Professor Dr. Sharon Ferguson

Biography

Sharon Ferguson is an Assistant Professor in the Management Sciences Department at the University of Waterloo. She is also a Faculty Affiliate at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. Her research interests focus on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, studying how teams collaborate using digital trace data from online platforms, and designing effective technologies that utilize human-AI collaboration. Her work integrates theories from Management, Engineering Design, and Psychology, employing methodologies from Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Social Science. Ferguson has led projects investigating Human-AI collaborative decision-making and student persistence in Machine Learning careers. Her published research appears in prominent HCI venues including CHI and CSCW, as well as in Engineering Design venues such as Design Science. She completed her PhD in Mechanical Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto, where she also received multiple NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship fellowships focusing on Human-AI Interaction and Ethics in AI. Additionally, Ferguson served as the President of the Graduate Society of Women Engineers during her studies at the University of Toronto.

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