I'm a third year PhD student in Human-Centered Design and Engineering at University of Washington, and I am co-advised by Drs. Sean Munson and Sucheta Ghoshal. Broadly, my research examines relationalities and identities as mediated by- and enacted through- algorithmic, data-driven systems. Drawing from critical and STS perspectives on technology practice and production, I investigate the values, beliefs, and meanings that underlie these sociotechnical systems.

Currently, I am working on a NSF-funded project on the 2022-2023 tech layoffs, researching the sociotechnical imaginaries of tech workers in the aftermath of the layoffs. Through surveys, interviews, and participatory methods, I am researching how tech workers are making sense of the layoff decisions, and their subsequent questioning of beliefs around tech work and the tech industry at-large.

⚞⚞ Update (11/05): I am actively recruiting participants for the next phase of this study! If you are a tech worker who was impacted by the recent layoffs, please fill out this screener form. ⚟⚟

I grew up in Queens, New York, and graduated with a B.A. in Computer Science from Pomona College. I enjoy listening to music, writing letters to my friends, and thinking of my next tattoo idea.

You can find my CV here. Feel free to e-mail me: [samuelso] (at) uw [dot] edu.