I am an HCI researcher working at the intersection of psychology, affective haptics, and social robotics. I am enthusiastic about understanding the role of social robot as a co-regulating agent, supporting individuals in their emotion regulatory practises.

At present, I am a Computer Science Ph.D. Student at the University of British Columbia working with Prof. Karon MacLean at the SPIN lab, exploring if and how users’ haptic interactions with a co-regulating agent can help them in cognitive reappraisal (an adaptive emotion regulation strategy). I am a part of UBC’s Designing for People cluster.

I completed my master’s degree at McGill University, working with Prof. Jeremy Cooperstock in the Shared Reality Lab . There, I explored how can we convey meaningful information through smart footwear using haptic actuation . During my master’s, I also got to spend some time doing research at the Haptic Intelligence Research Group at Max Planck Institute led by Prof. Katherine Kuchenbecker. There, I explored how can we facilitate human interaction with a robotic exercise coach using smart objects.

I have a background in Electronics Engineering and Human-Centered Design. Through a diverse set of research projects, I have gained experience in the areas of Social-Physical Human-Robot Interaction, Haptics, Robotic Manipulation, UX Research, and Applied Machine Learning. Currently, I am grounding myself in psychology and learning theories and research methods that I can borrow and apply in Affective Haptics.

I am highly enthusiastic about teaching, mentoring, and sharing my experience through outreach talks and workshops. I believe in creating equal opportunities for people coming from different cultural, economic, and educational backgrounds and try my best to help, mentor, and support them. For any outreach opportunities, feel free to reach out. I would love to share a part of my journey and how I tackled my share of challenges in academia!

For my emotion regulation, I bike, run, hike, cook, paint, crochet, sample mocha at random cafes, write poetry, practise yoga, and organize this amazing online open mic.

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