🌱 Our Philosophy
At CHAI Lab, we’re building conversational technologies that support people in need. That starts with how we treat each other.
We value:
- Consistency in your efforts
- Curiosity in your thinking
- Responsibility in your commitments
- Playfulness in your attitude
This work should be fun. If you don’t enjoy doing research, don’t do it. But if you’re here, show up with energy, creativity, and a sense of joy.
🧠 Intellectual Integrity
- Academic integrity is fundamental. Follow Northeastern’s Academic Integrity Policy.
- Be generous in credit and clear about collaboration.
- Authorship expectations are set at the beginning of a project and revisited if contributions change.
👥 Collaboration & Lab Culture
- This is a "research-as-play" lab. Take your work seriously, not yourself.
- Open communication is non-negotiable. If you’re stuck or demotivated, talk to me. I will always try to improve the process for you.
- Weekly check-ins are the norm. I often connect students with collaborators or mentors.
- Trust is everything. You have full autonomy until you give me a reason not to.
📚 Research Expectations
- If you’re a PhD student, postdoc, or full-time RA, the goal is at least one top-tier full paper submission per year (CHI, CSCW, UIST, etc.).
- We only submit if the paper meets our publishable standard.
- Full drafts are due 7 days before any submission deadline — no exceptions.
- I will always give you honest feedback. If you’re not consistently meeting expectations and improvement isn’t happening, I’ll ask you to find a lab better aligned with your working style.
🧪 Ethics & People-Centered Research
- IRB training is required before working on any human-subjects research.
- Human participants are never just data. Design and conduct your research with empathy.
📆 Meetings
- Lab Meetings: Weekly, everyone shares (1) what they worked on and (2) one research paper they read. There may also be skills/resource sharing or casual brainstorms.
- Project Meetings: Based on your current projects. Be prepared and communicative.
- 1:1s: Optional but available. You’re always welcome to book time with me.
- Writing Workshops (optional): Peer-editing sessions near submission deadlines.
🕒 Time Management & Work Hours
- I treat you like adults. You manage your own time.
- I do not encourage working outside work hours or on weekends. However, this cannot be avoided if we are chasing deadlines. Plan accordingly.
- Deliver on your commitments. Be responsible. Take breaks when needed.