About Me.
I am currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Design, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati. My current research interest lies in experimenting with interaction techniques, user interactions, and interfaces for immersive VR. In the early days, I also explored the use of advanced digital technology for social development, particularly in healthcare for resource-constrained settings. My teaching covers Interaction Design, User Experience Design, Tangible User Interfaces, and HCI in Virtual Reality.
When I am not working, I enjoy traveling (yes, I have traveled to 23 countries), playing sports, reading books, spending time with lab members, and most importantly, creating joyful moments with my daughter and wife.
Work Experience
Nov 2016 - Present
Associate Professor, IIT Guwahati
As a dedicated teacher and researcher, I remain committed to teaching UX design and HCI while conducting research on interaction techniques, user interactions, and interfaces for immersive VR. During this tenure, I have spearheaded several notable projects, including Swasthyaa, a TB adherence system; Pragati, a VR training program for rural health workers; and एवं (Evam), an Indian educational metaverse. My research has been published in reputable HCI conferences and journals. I have also proposed and run several UX Design and HCI certification programs with Coursera and Intellipaat. I am a co-investigator for the graduate program of "Electronic Product Design," which is funded by MEITY.
April 2010 - Nov 2016
Assistant Professor, IIT Guwahati
During the early days of my teaching career, I focused on developing courses related to interaction design, tangible interfaces, physical computing, and virtual reality. I collaborated with industry research labs such as Samsung, Nokia, IBM, and P&G, which provided generous funding to explore various topics such as gestural interfaces, accessibility, and deformable interfaces. Some of my notable contributions during this period include Chetna - a gestural interface for maternal health; Easy Access - one-handed interactions for smartphones, and designed solutions for hearing-impaired and older adults with low-tech literacy. It was during this period that I founded and nurtured the Embedded Interaction Lab (EI Lab).
2008 - 2010
Interaction Design Consultant
As an Interaction Design Consultant, I worked with several organizations, including Development Informatics Lab at IIT Bombay, Desolve Strategic Design, Industrial Design Center at IIT Bombay, and Idean. During this period, I studied users, designed graphical user interfaces, conducted usability evaluations, and explored 3D interfaces as part of my consulting assignments.
Education
2010 - 2015
PhD, IIT Guwahati
While working as a teacher at the Department of Design, IIT Guwahati, I pursued my doctoral research, which focused on studying the use of gestural interfaces among low-literate users in the healthcare domain. I conducted research to identify gaps, performed experiments and evaluated the findings to develop a framework/guidelines as my contribution.
2006 - 2008
Master's in Interaction Design - Interaction Design Institute/Domus Academy
Right after completing my engineering degree, I pursued my interest in Design and enrolled in the Interaction Design program. This program provided me with an extensive understanding of physical computing, tangible interfaces, and graphical interfaces. During this time, I worked on various projects, including conceptualizing and designing social networking platforms, interactive spaces, games, and interactive installations.
2002 - 2006
Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, Gujarat University
During my undergraduate studies, I delved into the world of Electrical Engineering. While the details of what I learned may have faded from my memory, I recall being a young and enthusiastic student, often consumed by various interests and passions. My studies covered topics such as electronics, power stations, and basic programming