Hometown: Eldridge, Iowa
Faculty mentor: Juan Pablo Hourcade, PhD, professor, Department of Computer Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Degree program and anticipated graduation date: MS in informatics (Human-Computer Interaction), May 2025

Delaney Norris examines ethical issues surrounding extended reality (XR) technologies, particularly their impacts on young children in rural areas. Norris has helped organize, facilitate, and analyze data from more than 20 listening sessions with Iowa stakeholders, including parents, educators, and medical professionals, to understand their concerns about how XR technologies impact privacy, safety, and development in young children. The goal of the research is to use this stakeholder input to guide the design and use of these increasingly common technologies in a way that balances the benefits with protecting children’s privacy, safety, and well-being.

Norris, who also works with the UI REACH program, hopes to use her expertise in technology to ensure that individuals with intellectual and development disabilities have access to communication.

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