Jaden Cowley
I am a second-year PhD student in Human Centered Design & Engineering at the University of Washington and a graduate researcher with the Center for an Informed Public .
My research examines how people make sense of contested information, identity, and institutional authority through sociotechnical systems. I am particularly interested in online sensemaking, belief and identity change, institutional trust, high-demand communities, and the ways people use media and digital platforms to navigate periods of uncertainty and transition.
My work draws primarily on qualitative and mixed-methods approaches and currently spans research on religious deconstruction, judicial communication and public trust, and election-related information environments.
What I've Been Up To
2026 Highlights