Afra Mashhadi

Afra Mashhadi is an Associate Professor in the Division of Computing & Software Systems at the University of Washington Bothell within the School of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics. She concurrently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Washington Information School (i-School) and holds affiliate positions at the e-Science Institute and Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE). Dr. Mashhadi co-chairs the steering committee for the Responsible AI Systems and Experiences Centre (RAISE) and is recognized as a leading advocate for ethics and diversity in computing.

Educational Background:

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, University College London, London, England

Her research pioneers computational behavioral modeling through ethical AI frameworks, developing mathematical models that leverage digital data and machine learning to analyze societal phenomena across spatial scales and human behavioral dynamics. This work bridges ubiquitous computing, algorithmic fairness, and privacy-preserving systems with direct applications in social computing and responsible technology deployment.

Recent publications demonstrate a cohesive research trajectory focused on ethical AI challenges, particularly examining social reasoning in LLMs, bias quantification in co-authorship networks, fairness benchmarking for generative models, and privacy-preserving federated learning. These works appear in premier venues including ACM WSDM, ICTIR, IEEE DCOSS, and ACM JCSS, reflecting her leadership at the AI-society intersection.

Scientific Awards:

• Sr. Chief Ronald G. Gamboa Endowment Faculty Fellowship Award

Scholarly Service:

• Program Chair: ICWSM 2021, SocInfo 2019
• Tutorial Chair: IC2S2
• Broadening Participation Chair: ACM Ubicomp 2023
• Senior Committee: FAccT, CHI, WebSci, ICWSM

Dr. Mashhadi maintains active research affiliations with the Responsible AI Systems and Experiences Centre (RAISE), e-Science Institute, and Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE), where she leads interdisciplinary projects connecting computational methods with social science and ethical frameworks through European collaborations and industry deployments including WebSummit trials.