Dhruv Jain

I am a fourth year PhD student in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington. My research focuses on advancing sound accessibility through deployable HCI+AI systems. My work has been published at top HCI venues such as CHI, ASSETS, and UIST and has received multiple best paper awards and honorable mentions. I am advised by Prof. Jon Froehlich and Prof. Leah Findlater. Before starting my PhD, I completed by masters from MIT Media Lab, bachelors from IIT Delhi, and took a gap year to backpack 21 countries. Through publishing a critical reflection of my travel experiences as a hard of hearing individual, I introduced the unique method of auto-ethnography to the field of accessible computing. My biggest pride is the indoor navigation system for visually impaired users which was installed in Indian National Science Museum for two years. Besides professional life, I provide scuba instruction and conduct DIY workshops—so far, 11 one-week workshops in six low-income countries, total 200+ students. Atleast two teams from these workshops have continued their projects and turned them into multinational companies.