Postdoctoral Associate at NYU Tandon
My path in academia has been somewhat winding, both chronologically and geographically. You might notice when looking at my CV that there is a decade-long gap between earning my master’s degree in Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing at Lancaster University in the UK and receiving my doctoral degree in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. Before all that, I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru, my hometown in India. I chose to study computer science because of its popularity at the time. In retrospect, I think computer science was a good fit for me and I don’t believe I would have found studying any other discipline as enjoyable.
I also worked for many years, first as a software developer at a startup in Bristol, UK, and then as a project associate at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. I also taught at Union College in Upstate New York as faculty for a year, which I really enjoyed.
I feel very grateful that the next stop on my journey is here in Brooklyn. I work with Oded Nov and Maurizio Porfiri on the NSF-funded project for studies of gun violence. In my postdoctoral research, I focus on conducting empirical studies to understand how visualizations of information pertaining to gun violence can be effectively conveyed to the general public, addressing key questions surrounding transparency and empathy evoked by the visualizations.
Being a Faculty First-Look Fellow is helping me prepare for my next steps. I don’t really have a geographic wish list of where I’d like to end up, as long as I can be dividing my time between teaching and doing research.