Hello, I'm DJ!

I am an Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, also affiliated with the School of Information and Michigan Medicine. My research intersects HCI and AI, with a focus on developing interactive systems for accessibility and healthcare applications. I explore topics such as human-AI systems to enhance environmental awareness, AR/VR toolkits for accessibility, and technologies to improve communication and hearing health such as speech recognition systems and hearing devices. For more information, visit my lab page.

I am a member of the AHA, CDHW, e-HAIL, and Precision Health groups at the University of Michigan, and I direct the Soundability lab. We are actively recruiting PhD students and postdocs supported by generous funding from NIH, Google, William Demant Foundation, Oberkotter Foundation, and Michigan Medicine. See our posting for specific recruitment areas.

I completed my PhD at the University of Washington and MS at the MIT Media Lab. I have also worked at Microsoft Research, Google, and Apple. In 2023, I received the SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award.

I teach Accessible Computing, Audio AI, and User Interface Design to undergraduate students, as well as Advanced Accessibility and Human Computer Interaction to graduate students. Additionally, I organize studio-style DIY workshops tailored for students with diverse educational backgrounds; to date, I have led seven global workshops in five countries. Beyond academia, I am a certified scuba instructor.

I also offer expert consultation on topics such as user research, user experience design, AI for health, and human-factors in AI systems.

See my curriculum vitae, lab website, Google Scholar page, or contact me on profdj [at] umich [dot] edu.