Ananya Nandy

University of California, Berkeley

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Hey there! I am currently a PhD candidate in the Co-Design Lab at UC Berkeley, advised by Prof. Kosa Goucher-Lambert.

I’m interested in human-centered computing applied to complex, creative contexts - particularly engineering and product design.

During my PhD, I have worked as a research intern in the Human-Centered AI Division at Toyota Research Institute. I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, where I worked on human-centered design projects, often focused on assistive technology. Outside of research and work, you can find me reading fiction :books: or searching for new coffee shops :coffee:.

updates

Jul 25, 2024 Our paper on semantic properties influencing 3D design won the Best Paper Award in Design Cognition/Neurocognition at DCC'24!
Apr 2, 2024 Our paper “Semantic properties of word prompts shape design outcomes: understanding the influence of semantic richness and similarity,” based on work from my internship at TRI, was accepted to Design Computing and Cognition (DCC) ‘24! :smiley:
Jan 9, 2024 Thankful to be supported by the David A. Dornfeld Graduate Fellowship this semester
Aug 25, 2023 Back from Boston, where I presented our latest work on adaptively quantifying subjective attributes at IDETC '23!
Aug 10, 2023 Just finished up an amazing summer internship in the HCAI division at Toyota Research Institute! Looking forward to continuing and sharing our work on design process and creativity!
Jul 28, 2023 Had a great time attending and presenting our work at ICED '23 in Bordeaux!
May 13, 2023 I passed my qualifying exam! Officially a PhD candidate now :nerd_face:
Apr 24, 2023 Our paper, Adaptive Optimization of Subjective Design Attributes: Characterizing Individual and Aggregate Perceptions, was accepted to IDETC ‘23! Looking forward to heading to Boston to present the paper this summer!
Apr 23, 2023 Had fun teaching with labmates Nicole & Elisa through Splash this weekend! We created a 1 hr intro class for high school students called Creative + Sustainable Product Design
Feb 20, 2023 Our paper, VR or Not? Investigating Interface Type and User Strategies for Interactive Design Space Exploration, was accepted to the International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED) ‘23! This work was done in collaboration with colleagues in Berkeley HCI, based on our CHI LBW!
Jan 10, 2023 I’ve accepted an internship offer for this summer in the Human-Centered AI (HCAI) division at Toyota Research Institute!
Jan 5, 2023 I’ve received a department fellowship to support my research this spring!
Dec 19, 2022 I’ve (finally) completed my M.S.! Title: “A Behavioral Study of the Impact of Imperfect Machine Suggestions on Engineering Design Decisions with Tradeoffs”
Aug 18, 2022 Back from IDETC'22 in St. Louis, MO! Had a great time connecting with all of the researchers in the design community in person!
Aug 2, 2022 I attended the Frontiers in Design Representation Summer School last week to learn more about data-driven design! I wrote about my explorations: Part 1, Part 2
Jul 11, 2022 Back from a wonderful DCC‘22 in Glasgow, where our paper won the Best Paper Award in Design Cognition!
May 13, 2022 I got a Grad Division Block Grant to support my research this summer! Yay!
Apr 14, 2022 Our Late Breaking Work paper, GeneratiVR: Spatial Interactions in Virtual Reality to Explore Generative Design Spaces, will be presented at CHI ‘22!
Mar 10, 2022 Our paper “How does machine advice influence design choice? The effect of error on design decision making” was accepted to Design Computing and Cognition (DCC) ‘22! :raised_hands:
Feb 9, 2022 Our article was featured on the Journal of Mechanical Design website!
Dec 13, 2021 We presented a poster at the HCAI (Human Centered AI) Workshop @ NeurIPS 2021!