Katia Vega is an Associate Professor in the Department of Design at the University of California, Davis, where she founded and directs the Interactive Organisms Lab. Her research integrates human–computer interaction, biotechnology, and wearable technologies to explore how the body and living systems can serve as platforms for computing. She introduced Beauty Technology (electronics embedded into cosmetics) and has since expanded her work to Biocosmetic Interfaces for discreet, non-invasive health monitoring with cosmetics, Animal Biosensing Computing for biosensing on animals biofluids, and Growable Interfaces that employ bio-based materials for sustainable devices.
Prof. Vega was a Postdoctoral Associate at the MIT Media Lab (USA), earned her PhD and master’s in Computer Science at PUC-Rio (Brazil) with a research exchange in Fine Arts at HKBU (Hong Kong), and completed her undergraduate degree in Computer Science at UNMSM (Peru). She has published in leading venues including CHI, ISWC, TEI, DIS, IUI, and IEEE Computer; her work has been featured by BBC, Wired, CNN, New Scientist, Vice, and Fast Company; and it has been supported by the NSF CAREER Award and the Johnson & Johnson Women in STEM2D Fellowship, with additional recognitions from SXSW, Ars Electronica, and CNET. She is the author of Beauty Technology: Designing Seamless Interfaces for Wearable Computing (Springer).