Tawanna Dillahunt
Tawanna Dillahunt
Associate Professor, School of Information (UMSI), University of Michigan
Associate Professor (courtesy appointment), Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), University of Michigan
Visiting Associate Professor 2023-2024
Professor Catherine D’Ignazio and Professor Fotini Christia, Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP)
Bio
Tawanna Dillahunt is an Associate Professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Information (UMSI) and holds a courtesy appointment with the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) department. Before starting as an Assistant Professor, she was a 2013-14 Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in UMSI. She also leads the Social Innovations Group at UMSI and is a member of the Michigan ICTD [Information and Communication Technologies and Development] and Michigan Interactive and Social Computing (MISC) groups. Her research spans Human-Computer Interaction and Ubiquitous Computing fields. Dillahunt works at the intersection of human-computer interaction; environmental, economic, and social sustainability; and equity.
With the narrowing of the digital divide and the ubiquity of smart devices and mobile hotspots in common places in the U.S. (e.g., libraries, community centers, and even McDonald’s), Dillahunt sees an urgent need to explore the use of these technologies for those who stand the most to gain from these resources. She and her research team investigate, design, build, enhance, and deploy innovative technologies that solve real-world problems to support the needs of people from historically-excluded groups. The team has 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.
Dillahunt holds MS and PhD degrees in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University, an MS 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 BS in Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University. She was also a software engineer at Intel Corporation for several years. Most recently, Dillahunt was a 2022-2023 William Bentinck-Smith Fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.
Recent Publications
Lu, A.J., Sannon, S., Moy, C., Brewer, S., Green, J., Jackson, K.N., Reeder, D., Wafer, C., Ackerman, M.S. and Dillahunt, T.R., 2023. Shifting from Surveillance-as-Safety to Safety-through-Noticing: A Photovoice Study with Eastside Detroit Residents. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’23), ACM, New York, NY, USA, April 23–28, 2023 [Acceptance Rate: 28.39%](pdf) https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3581474
Dillahunt, T.R.*, Sawwan, M*., Wood, D., Wimer, B.L., Conrado, A.M. Eihcer-Miller, H., Gura, A.Z., Metoyer, R. Understanding Food Planning Strategies of Food Insecure Populations: Implications for Food-Agentic Technologies. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’23), ACM, New York, NY, USA, April 23–28, 2023 [Acceptance Rate: 28.39%](pdf) *Equal contribution
Antonio, M.G., Williamson, A, Kameswaran, V, Beals, A, Ankrah, R, Goulet, S., Wang, I., Macias, G., James-Gist, J., Brown, L.K., Davis, S., Pillai, S., Buis. L. Dillahunt, T., Veinot, T.C. Targeting patients’ cognitive load for telehealth video visits through student-delivered helping sessions at a United States Federally Qualified Health Center: An equity-focused mixed methods pilot intervention study. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 01/12/2022:42586 https://doi.org/10.2196/42586 [Open Access]; [Published January 2, 2023].
Veinot T.C., Clarke P.J., Romero D.M., Buis L.R., Dillahunt T.R., Vydiswaran V.V.G., Beals A., Brown L., Richards O., Williamson A., Antonio M.G. Equitable Research PRAXIS: A Framework for Health Informatics Methods. Yearb Med Inform. 2022 Aug;31(1):307-316. [Open Access] https://doi: 10.1055/s-0042-1742542. Epub 2022 Dec 4. PMID: 36463889.
Lu, A.J., Gilhool, A., Hsiao, J.C.Y., and Dillahunt, T.R. 2022. Emotional Labor in Everyday Resilience: Class-based Experiences of Navigating Unemployment Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in the U.S. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 6, CSCW2, Article 388 (November 2022), 27 pages. https: //doi.org/10.1145/3555113
Dillahunt, T.R., Rodrigues, L.C., Hsiao, J.C.Y., Cherubini, M. Self-regulation and Autonomy in the Job Search: Key Factors to Support Job Search Among Swiss Job Seekers, Interacting with Computers, 2022; iwac008, https://doi.org/10.1093/iwc/iwac008
Dillahunt, T.R., Maestre, J.F., Kameswaran, V., Poon, E., Osorio, J., Gallardo, M., Rasmussen, S.E., Shih, P.C., Bagley, A., Young, S.L.A., Veinot, T. Trust, Reciprocity, and the Role of Timebanks as Intermediaries: Design Implications for Addressing Healthcare Transportation Barriers. (2022). In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 22) (to appear) (pdf).
Dillahunt, T.R., Lu, A.J., Israni, A., Lodha, R., Brewer, S., Robinson, T.S., Wilson, A.B., Wheeler, E. The Village: Infrastructuring Community-Based Mentoring to Support Adults Experiencing Poverty. In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 22) (to appear) (pdf).
Lu, A.J., Dillahunt, T.R., Marcu, G., Ackerman, M. (2021). Data Work in Education: Enacting and Negotiating Care and Control in Teachers’ Use of Data-driven Classroom Surveillance Technology. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 5, CSCW2, Article 452 (October 2021), 26 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3479596 (pdf).
Dillahunt, T.R., Garvin, M., Held, M., Hui, J. (2021). Implications for Supporting Marginalized Job Seekers: Lessons from Employment Centers. Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact. 5, CSCW2, Article 324 (October 2021), 24 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3476065 (pdf)
Lu, Alex J., Marcu, G., Ackerman, M., Dillahunt, T.R. Coding Bias in the Use of Behavior Management Technologies: Uncovering Socio-technical Consequences of Data-driven Surveillance in Classrooms. In Proceedings of Designing Interactive Systems (DIS ’21). ACM, New York, NY, USA. [Acceptance rate: ~26%] *honorable mention* (top 5%) (pdf)
Cherubini, M., Lu, A.J., Hsiao, J.C., Zhao, M., Aggarwal, A., and Dillahunt, T.R. (2021). Elucidating Skills for Job Seekers: Insights and Critical Concerns from a Field Deployment in Switzerland. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2021 (DIS ’21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 449–465. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3461778.3462049 [Acceptance rate: ~26%] (pdf)
Dillahunt, T.R. *Israni, A., *Lu, A.J., Cai, M., Hsiao, J.C.Y. (2021). Examining the Use of Online Platforms for Employment: A Survey of US Job Seekers. In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’21) Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 562, 1–23. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445350 [Acceptance rate: 25.7%]. *-equal contribution (pdf)
Harrington, C.N., Dillahunt, T.R. (2021). Eliciting Tech Futures Among Black Young Adults: A Case Study of Remote Speculative Co-Design. In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’21). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 397, 1–15. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445723 [Acceptance rate: 25.7%]. (pdf)
Israni, A., Ellison, N.B., Dillahunt, T.R. (2021). `A Library of People’: Online Resource-Seeking in Low-Income Communities. In Proc. ACM Hum.-Comput. Interact., Vol. 5, No. CSCW1, Article 152 (April 2021), 28 pages. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3449226. (pdf).
Lu, A. and Dillahunt, T.R. (2021). Uncovering the Promises and Challenges of Social Media Use in the Low-Wage Labor Market: Insights from Employers. In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 452, 1–13. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445774 [Acceptance rate: 25.7%]. (pdf).
Maestre, J.F., Dillahunt, T.R., Theisz, A.A. Furness, M., Kameswaran, V., Veinot, T., Shih, P.C. (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). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 201, 1–17. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445086 [Acceptance rate: 25.7%]. (pdf)
Yan, X., Zhao, X., Han, Y., Van Hentenryck, P., & Dillahunt, T. (2021). Mobility-on-demand versus fixed-route transit systems: an evaluation of traveler preferences in low-income communities. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Volume 148, 2021, Pages 481-495, ISSN 0965-8564, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2021.03.019 (pdf).
Dillahunt, T.R. and Hsiao, J.C.-Y. (2021). SkillsIdentifier: A Tool to Promote Career Identity and Self-efficacy Among Underrepresented Job Seekers T. Dillahunt, C. Hsiao. 54th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2021. Proceedings of the IEEE, IEEE Computer Society Press, New York, NY (pdf). [Acceptance rate: 47%].
Dillahunt, T.R. and Hsiao, J.C.-Y. (2020). Positive Feedback and Self-reflection: Features to Support Self-efficacy among Underrepresented Job Seekers. In Proceedings of ACM Human-Computer Interaction (pdf) [Acceptance rate: 23.8%].
Hui, J., Barber, N. R., Casey, W., Cleage, S., Dolley, D. C., Worthy, F., Toyama, K., and Dillahunt T. R. (2020). Community Collectives: Low-tech Social Support for Digitally-Engaged Entrepreneurship. In Proceedings of ACM Human-Computer Interaction (pdf) [Acceptance rate: 23.8%] *honorable mention* (top 5%).