HawonNam.com

Hawon Nam 남하원

Human Factors & Smart Aging

I dream of a future in which AI agents work together with smart home and mobility technologies to help older adults age in place while staying connected to their families and communities.

M.A. Student in Psychology · Department of Psychology, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea

Pusan National University
HAI ’26 paper LinkedIn GitHub
Portrait of Hawon Nam

About

I am an M.A. student in psychology at Pusan National University, advised by Prof. Jaesik Lee, and expect to graduate in February 2028. I study how older adults experience and interact with AI agents, and how these agents can support their everyday lives and psychological well-being. I hope to study and design AI agents that become trusted partners to older adults, complementing their abilities and respecting their needs and values.

My path began in child development and family studies, continued through a double major in psychology and the Psychological Data Science Convergence Track, and now centers on human factors and smart aging.

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Human Factors
  • Human-AI/Robot Interaction
  • Emotion and Motivation Psychology
  • Smart Aging

Research

Breadth of AI service use · HAI ’26

What expands the breadth of AI service use among older adults?

Using the 2025 Digital Divide Survey in South Korea (N = 6,245), we examined psychological factors associated with the breadth of AI service use among adults aged 19–64 years (n = 4,965) and adults aged 65 years or older (n = 1,280). AI literacy was positively associated with breadth directly and indirectly through performance expectancy, and the indirect association was stronger at higher levels of technological self-efficacy.

0.93 vs 3.25mean number of the eight life domains with AI service use (65+ vs 19–64)
d = 1.42 / 1.43age-group differences in AI literacy / technological self-efficacy
.127 vs .043conditional indirect association at high vs low self-efficacy (65+)
0%20%40%60%Home automation20.452.1Generative AI16.064.7Transportation15.343.4Communication & social11.536.9Health and wellness8.630.0Finance7.427.3Media7.336.7Education6.333.5Adults aged 65+Adults aged 19–64

Use of AI services by life domain (%), survey-weighted. Home automation ranked first among adults aged 65+; generative AI ranked first among adults aged 19–64.

Nam, Kim, Bae & Lee (2026), HAI ’26 · doi:10.1145/3841580.3845795
Trust calibration · M.A. thesis (expected Feb 2028)

Transparency and failure type in driving automation systems

My thesis examines the effects of transparency and failure type on drivers' situation awareness, workload, and trust calibration in driving automation systems. The experiment runs on our lab's driving simulator.

Data collection: Sep 2026 – Feb 2027

Next, I plan to extend these paradigms to older drivers, AI agents in the smart home, and the role of emotion in trust, designing with older adults rather than only for them.

Publications

  • Conference paper (poster)Nam, H., Kim, M., Bae, G., & Lee, J. (2026). What expands the breadth of AI service use among older adults? The roles of AI literacy, performance expectancy, and technological self-efficacy. In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (HAI ’26), November 16–19, 2026, Osaka, Japan. ACM.DOI
  • Workshop talkNam, H. (2026). AI agents as trusted partners in supporting aging in place. Workshop talk at HAI Horizons 2.0: Empowering Early-Career Researchers to Share Their Passion and Shape the Future of Human-Agent Interaction, HAI ’26, November 16–19, 2026, Osaka, Japan.

Education

  • Expected Feb 2028

    M.A. in Psychology

    Pusan National University · Thesis: Effects of Transparency and Failure Type on Drivers' Situation Awareness, Workload, and Trust Calibration in Driving Automation Systems · Advisor: Prof. Jaesik Lee

  • Feb 2026

    B.A. in Child Development & Family Studies and Psychology

    Pusan National University · Double major · Pentomino Curriculum: Psychological Data Science Convergence Track · Advisor: Prof. Jeong-Shin An

Positions

  • Sep 2026 – present

    Scholarship Teaching Assistant

    Management of the SONA research participation system, Department of Psychology

  • Mar – Jun 2026

    Research Assistant, SW Convergence Track

    Course: Engineering Psychology, Department of Psychology

Experience

Research

  • May 2025 – Feb 2026

    Undergraduate Researcher, Human Factors Lab

    Department of Psychology, Pusan National University · Collaborated with graduate students on thesis research and statistical analysis; presented research findings at lab meetings.

  • Jan – Feb 2024

    Undergraduate Researcher, Family & Gerontology Lab

    Pusan National University · Conducted 30-minute surveys of middle-aged and older adults (55+) with loss experiences; analyzed data in SPSS.

Teaching & mentoring

  • May – Dec 2024

    Member, 1st Statistics Education Support Group

    Statistics Training Institute, Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) · With industrial engineering students, taught “Statistical Poster Production” using public data in 6 classrooms across 4 elementary, middle, and high schools.

  • Oct 2021 – Jan 2022

    Mentor, KOSAF Mentoring Program

    Korea Student Aid Foundation (KOSAF) · Mentored two elementary students in Korean, math, and English.

Leadership & activities

  • Mar 2025 – Feb 2026

    Study Group Leader, AI Developer Club

    Department of Information & Computer Engineering, Pusan National University

  • May 2022 – Dec 2023

    President, Major Academic Club

    Department of Child Development & Family Studies, Pusan National University · Led career and major study groups; produced two educational fairytales for children on safety and child rights.

  • May – Dec 2022

    Team Leader, 1st Student Supporters

    National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC) · Planned social media campaigns for the 100th Children’s Day, Adoption Day, and World Environment Day.

  • Sep 2021 – Feb 2022

    Vice President, PNU-Friends (Global Culture Exchange Club)

    Pusan National University · Facilitated cultural exchange and volunteered in Korean language education for international students.

Volunteering

  • Nov 2022 – Oct 2023

    Volunteer, Community Engagement and Senior Support Programs

    Volunteer Center, Busan · 303 hours in total, including meal services and senior smartphone classes at a community social welfare center.

Training

  • Feb 2026

    Pentomino Curriculum: Psychological Data Science Convergence Track

    Pusan National University · SW Convergence Courses in psychological data analysis and neuroscience

  • May 2024 & Jun 2025

    K-MOOC: Psychology and Artificial Intelligence; Psychology of Emotion and Behavior

    Seoul National University (online)

  • Aug 2024

    OUTTA AI Bootcamp: Data Analysis Class & Deep Learning Basic Class

    Seoul National University Global Engineering Education Center

  • Jun 2024

    AI & Digital Teacher Training Course

    Pusan National University Teacher Education Center

Honors

Awards

  • Nov 2025

    Student Portfolio Contest, Encouragement Award (Junior–Senior Division)

    Innovation Center for Engineering Education, Pusan National University

  • 2024

    Excellence Award, Activity Video Category

    1st Statistics Education Support Group, Statistics Korea

  • Jan 2022

    Hyowon Book Club Contest, Grand Prize

    Pusan National University Library · Interdisciplinary team on “Human Life and Relationships”

Scholarships

  • 2026
    • Graduate Admission Scholarship for Outstanding Graduates, Pusan National University
  • 2025
    • Academic Excellence Scholarship, Pusan National University (Fall)
  • 2024
    • National Scholarship, Korea Student Aid Foundation (Spring)
    • Academic Support Scholarship, Pusan National University (Fall)
  • 2023
    • College of Human Ecology Scholarship, Pusan National University (Spring)
  • 2022
    • National Scholarship, Korea Student Aid Foundation (Spring, Fall)
    • College of Human Ecology Scholarship, Pusan National University (Spring)
    • Mileage Scholarship, College of Human Ecology Development Fund, Pusan National University (May)
    • Academic Excellence Scholarship, Pusan National University (Fall)
    • Academic Support Scholarship, Pusan National University (Spring, Fall)
  • 2021
    • Mentoring Scholarship, Korea Student Aid Foundation (Spring, Fall)
    • University Innovation Support Program Scholarship, Pusan National University (Fall)
    • Academic Excellence Scholarship, Pusan National University (Fall)
    • Academic Support Scholarship, Pusan National University (Fall)

Skills

Data analysis & statistical tools

  • R (RStudio)
  • Python (PyCharm, Visual Studio Code)
  • IBM SPSS Statistics
  • SAS

Certifications

  • Survey Analyst, Junior (Sep 2025)
  • Advanced Data Analytics Semi-Professional (Jun 2025)
  • KT AICE Basic (Jun 2024)

Languages

  • Korean: Native
  • English: Professional Working Proficiency

English test scores

  • OPIc: Intermediate High (Apr 2026)
  • New TEPS: 409 (Aug 2025)
  • TOEIC: 915 (Aug 2024)

News

  • Nov 2026

    HAI ’26 in Osaka

    Presenting our poster paper on the breadth of AI service use among older adults, and a talk at the workshop HAI Horizons 2.0: Empowering Early-Career Researchers to Share Their Passion and Shape the Future of Human-Agent Interaction.

  • Sep 2026

    Thesis experiment underway

    Data collection began in our lab's driving simulator.

    A driver at the lab's driving simulator: a steering wheel facing three wide screens that show a simulated road
  • Mar 2026

    Started the M.A. program in Psychology

    Joined the Industrial & Engineering Psychology Lab at Pusan National University. Expected graduation: February 2028.

    Illustration of the Industrial & Engineering Psychology Lab members posing on campus stairs under a blossoming tree
  • Feb 2026

    Graduated with a B.A.

    Child Development & Family Studies and Psychology, Pusan National University.

    Hawon Nam in a graduation gown on the Pusan National University campus, holding a plush toy, next to a companion holding a bouquet