Pascal E. Fortin

PhD Candidate, HCI Researcher

Shared Reality Lab, McGill University

I am currently a PhD candidate under the supervision of Prof. Jeremy Cooperstock at McGill University’s Shared Reality Lab, Montreal, Canada. Before that, I obtained a B.Eng. degree in electrical engineering from Université du Québec À Chicoutimi (UQAC) where I was introduced to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research by Prof. Martin Otis.

My current research focuses on the development and validation of novel interfaces and techniques to assess user experience of smartphone notification. My approach combines passive physiological sensor monitoring with non-invasive subjective self-reports to provide a unique perspective into the impact notifications have on our lives. I am actively involved in a number of research projects on haptic illusions, and how haptics can be used to bend users’ perception and experience.

Volunteering: UIST 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 organizing committee - Reviewed papers for IEEE ToH, TAC, WHC, Haptics Symposium, ACM CHI, CHI PLAY, UIST and IMWUT

Interests

Physiological Human Computer Interactions
Affective Computing
Haptics
UX design and research
3D printing

Education

PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering, ongoing
McGill University University
M.Eng in Electrical and Computer Engineering (fast-tracked to PhD), 2016
McGill University University
B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering, 2015
Université du Québec À Chicoutimi (UQAC)

Projects

Physiologically Adaptive Notifications

This project explores how physiological signals, acquired using off-the-shelf wearable sensors, can be used to infer whether a notification was perceived after its presentation without any intervention from the user.

3D printed Coupling Indicator for Wearable Haptics

This project explores how simple 3D printed tensioners can be used to provide visual coupling feedback when putting on wearable haptic systems.

3D Printed Haptic Illusions and Demonstrations

In this project, we propose a series of haptic illusions and demonstrations that can be fabricated using any FDM 3D printer.

All current tested illusions can be downloaded from the project’s github repository.

Teaching Experience

Teaching Assistant - ECSE424, ECSE542

McGill University

Jan 2019 – Present Montreal, Canada

Teaching assistant position for Human-Computer Interaction graduate and undergraduate level course

Graduate Fellow

enhancing Learning and Teaching in Engineering (eLATE), McGill University

Nov 2018 – May 2019 Montreal, Canada

Develop engaging instructional activities to introduce ethics in undergraduate engineering courses. Topics include algorithmic bias and habit-forming technologies.