A young woman with shoulder-length gray hair, smiling, holding a green drink in a plastic cup, standing on a sidewalk amidst autumn trees with colorful leaves, carrying a tote bag with a blue floral design, wearing a black jacket and jeans.

Hello again! Thank you for wanting to get to know me better. :)

My first name is Meziah Ruby, but I go by Meziah (mee-sha) in casual conversations. For formal/professional contexts, please use my full first name wherever applicable (e.g., for shortened citations, please use M. R. Cristobal).

My research is informed by my life as a Filipino American immigrant and years as a software engineer: I believe in technology’s potential for positive social impact, but I reject any rhetoric that undermines humans or human abilities in order to pose technology as the first, optimal, or superior solution to every problem (i.e., Silicon Valley-isms).

I focus on concretely identifying how technologies like AI are changing the way we work and get information, in order to design and develop interventions that mitigate the harms while fostering the good.

In my spare time, I make YouTube videos and wonky pottery.

I consider everything I do as a love letter dedicated to humanity at large, with special notes to my family, friends, and Poppy.

News

Jan 2026

  • PaperTok is accepted at CHI 2026! 🥳

Sep 2025

  • Submitted PaperTok to CHI 2026🤞

  • Day 1 of my HCDE PhD journey at UW! 💜

I’m in the first year of my PhD!

I’m advised by Dr. Gary Hsieh and mentored by Dr. Cecilia Aragon through the HCDE first year research rotation program.

I also continue to be part of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at Santa Clara University, directed by Dr. Kai Lukoff. Together with the FocusMode project team, we study how LLM-enabled adaptive interfaces may support digital wellbeing.

My research is supported by the NSF Computer and Information Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (CSGrad4US).

I have a BS in Computer Science with a minor in Communications from UC Davis,

(September 2013 to June 2017)

Between classes and homework, I practiced design thinking with Design for America and co-created HackDavis (UC Davis’ first hackathon and one of the first in the nation to be dedicated to social good).

During undergrad, I also studied Japanese and human-centered design thinking. I practice both as much as I possibly can.

and an MS in Integrated Design, Business, and Technology from USC.

(August 2021 to August 2023)

I loved cross-disciplinary thinking and collaboration so much that I pursued a graduate program to pave the way for more of these in my future.

Working full-time and attending school part-time was exhausting, but it was well worth it. I was able to flex my entrepreneurial spirit and product design skills through industry projects while working with some of the most talented people I know. (Shoutout to the BOLDR project team: Edward Fu, Justin Ivey, and Minh Ton!)