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Two faculty-led research projects recently received grants from the iSchool to help them further their work and create lasting impact with the help of the Strategic Research Fund (SRF). 

The SRF is a funding opportunity that supports projects that align with the iSchool’s strategic vision. This year the iSchool selected two projects — one led by Alexis Hiniker and one led by Lindah Kotut.

����ɫ�� selected Hiniker’s “SleepStreak: Redesigning the Smartphone to Support Healthy Sleep Habits” as a recipient. Hiniker and her team are exploring whether there is a way to create a phone ecosystem that encourages use that leads to better sleep rather than habits that hurt user health.

Hiniker and Ph.D student Longjie Guo began their work on SleepStreak after conducting a study that collected 100,000 screenshots of people’s phone use and asked participants to annotate what they appreciated and regretted about their screen time.

“[We found that] when phone use got in the way of people's sleep, they would really regret it,” Hiniker said. “It didn't matter what they were doing on their phone, it's just that sleep comes first.”

While apps are typically designed to capture user attention and lock them into the experience, SleepStreak is exploring design patterns that encourage users to wind down before sleep. Unlike meditation apps or softwares that create app time-limits for users, SleepStreak is looking to create interventions that help users break out of  infinite scrolling behavior.

The SRF enables Guo to continue the research over the summer and focus on developing the project to its fullest potential.

“It's really good to know that the iSchool finds this work interesting, and I'm excited to keep pursuing this line of work,” Guo said. 

Meanwhile, Kotut is working with Indigenous communities in the Puget Sound region on her project, “Grassroots and Indigenous Guidance Towards AI for Climate.” 

Through her research, Kotut is hoping to highlight Indigenous values toward climate change and sustainabili