Google has named Gierad Laput, a doctoral student in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, a 2018 Google Ph.D. Fellow in Human-Computer Interaction. Google's fellowship program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students doing exceptional research in computer science and related disciplines throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East.

"We have given these students unique fellowships to acknowledge their contributions to their areas of specialty and provide funding for their education and research," Google said in a statement. "We look forward to working closely with them as they continue to become leaders in their respective fields."

In addition to providing monetary support for education expenses, the fellowship matches each fellow with a Google research mentor. Laput is one of the 39 graduate students worldwide recognized as 2018 Google Ph.D. Fellows.

Laput's research explores novel sensing for mobile and wearable computing, smart environments, and the internet of things. His work on novel sensing won Best Paper awards at ACM CHI and ACM UIST, and his work on EM-Sense won the prestigious Fast Company Innovation by Design Award. He is also editor-in-chief of XRDS, the Association for Computing Machinery's premiere magazine for students.

Laput would like to thank his advisor, Chris Harrison; his lab mates in the Future Interfaces Group; and the students and faculty in the HCII for their guidance and support.