Select Page
RUBICS

Research Overview

Through our research and collaborations, we seek to develop and assess technology and approaches that can enhance learning outcomes, empower individuals, and help prepare future generations in computing. We draw on methods and techniques from the fields of computing education (CEd), human-computer interaction (HCI), data science (DS), and machine learning (ML). Below, we provide information about some of the current projects and topics of focus in our laboratory. We also offer a selection of representative publications in these areas:

cec-filler-image-375x250-blue

PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

Examination of students’ pathways to job attainment (CEd approach with quantitative and qualitative methods); Creation and assessment of digital tools (using HCI methods) to cultivate professional and technical competencies and enhance technical interview preparation

  • Lunn, S. J., Zerbe, E., & Ross, M. (2024). You’re Hired! A Phenomenographic Study of Undergraduate Students’ Pathways to Job Attainment in Computing. ACM Transactions on Computing Education (TOCE), 24(1), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1145/3636514
  • Daryanto, T., Stil, S., Ding, X., Manesh, D., Won Lee, S., Lee, T., Lunn, S., Rodriguez, S., Brown, C., & Rho, E. H. (2025, October). Designing Conversational AI to Support Think-Aloud Practice in Technical Interview Preparation for CS Students. In Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC 2025), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. https://doi.org/10.1109/VL-HCC65237.2025.00029
  • Lunn, S. J., Dillon, E. C., Williams, K. L., Lemus, K., & Ruiz, C. (2025, November). Faculty Preparation Strategies: Empowering Computing Students to Achieve Technical Interview Success. In Proceedings of the 2025 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Nashville, TN, USA. https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE63693.2025.11328489

COMPUTING ACCESS POINTS, TOUCHPOINTS, AND EXPERIENCES

Exploration of the computing access points, touchpoints, and experiences that offer engagement with the discipline (e.g., participation in hackathons or bootcamps); Data-driven approach to extract insights using large educational datasets (using DS and ML methods)

  • Arunachalam, N., Lunn, S. J., Weiss, M. A., Liu, J., & Narasimhan, G. (2024, March). Foot in the Door: Developing Opportunities for Computing Undergraduates to Gain Industry Experience. In Proceedings of the 55th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Portland, OR, USA, (pp. 74-80). https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3626252.3630857
  • Lunn, S. J., Arunachalam, N., Becerra, N., Weiss, M. A., Liu, J., & Narasimhan, G. (2025, July). Dipping a Toe into Computing: Offering a Short-Term Program for Students Majoring in Other Fields. In Proceedings of the 30th annual ACM conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE), Nijmegen, the Netherlands. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3724363.3729051
  • Thapaliya, A., & Lunn, S. J. (2025, December). Exploring determinants of thriving among computing doctoral students: a Reddit-based netnography. Computer Science Education, 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/08993408.2025.2597531
    RubiCS-Alt2
    cec-filler-image-375x250-blue

    ETHICAL AND SOCIETAL IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY

    Consideration of artificial intelligence (AI) applications and potential implications; data use and storage; system design, development, and deployment (e.g., algorithmic accountability); Establish and assess modules to integrate throughout computing curricula (using a CEd approach)

    • Hooper, K., & Lunn, S. J. (2024, October). Values in Education: Exploration of Artificial Intelligence Ethics Syllabi Using Natural Language Processing Analyses. In Proceedings of the IEEE Frontiers in Education, Washington DC, USA. https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE61694.2024.10893167
    • Lunn, S. J., Hazewindus, I., Prasad, P., & Ramachandran, V. (2025). “Ethical Issues in Software Engineering.” Published in the International Handbook of Engineering Ethics Education, Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003464259
    • Avci, H., Lunn, S. J., & Hazari, Z. (2025). Exploring STEM educators’ perspectives on the integration of AI-enabled technologies in teaching and learning. Computers and Education Open, 100304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeo.2025.100304