About

Hi! My name is Vaishnav. I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Values-Centered Artificial Intelligence (VCAI) initiative at the University of Maryland, College Park.

My research interests are at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction and Accessibility. I examine how the expertise of people with disabilities can be centered in the design and governance of AI technologies. I take a community-centered approach and use qualitative methods to work with research partners. I draw from critical disability studies and development studies to situate my work. I generate theory, design implications, and policy recommendations to facilitate the inclusion of people with disabilities.

My work has been published at premier HCI venues, including ACM CHI, CSCW, ASSETS, and FAccT. My papers have been recognized with Best Paper, Honorable Mention, and DEI awards. I have received prestigious fellowships from the Rackham Graduate School and the International Institute at the University of Michigan. I have also secured grants for my community partners through the Poverty Solutions program and Ginsberg Center at the University of Michigan.

I completed my Ph.D. from the University of Michigan - School of Information. I have worked at Google Research, the Enable group at Microsoft Research, Redmond, and the Technology for Emerging Markets group at Microsoft Research, India. I have a Master's Degree in Information from the University of Michigan - School of Information and a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science Engineering from Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bengaluru. Between 2010-2013, I was a Software Developer at Aditi Technologies.

I like running, hiking, and playing soccer and ultimate frisbee.

EDUCATION

  1. Ph.D. in Information

    University of Michigan

  2. M.S. in Information

    University of Michigan

  3. B.S in Computer Science Engineering

    Ramaiah Institute of Technology

Select Publications

Marcy G Antonio, Alicia Williamson, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Ashley Beals, Elizabeth Ankrah, Shannon Goulet, Yucen Wang, Grecia Macias, Jade James-Gist, Lindsay K Brown, Sage Davis, Srijanani Pillai, Lorraine Buis, Tawanna Dillahunt, Tiffany C Veinot. 2023. Targeting Patients’ Cognitive Load for Telehealth Video Visits Through Student-Delivered Helping Sessions at a United States Federally Qualified Health Center: Equity-Focused, Mixed Methods Pilot Intervention Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR '23).

Vaishnav Kameswaran, Vidhya Yellareddy and Megh Marathe. 2023. Advocacy as Access Work: How People with Visual Impairments in India Gain Access to Digital Banking. Proceedings of ACM Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW '23).

Divya Ramesh, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Ding Wang and Nithya Sambasivan. 2022. How Platform-User Power Relations Shape Algorithmic Accountability: A Case Study of Instant Loan Platforms and Financially Stressed Users in India. In Proceedings of the 2022 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency (FAccT '22).

Tawanna R Dillahunt, Juan F Maestre, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Erica Poon, John Osorio Torres, Mia Gallardo, Samantha E Rasmussen, Patrick C Shih, Alice Bagley, Samuel LA Young, Tiffany C Veinot. 2022. Trust, Reciprocity, and the Role of Timebanks as Intermediaries: Design Implications for Addressing Healthcare Transportation Barriers. In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '22).

Juan F. Maestre, Tawanna Dillahunt, Alec Andrew Theisz, Megan Furness, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Tiffany Veinot and Patrick C. Shih. 2021. Examining mobility among people living with HIV in rural areas. In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '21).

Maulishree Pandey, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Hrishikesh V Rao, Sile O'Modhrain and Steve Oney. 2021. Understanding Accessibility and Collaboration in Programming for People with Visual Impairments. Proceedings of ACM Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW '21).

Vaishnav Kameswaran and Joyojeet Pal. 2021. Ride-hailing as urban transit in the Global South: Evidence from India. Disability and the Developing World (Oxford University Press).

Vaishnav Kameswaran, Alexander Fiannaca, Melanie Kniesel, Amy Karlson, Ed Cutrell and Meredith Ringel Morris. 2020. Understanding In-Situ Use of Commonly Available Navigation Technologies by People with Visual Impairments. Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '20).

Vaishnav Kameswaran and Srihari Hulikal Muralidhar. 2019. Cash, Digital Payments and Accessibility - A Case Study from India. Proceedings of ACM Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW '20).

Robin N. Brewer and Vaishnav Kameswaran. 2019. Understanding Trust, Transportation, and Accessibility through Ridesharing. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '19).

Vaishnav Kameswaran, Jatin Gupta, Joyojeet Pal, Sile O'Modhrain, Tiffany C. Veinot, Robin Brewer, Aakanksha Parameshwar, Vidhya Yellareddy and Jacki O'Neill. 2018. “We can go anywhere”: Understanding Independence through a Case Study of Ride-hailing Use by People with Visual Impairments in metropolitan India. In Proceedings of ACM Human-Computer Interaction (CSCW '18). Best Paper Award.

Vaishnav Kameswaran, Lindsey Cameron, and Tawanna R. Dillahunt. 2018. Support for Social and Cultural Capital Development in Real-time Ridesharing Services. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '18).

Robin N. Brewer and Vaishnav Kameswaran. 2018. Understanding the Power of Control in Autonomous Vehicles for People with Vision Impairment. In Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18).

Tawanna R. Dillahunt, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Desiree McLain, Minnie Lester, Delores Orr, and Kentaro Toyama. 2018. Entrepreneurship and the Socio-Technical Chasm in a Lean Economy. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '18). Best Paper Honorable Mention.

Joyojeet Pal, Priyank Chandra, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Aakanksha Parameshwar, Sneha Joshi, and Aditya Johri. 2018. Digital Payment and Its Discontents: Street Shops and the Indian Government's Push for Cashless Transactions. In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '18).

Joyojeet Pal, Anjuli Dasika, Ahmad Hasan, Jackie Wolf, Nick Reid, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Purva Yardi, Allyson Mackay, Abram Wagner, Bhramar Mukherjee, Sucheta Joshi, Sujay Santra, and Priyamvada Pandey. 2017. Changing data practices for community health workers: Introducing digital data collection in West Bengal, India. In Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD '17).

Joyojeet Pal, Anandhi Viswanathan, Priyank Chandra, Anisha Nazareth, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Hariharan Subramonyam, Aditya Johri, Mark S. Ackerman, and Sile O'Modhrain. 2017. Agency in Assistive Technology Adoption: Visual Impairment and Smartphone Use in Bangalore. In Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '17).

Tawanna R. Dillahunt, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Linfeng Li, and Tanya Rosenblat. 2017. Uncovering the Values and Constraints of Real-time Ridesharing for Low-resource Populations. In Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '17).

Jasmine Hentschel, Samyukta Manjayya Sherugar, Rui Zhou, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Rajesh Chandwani, and Neha Kumar. 2017. Rice Today, Roti Tomorrow: Diets and Diabetes in Urban Indian Households. In Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '17).

Vaishnav Kameswaran, Shannon Fearday, Abir Viqar, Michelle Meade, Allyson Mackay, Pari Rajavelu, Vetri Natan, and Joyojeet Pal. 2016. Institutional Structures and Culture in Healthcare: A Comparative Case on Health Learning. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD '16).

Megh Marathe, Priyank Chandra, Vaishnav Kameswaran, Tsuyoshi Kano, and Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed. 2016. In search of missing pieces: A re-examination of trends in ICTD research. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD '16).