Tawanna Dillahunt

I am an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Information (UMSI) and hold a courtesy appointment with the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) department. Before starting as an Assistant Professor, I was a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in UMSI from January 2013 – July 2014. I also lead the Social Innovations Group at UMSI and I am a member of the Michigan ICTD and Michigan Interactive and Social Computing (MISC) groups. My research spans Human-Computer Interaction and Ubiquitous Computing fields. I work at the intersection of human-computer interaction; environmental, economic, and social sustainability; and equity.

With the narrowing of the digital divide, the ubiquity of smart devices and mobile hotspots in common places in the U.S. (e.g., libraries, community centers, and even McDonald’s) I see an urgent need to explore the use of these technologies for those that stand the most to gain from these resources. Therefore, my research team and I investigate, design, build,  enhance, and deploy innovative technologies that solve real-world problems to support the needs of people from historically-excluded groups. My team and I have developed digital employment tools that address the needs of job seekers with limited digital literacy and education; assessed real-time ridesharing and online grocery delivery applications among lower-income and transportation-scarce groups, and proposed models for novice entrepreneurs to build their technical capacity.

I hold a M.S. and Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University, a M.S. in Computer Science from the Oregon Graduate Institute School of Science and Engineering (now a part of the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR), and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University. I was also a software engineer at Intel Corporation for several years.