In a quiet corner of the Science Center, Morgan McErlean '26 leans over a screen filled with notes — not lines of Python, but news reports and pieces of AI-generated media. 

But before models or metrics comes interpretation. What counts as harm? Who is affected? How does design amplify inequity? For McErlean, computer science is as much about human experience as it is about computation.

This year, that approach earned her national recognition. McErlean received honorable mention in the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award competition from the Computing Research Association, which honors undergraduates across North America who demonstrate exceptional promise in computing research. 

The distinction is notable not only for its selectivity, but for its typical recipients: Most awardees come from R1 research universities, says Lisa Meeden, Neil R. Grabois Professor of Natural Sciences and Engineering.

But for McErlean, Swarthmore’s emphasis on the liberal arts provided a strong foundation to her research efforts.

“The engagement that liberal arts allows, directly with faculty, has been a great opportunity,” she says, “and offered a launching pad to research and other opportunities.”

In particular, McErlean points to research she conducted with Meeden in her sophomore year as an essential starting point. And these efforts extended beyond Swarthmore, as McErlean got to see the R1 side of research this summer at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

“Working on a project there (with assistant professor Sarah Fox and Ph.D. student Cella Sum) was a super-meaningful experience that has really informed my interests and shaped my work,” says McErlean, whose research at CMU focuses on supporting workers in the face of workplace monitoring. More broadly, McErlean’s interests center peoples’ experiences with surveillance and tech hierarchy. 

McErlean did not arrive at Swarthmore with any thoughts of majoring in computer science. But she was hooked by the Introduction to Computer Science course, and buoyed by the chance to work with Meeden and Assistant Professor of Computer Science Sukrit Venkatagiri. 

“Engaging in work centered on understanding human experience with technology, particularly technological harms and interactions with tech hierarchy, is both contemporary and pressing,” McErlean says, “and has presented as an infinitely engaging strand of inquiry for me to explore.”

Her research trajectory has been unusually expansive for an undergraduate. In the past year, McErlean has contributed to five major projects. She is co-first author on a paper published at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence's 2025 symposium on Educational Advances in AI and is moving forward on three other projects. 

McErlean also completed a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) project while at Carnegie Mellon, gaining experience at a large research institution while closely collaborating with Swarthmore faculty.

Venkatagiri, who along with Meeden nominated McErlean for the award, described her as “one of the strongest students” among the dozens of undergraduates and graduate students he has mentored. He emphasized her intellectual precision and independence, noting that she quickly mastered qualitative research methods on a project examining harms caused by generative AI with minimal instruction.

Venkatagiri also highlighted McErlean’s ability to frame research questions, integrate qualitative and quantitative methods, and lead collaborative work with organization and clarity. 

“As an undergraduate at Swarthmore, she has made significant contributions to five different research projects, which is truly extraordinary,” Venkatagiri wrote.

McErlean, who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in an information science or human computer interaction-adjacent field after graduation, expressed gratitude for the nomination — but even more for the mentorship she received at Swarthmore.

“Both Sukrit and Lisa have set me up for success and helped me to get where I am now,” she says, “and I am incredibly grateful.”