dishita turakhia
HCI Researcher | Computational Designer | Architect
I am currently a 5th-year Ph.D. candidate in the EECS dept. at MIT, and a Research Scientist Intern at the Meta Reality Labs. I conduct research in the field of Human-Computer Interaction in the HCIE group in MIT CSAIL, where I am advised by Prof. Stefanie Mueller.
I am currently part of the EECS Rising Stars cohort (2022-23) and a recipient of the Meta (Facebook) Ph.D. Research Fellowship (2022-24) and the MIT Edwin S. Webster Graduate Fellowship (2018). My research is supported by several grants, including the National Science Foundation (NSF Career, NSF Small) and the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative (1, 2). I am also a SERC scholar (2022) and a Grace Hopper Conference scholar (2018).
In my Ph.D., I build systems for autodidactic learning of skills, such as motor skills, fabrication skills, and maker skills. While my current work lies at the intersection of system design and learning sciences, I am also inspired to pursue interdisciplinary research in design, cognitive science, and AR/VR environments.
Before starting my Ph.D. in the Human-Computer Interaction discipline in the EECS dept. at MIT, I received a dual masters degree in the EECS dept. (MS) and the architecture dept. (SMArchS computation) at MIT in 2017, in addition to masters in design technology (EmTech) at the Architectural Association in 2011. Besides academic research, I have worked in the industry as a computational designer in London, Singapore, and Bern, and as a licensed architect in Mumbai, where I also co-led my design firm, ArchitextureBuro.
email: dishita[at]mit[dot]edu
office: 32 Vassar St, Cambridge, MA 02139 (Map)
LinkedIn | HCIE-Website | Google Scholar | TEDx Talk | Portfolio (PDF)
current research (HCI)
The Reflective Maker: Using Reflection to Support Skill-learning in Makerspaces
Identifying Game Mechanics for Integrating Fabrication Activities within Existing Digital Games
The Reflective Maker: Using Reflection to Support Skill-learning in Makerspaces
[Poster] In User Interface Software and Technology 2022 (ACM UIST ’22), Oct, 2022, Bend, Oregon, USA.
Reimagining Systems for Learning Hands-on Creative and Maker Skills
Identifying Game Mechanics for Integrating Fabrication Activities within Existing Digital Games
The Reflective Maker: Using Reflection to Support Skill-learning in Makerspaces
[Workshop] In Human Factors in Computing 2022 (ACM CHI ’22), April29-May5, 2022, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Identifying Game Mechanics for Integrating Fabrication Activities within Existing Digital Games
Identifying Game Mechanics for Integrating Fabrication Activities within Existing Digital Games
Identifying Game Mechanics for Integrating Fabrication Activities within Existing Digital Games
In Human Factors in Computing 2022 (ACM CHI ’22), April29-May5, 2022, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Designing Adaptive Tools for Motor Skill Training
Adapt2Learn: A Toolkit for Configuring the Learning Algorithm for Adaptive Physical Tools for Motor
Identifying Game Mechanics for Integrating Fabrication Activities within Existing Digital Games
[Demo] In User Interface Software and Technology 2021 (ACM UIST ’21), Oct, 2021, Virtual Event, USA.
FabO: Integrating Fabrication with a Player's Gameplay in Existing Digital Games
Adapt2Learn: A Toolkit for Configuring the Learning Algorithm for Adaptive Physical Tools for Motor
Adapt2Learn: A Toolkit for Configuring the Learning Algorithm for Adaptive Physical Tools for Motor
Adapt2Learn: A Toolkit for Configuring the Learning Algorithm for Adaptive Physical Tools for Motor
Adapt2Learn: A Toolkit for Configuring the Learning Algorithm for Adaptive Physical Tools for Motor
Adapt2Learn: A Toolkit for Configuring the Learning Algorithm for Adaptive Physical Tools for Motor
Physical Tools that Adapt their Shape based on Learner's Performance Help in Motor-Skills Training
Physical Tools that Adapt their Shape based on Learner's Performance Help in Motor-Skills Training
Physical Tools that Adapt their Shape based on Learner's Performance Help in Motor-Skills Training
PRior RESEARCH (COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN)
Thirteen Ways of Looking
Thirteen Ways of Looking
Thirteen Ways of Looking
Can creative thinking be computational? How do humans engage in creative thoughts? In this inquiry, I investigate what aspects of human intelligence enables us to be a creative society. I apply the computational framework of Shape Grammar developed by Prof. George Stiny at MIT to creative thinking for machines proposing to consider thou
Can creative thinking be computational? How do humans engage in creative thoughts? In this inquiry, I investigate what aspects of human intelligence enables us to be a creative society. I apply the computational framework of Shape Grammar developed by Prof. George Stiny at MIT to creative thinking for machines proposing to consider thoughts as shapes, ideas as spatial relations, and creative thinking as computing with shape grammar.
PDF | Project
sketchCAD
Thirteen Ways of Looking
Thirteen Ways of Looking
Architects spend 60% of their design time in drafting their conceptual sketches into CAD drawings. In this project, we use machine learning to automate the mundane parts of drafting for increased efficiency.
Minimalision
Thirteen Ways of Looking
Hand in Glove
Hand in Glove
Sketching with Machines
Hand in Glove
Using sensor based gloves to track glass blower artist's gestures during creation of an artifact
PDF | Project
Silent Game
Sketching with Machines
Sketching with Machines
Building computational models of social cognition and visual communication
PDF | Project
Sketching with Machines
Sketching with Machines
Sketching with Machines
Fabricating a 2-axis sketching tool and exploring sketching techniques
PDF | Project
Neuroscience and Spatial Cognition
Neuroscience and Spatial Cognition
Neuroscience and Spatial Cognition
Studying the neuroscience of spatial cognition in architectural design
PDF | Project
Dynamic Tensegrity Structures
Neuroscience and Spatial Cognition
Neuroscience and Spatial Cognition
Using irregular Tensegrity habitable structures in slums of Mumbai
PDF | Project
Computational Creativity
Neuroscience and Spatial Cognition
Biomimetics - Hygromorphism
Fabricating a 2-axis sketching tool and exploring sketching techniques
Project
Biomimetics - Hygromorphism
Biomimetics - Hygromorphism
Biomimetics - Hygromorphism
Biomimetic behavior material study of hygromorphism in pine-cones
Project
Urban design
Biomimetics - Hygromorphism
Urban design
Using climate analysis for the design of urban massing for city of Ningbo, China
Project
teaching
Courses
Workshops (Computational Design)
Workshops (Computational Design)
- 6.928 Leading Creative Teams, MIT |(Course Page)
- 6.810 Embedded Interactive Technology, MIT | (Course Page)
- Digital Design, KRVIA, Mumbai University
Workshops (Computational Design)
Workshops (Computational Design)
Workshops (Computational Design)
- Spatial Cognition in Design, Aalto University, Helsinki
- Para-centric I, Bhartiya Vidyapeeth University, Mumbai
- Para-centric II, Mumbai University, Mumbai
Workshops (Entrepreneurship)
Workshops (Computational Design)
Workshops (Entrepreneurship)
talks, RECOGNITION and outreach
TEDx + Podcasts
Outreach (Committees)
Conference Talks
Conference Talks
Outreach (Committees)
Conference Talks
Outreach (Committees)
Outreach (Committees)
Outreach (Committees)
- 2020, MIT Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
- 2019, MIT Graduate Women in Course 6 (GW6)
- 2019, Graduate Women at MIT (GWAMIT)
- 2019, New England Grad Women in STEM and Engineering (NEGWISE)
MIT BLOGS
Away from MIT, with a slice of MIT
My experience with MISTI Global Startup Labs | Blog Link
I had just found my new home at MIT, but a home isn't home unless there is family. And in ...
Curioser and curiouser
Why being at MIT is like being Alice in Wonderland | Blog Link
On my first day of grad school. I drank a magic potion from the fire-hose! And there I went ...
The Infinite Corridor
How the design of MIT represents its philosophy | Blog Link
“How do I get to MIT?” I asked. It was a sunny afternoon with a crisp fall breeze. I was only ...
To MIT, with Love
On the value of pursuing your dreams | Blog Link
“… you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future…”