Stockholm university
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Patricia Ciobanu

About me

I am a doctoral student at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences at Stockholm University. My research interests include designing and exploring alternatives within more-than-human-design. Motivated by environmental concerns and an interest in sustainability and regenerative discourses, my research engages with concepts of care and time and explores these through design, interaction criticism, and materiality. I have a master of science in Interactive Media Technology from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and a bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics and Social Sciences from Pantheon-Sorbonne University.

Teaching

Teacher Assistant

Guest Lecturer

Course Coordinator

Lab Assistant

Extrality Lab, Stockholm University (DSV), 2019 - 2023

Lab Manager 

Extrality Lab, Stockholm University (DSV), 2024

Publications

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

  • Forms of Care in Human–Nature–Technology Environments

    2022. Patricia Ciobanu, Oskar Juhlin. Journal of Posthumanism 2 (3), 249-266

    Article

    With the ongoing environmental disruptions, designers are increasingly interested in exploring nature–technology entanglements that create sustainable and collaborative futures. Although largely unarticulated, these emerging design inquiries are motivated by care for nature, which indirectly depends on cultural and social human practices. Drawing on a broad set of works on care from feminist theory, science and technology studies, and human–computer interaction, this article introduces a care framework that focuses on revealing tensions in the interrelationship between humans and nonhumans. The framework is used to examine an initial study in which five participants engaged with a speculative design probe, specifically a combination of a device and a plant, envisioning a scenario in which plants generate electricity. We reveal how forms of care manifest differently in a human–plant–technology dynamic and identify tensions, such as plants being considered utilities, proxies, or humans.

    Read more about Forms of Care in Human–Nature–Technology Environments

  • Me, the Hill and My Browser - Investigating the Role of Time in Posthuman Interaction

    2022. Patricia Ciobanu, Oskar Juhlin. ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, 1-12

    Conference

    Despite the growing concerns related to environmental disruptions, such as forest fires and floods, our interaction with nature has become increasingly distant. The belief is that this is due to human attunement to quick changes over short periods, while natural changes seem slow-paced over the long term. We argue that rather than the problem lying with the pace of time, humans should further attune to the various temporalities within nature. To unpack this topic, we follow a two-fold process: Research through Design and Autobiographical Design. The resulting prototype takes environmental sensor data and visualises the changes happening over a short time. We complement this IT-supported process with think-aloud walks, a practice that is embodied and devoid of technology, for a plural perspective on time. We offer insights into how noticing the various temporalities in nature was enabled, finally arguing for designs that support progressive adjustments that sustain human-nonhuman mutualism.

    Read more about Me, the Hill and My Browser - Investigating the Role of Time in Posthuman Interaction

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