Catherine Letondal

Catherine Letondal is a Professor of Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction at ENAC (University of Toulouse). She leads the HCI group within the Interactive Computing Team and holds an HDR (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches) and PhD in Human-Computer Interaction from the University of Paris-Sud. Her research focuses on systemic approaches to sustainability in design, tangible interaction, and participatory design methodologies.

Her education includes advanced degrees in computer systems, philosophy, and engineering. She has extensive industry experience, including 15 years at the Institut Pasteur where she developed bioinformatics tools through participatory programming approaches. Key research areas include tangible interaction for aviation systems (e.g., cockpit design), systemic design for sustainability, and philosophical foundations of HCI.

Recent work emphasizes integrating systems thinking into interactive system design to address ecological challenges. Notable achievements include awards at CHI 2009 and CHI 2013 for contributions to music composition tools and air traffic control interfaces. She co-supervises PhDs exploring systemic participatory design and sustainable air mobility.

Her advising spans projects on shape-changing interfaces, gesture-based interaction for pilots, and sustainability in aviation systems. Research collaborations involve multi-disciplinary teams from sociology, economics, and aeronautics. Current projects include the AIRTIUS ANR initiative exploring touch technologies in cockpits and systemic design frameworks for rebound effects mitigation in ICT.

Labs/Teams: Core member of the Interactive Computing Laboratory at ENAC; collaborates with aerospace engineering groups and sustainability-focused research consortia.