UX Researcher. Product Strategist. Youth and STEM Advocate. Mentor. Educator.

Hello,

I'm Daniela Markazi!

I am an Informatics Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (where I received dual Bachelor's Degrees in Agricultural and Biological Engineering and a minor in Natural Resource Conservation), a Generation Google Scholar, and a Computational and Data Science Fellow from the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on High-Performance Computing. I am deeply committed to supporting youth, women, and underrepresented students in pursuing STEM and academic endeavors and contributing to disaster resilience efforts worldwide.

My work aims to leverage technology to elevate societal well-being, with a particular emphasis on underserved communities, environmental contexts, and empowering youth via participatory methods. I integrate research and design to create user-centered solutions that address diverse challenges while promoting equity and accessibility. I am advised by Dr. Luis Rodríguez and Dr. Rachel Magee.

Leadership

Resume

Building Products That Matter:

Served as a UX Researcher and Product Fellow at the General Services Administration via Coding it Forward (2% acceptance rate). I led a cross-organization research initiative, conducted 27 interviews, implemented a scalable insights strategy, and won the Courtney Brousseau Community Builder Award.

Developed user interfaces for autonomous agricultural robotics systems as a Software and Robotics Engineer at John Deere, collaborating with cross-functional teams and delivering solutions adopted globally.

UX Research at Scale:

Spearheaded qualitative UX research on AI and voice-enabled systems, including chatbot design and human-AI interaction studies.

Chaired community-engaged mixed-methods UX research with teens in Puerto Rico on how they learn about climate change via social media.

Directed participatory action research with 50+ youth and educators, facilitating 100+ focus groups across 5 schools and mentoring research teams from question framing to insight synthesis and public presentation.

Strategy & Systems Thinking:

Co-created a 20-year global vision and mission statement roadmap with the Community Informatics Research Network.

Led a global, transdisciplinary initiative with 17 graduate researchers and a Puerto Rican NGO, aligning research with real-world community needs.

Leadership & Impact:

Co-secured a $750,000 grant and co-led a Research Experiences for Undergraduates program supporting 50+ students across Illinois and Puerto Rico, producing publications and graduate school pathways.

One of 27 doctoral students selected globally to participate in the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, and UC Berkeley School of Information Summer Doctoral Program.

Named the doctoral student winner of the Graduate Student Leadership Award from The Graduate College due to my leadership efforts.