A portrait of me with a smile :)

Natã M. Barbosa

natambarbosa at gmail o com

I'm a third-year PhD student at the School of Information Studies (iSchool) of Syracuse University working on data-driven systems around privacy, security, and trust.


about my research

My research involves the design and evaluation of novel data-driven systems aimed at increasing algorithmic transparency, preventing privacy violations, and building trust. I'm particularly interested in studying how such systems can enable users to understand and control data practices in the age of ubiquitous computing, inferences, and automated decisions.

My work mostly lies at the intersection of Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp), and machine learning, but I have also worked on authentication, accessibility, and people-nearby applications. My advisor is Prof. Yang Wang.

about me

I enjoy breaking building things. In the past, I have built applications in several platforms, such as mobile apps and virtual reality systems. I have also organized a civic hackathon and participated in many web design/development competitions. Recently, I joined Figure Eight as a research intern (Summer 2018) to advance the synergy of machine learning and large-scale human intelligence.

When my masters allow it, I'm out for a run or a hike in beautiful Upstate New York. I love traveling and learning about different cultures. Among other things I like are sci-fi movies and books, synthwave/retrowave music, geometric abstraction, and games (tabletop, PC, and retro).

publications

  1. "What if?" Predicting Individual Users’ Smart Home Privacy Preferences and Their Changes [forthcoming]
    N.M. Barbosa, J. Park, Y. Yao, Y. Wang | PETS 2019 [18% acceptance rate]

  2. Rehumanized Crowdsourcing: A Labeling Framework Addressing Bias and Ethics in Machine Learning [pdf]
    N.M. Barbosa, M. Chen | CHI 2019 [24% acceptance rate]

  3. UniPass: Design and Evaluation of a Smart Device-Based Password Manager for Visually Impaired Users [pdf]
    N.M. Barbosa, J. Hayes, Y. Wang | UbiComp 2016 [23% acceptance rate]

  4. CAN: Composable Accessibility Infrastructure via Data-Driven Crowdsourcing [pdf]
    Y. Huang, B. Dobreski, B.B. Deo, J. Xin, N.M. Barbosa, Y. Wang, J.P. Bigham | W4A 2015 [35% acceptance rate]

  5. Strategies: An Inclusive Authentication Framework [pdf]
    N.M. Barbosa | ASSETS 2014 [Silver Medal - Undergraduate Student Research Competition]

research project videos

  • A demo of the crowdsourcing framework I designed at Figure Eight (internship) [video] [paper]
  • Command-based browsing powered by machine learning and crowdsourcing [video]
  • UniPass: an accessible smart device-based password manager [video] [paper]
  • Accessible QR Code Device Pairing [video]
  • 3D virtual reality floristry app at ITE Singapore (undergraduate internship) [video]