Neeta Khanuja

research interests

Self-perceptions of aging · human-AI interaction · culturally situated HCI · interactive art and systems

education

• Dual-degree Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University and Instituto Superior TécnicoSep 2021 – Aug 2027

  Ph.D., Human-Computer Interaction, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA
  Ph.D., Information Systems and Computer Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Portugal
  Advisors: Jodi Forlizzi (Carnegie Mellon University), Valentina Nisi (Instituto Superior Técnico)
  Research topic: Operationalizing Self-Perceptions of Aging in HCI Research and Design

• M.S., Human-Computer Interaction, Carnegie Mellon University2022 – 2025
• Dual-degree Master’s, International Media Architecture Master Studies2016 – 2018

  M.Sc., Media Architecture, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Germany
  M.S., Architecture, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA

• Post Graduate Diploma, New Media Design, National Institute of Design, India2008 – 2011
• B.E., Computer Science, Gujarat University, India2003 – 2007

publications

peer-reviewed papers and pictorials

1. Khanuja, N. M., Nisi, V., Meena, Y. K., & Forlizzi, J. (2026). Designing culturally grounded reflection cards that explore self-perception of aging and automated recommendations with older adults in India. In Proceedings of the ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’26), 3202–3215. Pictorial. DOI
2. Gonzalez, J. T., Khanuja, N. M., Li, M. M., Guo, M., Olaitan, L., Lau, E., Pugh, J., Ion, A., & Hudson, S. E. (2026). Towards fluent interaction with cyber-physical architecture. In Proceedings of the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’26). DOI · Best Paper Award
3. Simão, H., Gonçalves, D., Khanuja, N. M., Nisi, V., Bernardino, A., Guerreiro, T., & Forlizzi, J. (2026). Values across contexts: Understanding how older adults enact what matters through technology. In Proceedings of the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’26). DOI
4. Chang, M. L., Reig, S., Lee, A., Huang, A., Simão, H., Han, N., Khanuja, N. M., Mohammad Ali, A. U., Martinez, R., Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J., & Steinfeld, A. (2025). Unremarkable to remarkable AI agent: Exploring boundaries of agent intervention for adults with and without cognitive impairment. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 9(2), 1–26. DOI
5. Khanuja, N. M., Nisi, V., & Forlizzi, J. (2025). Designing aging reflection probes to elicit self-perception of aging (SPA) beliefs of older adults in India. In Proceedings of the ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’25), 2602–2606. Pictorial. DOI
6. Chang, M. L., Lee, A., Han, N., Huang, A., Simão, H., Reig, S., Mohammad Ali, A. U., Martinez, R., Khanuja, N. M., Zimmerman, J., Forlizzi, J., & Steinfeld, A. (2024). Dynamic agent affiliation: Who should the AI agent work for in the older adult’s care network? In Proceedings of the ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’24), 1774–1788. DOI
7. Khanuja, N., Freire, M., Lameiras, J., Nicolau, H., Forlizzi, J., & Nisi, V. (2023). Using cultural probes to understand students’ mental wellbeing. In Proceedings of IASDR 2023, Milan, Italy. Pictorial. DOI

under review

Two full papers under review at ACM CHI 2027.

extended abstracts and doctoral consortium

8. Khanuja, N. M., Meena, Y. K., Nisi, V., & Forlizzi, J. (2026). Operationalizing self-perceptions of aging using reflection probe and SPA design cards with HCI practitioners. In Extended Abstracts of the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’26). DOI
9. Khanuja, N. M. (2025). Designing technological interventions to enhance self-perceptions of aging (SPA) and well-being of older adults in India. In Companion Publication of the ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’25 Companion), Doctoral Consortium, 111–115. DOI

earlier publications and presentations

10. Khanuja, N. (2020). A study of inclusion in smart cities. AMPS Rapid Cities – Responsive Architectures Conference, Dubai.
11. Khanuja, N. (2020). Designing a way-finding and environmental learning tool for people with mild to moderate dementia [Master’s thesis]. University at Buffalo, State University of New York.
12. Khanuja, N. (2019). Exploring the potential of universal design in adaptive architecture. Student Interaction Design Research Conference (SIDeR ’19), Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design, Kiel, Germany.
13. Khanuja, N. (2019). Lost in place: A case study of an interactive installation for dementia awareness. In K. Niedderer, C. Wölfel, G. D. S. Ludden, & R. Cain (Eds.), Designing with and for People with Dementia: Wellbeing, Empowerment and Happiness. Proceedings of the International MinD Conference 2019, Dresden, Germany. MinD & TUD Press. ISBN 978-3-95908-183-2. Link
14. Khanuja, N. (2018). Design as research and research as design: A case study of a smartphone-based braille-conductive interface. INSIGHT 2018, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India. Link
15. Khanuja, N., & Steinfeld, E. (2018). Designing a way-finding tool for people with cognitive difficulties. RESNA Annual Conference 2018, Washington, DC. Link · Poster

research experience

• Doctoral Researcher, Carnegie Mellon University and Instituto Superior Técnico2021 – Present
  • Study how self-perceptions of aging (SPA) can be understood and operationalized in HCI research and design.
  • Designed a seven-day Aging Reflection Probe built on established SPA measures and used it with 24 older adults across four living contexts in urban India.
  • Built an emotion-card reflection system in Google Apps Script and Google Sheets with the GPT API. Participants combine card codes to generate a reflection prompt, and the system parses their reflection into emotions. Tested four response strategies: empathic generation, curation of philosophy and poetry, generated fables, and a reframe with action steps. Demonstrated the final version at DIS 2025.
  • Adapted the system into an SPA reflection tool for older adults in India. Replaced the emotion cards with SPA cards and grounded responses in a curated database of Bhagavad Gita verses and interpretations.
  • Worked with a collaborator at IIT Gandhinagar to build the Android app. Deployed it with older adults in urban India.

• Visiting Scholar, Human-AI Interaction (HAIx) Lab, IIT Gandhinagar, IndiaAug 2025 – Aug 2026

  Host: Yogesh Kumar Meena

  • Developed SPA design materials (reflection probe, empathic reflection cards, SPA aspiration cards) and studied their use with 10 HCI practitioners and 12 older adults.
  • Co-organized a half-day workshop at IndiaHCI 2025: Designing for Self-Perception of Aging in Low-Resource Settings: Leveraging Reflection, AI, and Cultural Contexts in HCI.

• Research Assistant, MemeX Project, ITI/LARSyS, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon2020 – 2021
  • Worked as UX designer for the MemeX mobile app in this EU Horizon 2020-funded project.
  • Conducted research on inclusive digital technologies, migrant communities, and digital storytelling.

• Research Assistant, Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access, University at Buffalo2018
  • Ran a user study with 10 participants that informed the next design phase of Scan-sign, an NFC-based indoor navigation system for people with visual impairments.

• Volunteer Researcher, Inclusive Design Research Centre, OCAD University2015 – 2016
  • Developed use cases, requirements, and wireframes, and co-developed an interactive Framer.js prototype for the MyLearning Lab project.

skills

• Research: Research through Design, cultural probes, co-design, design cards, qualitative interviews, reflexive thematic analysis.
• Design: information architecture, interaction flows, requirements and scope definition, user scenarios and personas, interface design. Tools: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Creative Suite, Procreate.
• Prototyping: Processing, Arduino with IMU sensors, Google Apps Script and Google Sheets with LLM API integration.
• Art: drawing, digital illustration, linocut printmaking, movement improvisation.

exhibitions and interactive installations

interactive installations and performance

• Ambidextrous Motion. Urmila Art Gallery, Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad, India2026

  Interactive drawing installation in the Kanoria Centre for Arts annual group exhibition. Arduino-based IMU sensors worn on each hand translate two-handed drawing into a live digital trace. About 25 visitors took part in a two-hour session, each producing a paper drawing and a matching digital trace.

• Body as a Canvas. Lisbon, Portugal2025

  Live body painting on movement artist Safire Hikari. Video by Flora Claire Heloïse.

• Movement video. KOSMOS Chaos, Schloss Gleina, Germany2024

  Screened beside photographs in the exhibition. Dance by Neeta Khanuja, video by Megh Mehta.

• Movement video. Exhibition by Hilde Pank, Germany2021

  Shown at the exhibition finissage. Dance by Neeta Khanuja, video by Megh Mehta.

• Lost in Place. Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Germany2016

  Interactive installation about dementia, using live camera capture, motion tracking, projection, and Processing. Published at MinD 2019.

solo exhibitions

• Where We Need to Be. 1399 Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal2025
• Discover. Atelier da Graça, Lisbon, Portugal2024
• Connect. Beryti Café, Barcelona, Spain2023
• Moments. Wick Monet Gallery, Pittsburgh, USA2023
• Confined. Modern Art Gallery, New Delhi, India2021

group exhibition, residency, commission, and press

• Annual Group Exhibition, Kanoria Centre for Arts, Urmila Art Gallery, Ahmedabad, India (paintings and Ambidextrous Motion)2026
• Artist Residency, Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad, India2026
• Press: Divya Bhaskar, Ahmedabad City edition (in Gujarati), coverage of Ambidextrous MotionFeb 2026
• Commission: album cover artwork for Clouds by The Ballroom Thieves (Nettwerk Music Group). Album released in 2022.2021

awards, funding, and fellowships

• 2nd Place, BCI Programming and Arts category, BR41N.IO Brain-Computer Interface Designers’ Hackathon, IEEE SMC 2026, SeattleOct 2026

  NeuroPottery, a shared VR pottery wheel controlled by one person’s EEG and another person’s hands. With Harshiddhi Pathak and Param Rajpura.

• Best Paper Award (co-author), ACM CHI 2026 (publication [2])2026
• Doctoral Funding, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal2021 – Present
• Best Student Award, International Media Architecture Master Studies2019

  Dual master’s: M.Sc. Media Architecture, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, and M.S. Architecture, University at Buffalo

• DAAD Funding, German Academic Exchange Service, dual master’s program
• STIBET Scholarship, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
• Fellowship, Neudeli Business Incubator, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

teaching

• Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Accessibility and Assistive Technology (05-332/05-632)Fall 2026

  Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Instructor: Andrew Begel

• Teaching Assistant, User-Centered Design (CCU)Fall 2021

  Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon. Instructors: Nuno Jardim Nunes and Valentina Nisi

design and industry experience

• User Experience Design Intern, Bettzeit Gruppe, Frankfurt, Germany2018 – 2019

  Worked in a two-person UX team on the company’s e-commerce platform: designed new features and fixed usability problems. Reviewed customer questions to find pain points and designed solutions for them. Built a customer experience map linking management, marketing, and development teams.

• Venture and Design Coach, Blackstone LaunchPad, University at Buffalo2017 – 2018

  Mentored early-stage startups on value propositions, design process, and MVP development.

• Co-founder and Principal Designer, Algo Design Studio, Ahmedabad, India2012 – 2016

  Led UX, UI, and interaction design for clients in India, Germany, and Russia; managed a four-person team.

• Interaction Design Consultant, Emotome / NDBI, Ahmedabad, India2011 – 2012

  Led design research, concept development, prototyping, and testing for the Gesture Library project.

• Interaction Design Intern, Experiential Design Lab, Delhi, India2009 – 2010

  Conducted user research and designed interaction flows for interactive installations and games.

• Software Developer, Gateway Technolabs, Ahmedabad, India2007 – 2008

  Developed web components in MXML and ActionScript 2.0/3.0.

additional training

• Diploma, Dance Movement Therapy, Sancheti Healthcare Academy, Pune, India2020 – 2021
• 500-Hour Yoga Teacher Training, Gyanish International Academy of Yogic Science, India2021
• Diploma in Movement Arts and Mixed Media (Honors), Attakalari Centre for Movement Arts, India2019 – 2020