Dr. James R. Chen Award

During the final semester of their second year, I School MIMS students undertake final projects. The program’s interdisciplinary nature makes many kinds of projects suitable. Some students design and implement a prototype information system. Others engage in a significant research project leading to a written thesis.

The MIMS Final Project Presentation and Competition is sponsored by the Dr. James R. Chen Award Fund. This fund is intended to recognize and foster innovation, creative solutions, and pragmatic applications in the area of information retrieval and management.

Judging Guidelines


2023

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A user-friendly compilation of technology resources, tools, and exercises for organizations of all sizes and stages.  
Advisor: AnnaLee Saxenian
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Better recommendations for everyone, powered by graph neural networks
Advisor: Daniel Aranki
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MYND is an app designed to empower users to be proactive about their mental health by monitoring the user’s mental wellbeing. The app will automatically check...
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Explore the sustainability of electric vehicles (EV) and factors that contribute to the vehicles’ environmental impact.
Advisor: Marti Hearst

2022

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A big picture overview of the no code industry and help for founders in decision-making.
Advisor: Morten Hansen
MateriALL logo with caption "auto-generated classroom materials"
MateriALL is a tool that helps K-12th teachers automate the material creation process by taking existing content and generating additional, customizable...
Advisor: Kimiko Ryokai

2021

Ontology Mapping for Cardiovascular Ailments
Harmonizing cardiac reports using ML to tackle variable reporting that hurts doctors’ and patients’ ability to communicate test results
Advisor: Hany Farid
PrivacyBot
PrivacyBot, a simple way to start exercising your privacy rights. PrivacyBot allows you to delete your data from every major data broker and people search site...

2020

Approachable VR Content Creation
A markdown-based web framework for generating WebVR exhibits.
Advisor: Kimiko Ryokai
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An optimization tool for street sweeping planning to create a clean and organized environment with minimized interruption to the local community.
Advisor: Hany Farid

2019

Children Studying
Our MIMS Capstone Project focuses on the school enrollment process of public schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. The aim is to make the enrollment process...
Advisor: Jenna Burrell
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Skindex aims to equip consumers with the ability to determine the impact of cosmetic ingredients on their own skin and health.
Advisor: John Chuang

2018

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There is no “one” right way. We all learn the best, in different ways. MOOCs for YOU, your way!
Advisor: Zachary Pardos
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Pet Set Go! is a mobile application that seeks to reduce rehoming rates of adopted animals by strengthening the bond between pets and their new owners.
Advisor: Steven Weber

2017

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Using wearable devices to send out an alert when the user loses consciousness.
Advisor: John Chuang
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A physical installation to explore the costs and benefits of the rise of connected infrastructure and embedded sensor technologies.
Advisor: Kimiko Ryokai

2016

CardStak Logo
CardStak bridges your offline network to your online network. Create Staks for various engagements (events, projects, classes) and allow people to know one-...
Advisor: Steven Weber
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People diagnosed with a rare diseases often have a lot of trouble finding a doctor who can effectively care for them. Et al. Health solves this problem by...
Advisor: Marti Hearst
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Through user research we observed many blind smartphone users experienced difficulties navigating their phones and a voice user interface (VUI) could make...
Advisor: John Chuang

2015

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A user-friendly interface for exploring and discovering clinical trials and their eligibility criteria, to benefit both critically ill patients and vital...
Advisor: Marti Hearst
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A shopping app offering grocery pickup services to low-income residents, including SNAP and WIC participants. Our goal is to increase this population's access...
Advisor: Steven Weber
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A hotline-management system to give small NGOs serving vulnerable clients in China better record-keeping and reporting capabilities, improving their services’...

2014

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A platform for educators to explore, share, and organize resources aligned with the Common Core Standards.
Advisor: Zachary Pardos
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An information system to connect domestic help workers in India with part-time employment opportunities in households.
Advisor: Tapan Parikh
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A web-based mobile mapping tool for safety-conscious pedestrians.
Advisor: Coye Cheshire

2013

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An in-home health monitoring system to reduce readmission for heart failure patients recently released from the hospital.
Advisor: Tapan Parikh
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A collaborative web platform that re-imagines the way we go about arranging the spaces we live in.
Advisor: Coye Cheshire
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A suite of digital tools for collecting and sharing family histories.
Advisor: Tapan Parikh

2012

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A social venture that improves the livelihoods of rural farmers through better management of source information.
Advisor: Tapan Parikh
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A suite of research-based mobile apps for families with young children, promoting digital and analog creativity, imagination, and sharing.
Advisor: Deirdre Mulligan
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An integrated easy-to-use system for independent media producers to organize, archive, and publishing multimedia resources.

2011

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CritterQuest is an interactive biofeedback game to help the 8% of kids with ADD and ADHD focus and self-regulate.
Advisor: Nancy Van House
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An exploration of music metadata crowdsourcing, including understanding participation incentives, community norms, and official guidelines and standards.
Advisor: Brian Carver
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NextDrop provides reliable, near real-time information about water arrival to households in developing countries with unreliable piped water.
Advisor: Tapan Parikh

2010

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Privacy concerns, public access laws, and the use of email within the San Francisco Police Department.
Advisor: Deirdre Mulligan
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A novel public transit application for the iPhone, built to help riders get around the Bay Area.
Advisor: Kimiko Ryokai

2009

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A study of historical materials in Russia and Hungary, focusing on user engagement and participation with digitized content.
Advisor: Eric Kansa
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A system to influence policy change for the data collection and sharing practices of popular Internet sites
Advisor: Brian Carver
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Information management and humanitarian response to disasters.
Advisor: Coye Cheshire
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An application to improve the experience of participating in large-discussions.
Advisor: Coye Cheshire

2008

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A digital music distribution system with an innovative economic model for online music sales.
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An application for health care providers to enter clinical progress notes by PC, cell phone, or PDA.
Advisor: Robert Glushko

2007

2006

2005

2004

2nd Place
Advisor: Marti Hearst

2003

1st Place

2002

1st Place
3rd Place
eD

2001

1st Place
2nd Place
2nd Place

2000

1999