Cassidy Pyle, Ph.D.
Hi! I'm a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan School of Information, working with Dr. Nicole Ellison on projects related to AI-Mediated Communication and Higher Education. My interdisciplinary research primarily leverages qualitative methods to explore how social media and AI systems can help and hinder individuals' access to higher education and employment opportunities. ​My work has been featured at Association for Computing Machinery conferences like CHI, CSCW, GROUP, DIS, the International Communication Association (ICA) conference, and journals like Social Media + Society.
News
I will be at CSCW 2025 in Bergen, Norway!
I'm so excited to visit Norway for the first time in October '25. I'll be helping to host the workshop "Design for Hope: Cultivating Deliberate Hope in the Face of Complex Societal Challenges." This workshop represents a "sequel" to a workshop hosted at CSCW 2024 by the Positech Research Collective, of which I am a Founding Member. I will also be presenting my paper, "Algorithmic College Admissions in the US: Distances Between Vendors’ Claims and Applicants’ Perceptions."
I began my postdoctoral research fellowship at UMSI!
In late August, I began a new role as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan School of Information. I will be working on projects related to AI-Mediated Communication. One project explores how college applicants leverage LLMs in ways that may intimately shape their self-concept and self-presentation in high stakes communication contexts like application essays.
I will be serving on the 2026 CSCW Organizing Committee!
I am grateful to be serving as a Program Committee (PC) Member for CSCW 2026.
I will be serving on the 2026 CHI Organizing Committee!
I am looking forward to serving as an Associate Chair for CHI 2026 in the Critical Computing, Sustainability, and Social Justice subcommittee.