Shm is a non-binary computer scientist, designer, and first-generation Filipinx-American PhD student researching Human-Computer Interaction at the University of California, Berkeley. They seek to leverage their creative & technical skillset towards building systems that serve & center real, creative, and human communities, designing socio-technical solutions for equitable empowerment at the intersection of creativity and emerging technology.
PhD in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Advised by Bjoern Hartmann
Berkeley, CA
B.S. in Computer Science, Fine Art - cum laude
Ewing Township, NJ
PhD Student Researcher, Mentor
Using empirical studies of creative communities to ground the development of novel creativity support tools (CSTs) as research probes for investigating creative activity.
Visiting Researcher
San Francisco, CA
Developed Artographer, an interactive map exploring "art-space" and contextualizing image generation; used the system as a Curatorial Interface probe in a study with 20 participants, including 9 art history scholars.
Adobe Research Intern, Co-Creation for Audio, Video, & Animation Lab
San Francisco, CA
Conducted a sociotechnical research study into GenAI-driven data scraping practices and their impact on digital art communities, developing design guidelines to support the socioeconomic sustainability of public media infrastructure and promote equitable access to arts and culture. Advised by Joy Kim.
Adobe Research Intern, Computational Artistry Team
San Jose, CA
Developed bPigment - a novel parametric color-mixing model and interface that emulates the behavior of physical pigments and produces unique effects that transcend existing color-blending technology. Advised by Stephen DiVerdi and Jose Echevarria.
Accessible Sign Language Alphabet Recognition
Ewing, NJ
Algorithms for Protein Variant Library Design
Ewing Township, NJ
ORCiD: 0000-0001-7660-313X
Shm Garanganao Almeda, Joy Kim, Bjoern Hartmann
Shm Garanganao Almeda, Robin Netzorg, Isabel Li, Ethan Tam, Skyla Ma, Bob Tianqi Wei
Sophia Liu & Shm Garanganao Almeda
Isabel Li*, Ace Chen*, Eric Rawn, Shm Garanganao Almeda, Bjoern Hartmann, Jingyi Li
Shm Garanganao Almeda, J.D. Zamfirescu-Pereira, Kyu Won Kim, Pradeep Mani Rathnam, Bjoern Hartmann
Shm Garanganao Almeda, Bjoern Hartmann
Dimitris Papamichail, Madeline Febinger, Shm Almeda, Georgios Papamichail
Head Course Instructor, with TA Albert Hodo
Head Course Instructor, with Co-Instructor Sudhu Tewari
Instructor with John DeNero & Jedidiah Tsang
Instructor with John DeNero & Jedidiah Tsang
Head Course Instructor, with Diyah Mettupalli & Timothy Yang
Updated and authored new web-development & design centered curriculum
Head TA, Disability Support Program Coordinator
President (2024 - 2025)
Officer, Visit Day Organizer, Lounge Coordinator (2020 - 2024)
Executive Board, Outreach Chair, President
Executive Board, Outreach Chair, Vice President
Head Organizer, Executive Board Member
Through the Transfer-to-Excellence Program at UC Berkeley
International Women's Day Global Techathon @ UC Berkeley
NanoHubs' Empowering Young Filipino Researchers for an Emerging Technology-Ready Philippines Seminar Series
Accessible Sign Language Recognition with the Leap Motion Controller