Hello, my name is
Zaidat Ibrahim, Ph.D
Research Scientist, Robotics & AI Institute.
- zaidat_ibrahim@berkeley.edu
About Me
I am a Research Scientist at the Robotics & AI Institute, leading social science research on how robotics and AI shape the lives of marginalized communities and the future of labor. My work bridges human-computer interaction, personal health informatics, and technology ethics — driven by a core question: how do we build systems that are equitable, culturally grounded, and genuinely useful to the people they’re meant to serve.
Across Microsoft Research, Genentech, and the Robotics & AI Institute, I have conducted research and contributed to product development spanning reproductive health technologies, human-robot interaction, and data governance. My work is published at ACM Digital Library and has been recognized with a CHI Best Paper Honorable Mention (Top 5%), the MIT EECS Rising Stars distinction, and the Mastercard Alumni Impact Award.
I hold a Ph.D. and M.S. in Informatics from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering at Indiana University Bloomington, an MPH from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College. Beyond research, I mentor emerging scholars and volunteer with NaijaCoders to expand computer science education in Nigeria.
Highlights
2026
May 2026: Selected as program committee member for the AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society.
April 2026: Work-in-Progress accepted to ACM IDC (Pre-print coming soon).
January 2026: Full paper accepted to CHI 2026 (Pre-print).
2025
December 2025: Selected for the inaugural cohort of the LaunchGood Ambassadors For Good program.
December 2025: Won 1st Prize and the People’s Choice Award at a pitch competition. Grateful to everyone who believed in my ability to deliver.
November 2025: Co-authored CCC Report on “Supporting At-Risk users through responsible computing ” [Link].
November 2025: Our manuscript, led by Velvet Klass (Flinders University), has been accepted for publication in the Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal.
November 2025:Virtual Guest Lecture for Indiana University’s Experience Design Course.
Sepember 2025: I am serving as an AC for CHI 2026!
July 2025: Began my role at the Robotics & AI (RAI) Institute.
May 2025: Luddy graduation & Hooding ceremonies.
April 2025: I successfully defended my dissertation 🎉 🎉 (Alhamdullilah)
April 2025: New publication – “Taking Stock of Studies Using Asynchronous Remote Communities (ARC): A Scoping Review”
April 2025: I’m honored to serve for my third term on UC Berkeley’s African American Initiative Scholarship review committee.
March 2025: Two special recognitions for outstanding reviews for CHI 2025 Papers.
February 2025: Invited Guest talk @ Pariveda Solutions (Los Angeles)
2024
December 2024: Invitation to CCC workshop Supporting At-Risk Users through Responsible Computing (Washington DC).
September 2024: I’m attending the Health & AI Workshop by Google Research Africa.
August 2024: Selected as a Rising Stars in EECS 2024 (MIT EECS Rising Stars ) !
August 2024: Very fortunate to have been offered a fall internship at Microsoft Research under the mentorship of <style=”font-style: inherit;”>Dr. Mary Gray.
July 2024: Selected as a DigiStars Scholar– I will be presenting at the DigiStars Annual Symposium at University of Utah!
June 2024: My colleagues and I were Featured on Luddy News.
May 2024: Invited research presentation at Victoria Interactive eXperiences with Information (VIXI) Lab at University of Victoria, Canada (In-person). {See my talk history }.
May 2024: Awarded Berkeley Big Ideas Challenge/Mastercard Alumni Scholars Impact Fund for Project: Naijacoder (Grand Pitch May 15th, 2024)
May 2024: I will be attending CHI 2024 in Hawaii. My presentation schedule is listed here.
May 2024: Excited to share that I’ve accepted a PhD Research Intern position at Microsoft Research.
April 2024: Our Paper received an Honourable Mention award 🏆 (Top 5% of submissions).
April 2024: Awarded merit-based IU Graduate & Professional Student Government (GPSG) Travel Awards.
March 2024: Selected to participate in Velocity Conference jointly sponsored by Kelley Business School/UC Berkeley (March 2024 | Berkeley, California).
January 2024: First-author papers accepted into ACM CHI 2024 (Details on presentation schedule coming soon).
January 2024: Co-authored Case Study Paper accepted into CHI 2024 (Details on presentation schedule coming soon) .
January 2024: Finalist for 2024 Berkeley Big Ideas Challenge/Mastercard Alumni Scholars Impact Fund [You can also donate to support free education for students who are unable to afford it].
January 2024: Co-organizing ACM CHI 2024 Workshop: Fraudulence in HCI Research.