Atieh Taheri

Atieh Taheri is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII), working with Professors Jeffrey Bigham and Patrick Carrington. She holds a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UC Santa Barbara, advised by Misha Sra. Her research focuses on accessibility and assistive technologies, particularly in immersive environments like AR/VR, emphasizing participatory design involving disabled users. She has pioneered solutions such as hands-free gaming controllers and tactile feedback systems for individuals with motor impairments.

Education:

• PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering, UC Santa Barbara (2024)
• MSc in Electrical & Computer Engineering, UC Santa Barbara (2019)
• BSc in Computer Engineering, Sharif University of Technology (2011)

Research Interests: Accessibility, inclusive design, assistive technologies, AR/VR/XR, user-centered approaches, and human-computer interaction. Her work bridges assistive technology with cutting-edge interfaces, prioritizing holistic experiences that address both functional and sensory needs.

Key Contributions: Developed facial expression-based gaming controllers, tactile feedback devices (e.g., MouseClicker), and accessible conversational AI (Virtual Buddy). Her research has been recognized through awards like the UIST 2023 People's Choice Award and CHI 2021 Student Game Competition victory.

Professional Experience:

• Student Researcher at Google (2022-2023)
• Associate roles at Apple (2016-2017)
• Software Engineer Intern at Magic Leap (2015)

Service & Advocacy: Organized workshops like EC3V (CVPR 2023), served on committees for NeurIPS WiML (2019), and contributed to fundraising for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) research. She actively promotes accessibility in technology through interdisciplinary collaboration.