Haley Breslin is a rising fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Chicago, pursuing a joint major in Media Arts and Design (MADD) and Computer Science. Her work centers on user experience and sustainable computing.
As a Polsky Research fellow, Breslin worked alongside Pedro Lopes and Jasmine Lu to develop a tool to help end users repair their own appliances and other technology in efforts to reduce e-waste. Her work included a combination of user interface design and implementation, analysis of repair texts with natural language processing, and assisting with user-testing design.
“Through this internship I was able to learn a lot about sustainable computing. In addition to my hands-on experience building a tool to help reduce e-waste, I was also exposed to a variety of other projects that leveraged design to promote more sustainable consumer practices through conscious interaction. In the past, I’ve largely seen computing as something that acts in opposition to climate efforts, given its reliance on energy and material resources. This internship helped me reframe that perspective by showing how thoughtful computing can actually be a force for sustainability. I now feel more confident that I can pursue a career in computing that contributes to climate solutions—whether by designing tools that extend the lifespan of technology, creating systems that encourage environmentally responsible behaviors, or integrating sustainability as a core value in future technical projects.”