Elizabeth Rodwell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Digital Media
Office 344, Brazos Hall
Phone 713-743-3046
Fax 713-743-4032
Email erodwell [at] central.uh.edu
Biography
Dr. Elizabeth Rodwell is an Associate Professor at the University of Houston, where she is coordinator of the Digital Media program and founder of the User Experience (UX) program and Lab. Her interdisciplinary research examines the intersection of technology and society, with a focus on the human role in technology design. Liz’s recent monograph, Push the Button: Interactive Television and Collaborative Journalism in Japan (Duke University Press, 2024), explores how media professionals respond to technological change, censorship, and misinformation. She is currently studying conversation design and conversational AI.
Education
- Ph.D., 2015, Anthropology, Rice University.
- A.M., 2008, Social Sciences, University of Chicago.
- M.A., 2005, Media Studies, New School for Social Research.
- A.B., 2001, Double major in New Media Theory (Independent Major; Honors) and Creative Writing (Honors), Brown University.
Other Appointments
Coordinator of Digital Media
Classes
- DIGM 1300 - Introduction to Digital Media
- DIGM 1376
- DIGM 2376
- DIGM 3376 (UX for AI)
- DIGM 4378 (Senior Project)
- DIGM 4398 (UX Lab)
Research Interests
Dr. Rodwell is currently conducting fieldwork among designers who shape the voices of conversational AI. Her work bridges anthropology, science and technology studies, and user experience research, with publications in journals including Science, Technology & Human Values, Engineering Studies, and Information, Communication & Society. She has received funding from the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Fulbright, and the Social Science Research Council.
Awards & Honors
Awards:
- 2025 — National Science Foundation, Science & Technology Studies. "The Voices of Artificial Intelligence: The Role of Conversation Designers in AI Workspaces."
- 2024 — Teaching Innovation Program, University of Houston. "User Experience for Artificial Intelligence."
- 2024 — National Institutes of Health / National Cancer Institute. "Clinical Decision-Support Algorithms for Interactive Design of Patient-Specific Breast Molds."
- 2024 — Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award. "The Voices Behind the Machine: Building Conversational Artificial Intelligence in Japan."
- 2023 — Cougar Initiative to Engage (CITE) Grant, University of Houston. "Curating the Augmented/Virtual Reality Museum at the University of Houston: Bringing Together Artists, Digital Media Producers, Educators, Designers, and User Experience Engineers."
- 2023 — Center for Public History Summer Internship CITE Grant, University of Houston. "Sharing Stories from 1977."
- 2022 — Notre Dame–IBM Technology Ethics Lab Award. "UX Work as an Auditing Opportunity: Exploring the Role of Conversational UX Designers."
- 2022 — Cougar Initiative to Engage (CITE) Grant, University of Houston.
- 2021 — Digital Research Commons Development Grant, University of Houston.
- 2021 — National Endowment for the Humanities, Digital Projects for the Public Award. "The SYRIOS Project."
- 2021 — National Endowment for the Humanities. "Democratizing Politics: Mapping the Stories and Significance of the 1977 National Women's Conference."
- 2021 — Ann Johnson Institute for Science, Technology & Society Book Manuscript Fellowship.
- 2021 — Loeb Classical Library Foundation Fellowship, Harvard University.
- 2021 — New Faculty Research Grant, University of Houston.
Honors:
- 2025, 2026 — President's Circle Award, University of Houston.
- 2025 — LEAD (Leveraging Expertise for Advanced Discovery) Consortium Inaugural Cohort, Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication.
- 2025 — Teaching Excellence Award, University of Houston.
- 2024 — Emerging Scholar Award, International Conference on Communication & Media Studies.
- 2024 — Provost's Faculty Travel Fund Award, University of Houston.
- 2024 — Teaching Excellence Award, Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston.
- 2024 — Teaching Excellence Award, Technology Division, Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston.
- 2021 — Kopenhaver Center Fellow; Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication.
- View Elizabeth Rodwell's Google Scholar Profile
- Orcid
Recent Publications:
- "The UX Researcher's Identity Balancing Toolkit." In A. VandenBroek & N. Taylor (Eds.), Kits for Digital Methods. Routledge, 2026. https://www.routledge.com/Kits-for-Digital-Methods-Doing-Sociotechnical-Research/VandenBroek-Taylor/p/book/9781032831206
- "Navigating the Uncanny Valley: How Conversation Designers Shape Human–AI Interaction." In L. Koycheva, A. K. VandenBroek, & M. Artz (Eds.), Anthropology and AI. Taylor & Francis, 2025. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003532750-12
- "Pain Points and Personality: Bringing Anthropology to Conversational UX Design." In C. Miller & J. Spears (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Practicing Anthropology and Design. Routledge, 2024. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003340188
- Rodwell, Elizabeth, Kristina Neumann, and Peggy Lindner. "User Experience (UX) Heuristics for the Digital Humanities." Digital Humanities Quarterly, 19(4), 2025. https://dhq.digitalhumanities.org/vol/19/4/000822/000822.html
- "Someone Behind This Technology: Conversational Artificial Intelligence and Design at Work." Engineering Studies 17(3), 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/19378629.2025.2575366
- "Between Code and Culture: The Evolving Role of Conversation Designers and UX in AI Development." Science, Technology, & Human Values, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439251324884
- Liao, Tony, Elizabeth Rodwell, and Debriunna Porter. "Media Frames, AI Romantic Relationships, and the Perspectives of People in Relationships: Mapping and Comparing News Media Themes with User Perspectives." Information, Communication, & Society, 27(12): 2314–2332, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2420031
- "Hyped but Invisible: Good UX and Good Gender Practices in and out of the Conversational AI Sandbox." Practicing Anthropology, 46(1): 46–53, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/08884552.2024.2305560