers will present six published works and two workshops at the 2022 ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI), the world’s preeminent forum for the field of human-computer interaction. The conference, commonly referred to as “CHI,” will be held hybrid-onsite April 30-May 6, 2022 in New Orleans.

First-place New Venture Challenge winner, Chembotix, was awarded $45,000 for its work on speeding up the pace of chemistry research and development. Making molecules in current laboratory settings is typically time-consuming and dangerous; Kailey Shara's automation makes the process faster and safer.

Imagine a world where robots flawlessly detect everyone in a conversation group and also greet the newcomers. Described in a paper published in the March proceedings of the prestigious International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction  (HRI '22), Hooman Hedayati  (PhD computer science '20) and Daniel Szafir, assistant professor of computer science at UNC Chapel Hill and former ATLAS faculty member, proposed a method to overcome situations when conversational group (F-formation) detection algorithms fail.

​​Kailey Shara, an ATLAS PhD student and a member of the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab, and her team, won third place and $1,000 for Chembotix robotic automation platform. Annie Margaret, teaching assistant professor with the ATLAS Institute, and her team, placed fourth with Digital Wellness x NoSo November. 

T9Hacks kicks off this year at an in-person event on February 18 at 4:30 p.m. at the ATLAS Institute. The seventh-annual hackathon promotes interest in creative technologies, coding, design and making among college women, nonbinary individuals and other groups that are underrepresented in technical fields.

Limited by materials available at home during the pandemic, ATLAS PhD student Peter Gyory and a team of ACME Lab researchers developed Tinycade—a platform for DIY game controllers that anyone, including novices, can use to design and build arcade-like games using household materials such as cardboard, mirrors and hot glue.

Shaz Zamore is the faculty director of ATLAS Community Outreach and Resource Network (ACORN), a new outreach group  that connects ATLAS research and STEM education to those who can’t easily access it.

Kailey Shara, ATLAS PhD student and a member of the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab, won two top prizes within several days to fund her company, Chembotix, taking home a total of $17,500.  
Shara won first place at the NVC 14 Female Founder Pitch ($5000) and the NVC Finals Audience Choice Award ($1000), as well as two first-place wins with ��ƷSM����ӰƬ's New Venture Launch program ($11,500).

Darren Sholes, an ATLAS PhD student and a member of the ACME Lab, won first place in NVC's newcomer competition and walking away with $5,000 for LoopSketch, a program that makes it possible for musicians to remotely collaborate.

In an episode focused on students about to receive their PhDs in STEM-related fields, Clement Zheng speaks about his dissertation research, "Everyday Materials for Physical Interactive Systems," his graduate school experience and what he has planned next.