Research Fellow
Cris is a user researcher and web3 content creator with training in anthropology and cognitive science. He grew up in Mexico, the US and Switzerland, which made him love languages and different cultures.
He has worked with hundreds of individuals of different ages and nationalities — such as fieldwork in rural Mexico exploring cognitive health in senior citizens, interviewing young Brazilians for their personal views on their government, and assessing up-and-coming video game players in the DFW Metroplex.
Cris has a strong interdisciplinary background, which spans a handful of areas. He has worked on different projects that focus on emerging technology: space, AI, crypto, and electric vehicles. However, at the time being he has been specializing in the financial space (both TradFi & DeFi).
Research projects:
- Facilitated and translated multilingual ethnographic interviews for a stablecoin company that explored digital banking trends in Latin America, which are projected to grow at 10% annually in revenue.
- Interviewed 50+ individuals (merchants (B2B), remittance senders & underrepresented groups) in 4 sprints to uncover frustrations with the current U.S. financial system to assess the feasibility of CBDC adoption.
He has dabbled in all kinds of experimental publishing: starting from peer-reviewed articles to white papers, blogs, and video content.
His other great interests include futurism and the transportation industry!
Selected Publications:
- The Metaverse: An Alternative Explanation (2022)
- UXR Futures: Up and coming industries where user researchers are needed (2022)
- Centering Users in the Design of Digital Currency (2021)
- Creativity & Cognition in Extreme Environments: The Space Arts as a Case Study (2020)
- Emblem Recognition: Cultural Coaching Software via Hand Gestures (2020)