Tawanna Dillahunt
- MIT Sponsors:
- Catherine D’Ignazio, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
- Fotini Christia, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific and religious freedom have always been in the minority… It will take such a small committed minority to work unrelentingly to win the uncommitted majority. Such a group may transform America’s greatest dilemma into her most glorious opportunity.
Background
Tawanna Dillahunt is an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Information and holds a courtesy appointment with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. She earned her PhD in human-computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon University, following a MS in human-computer interaction (Carnegie Mellon), an MS in computer science (Oregon Graduate Institute School of Science and Engineering) and a BS in computer engineering (North Carolina State University).
Interests
Dillahunt works at the intersection of human-computer interaction; environmental, economic, and social sustainability; and equity. She sees an urgent need to explore the use of smart devices and mobile hotspots for those who stand to gain the most 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.
Sample Work
Publication
Shifting from Surveillance-as-Safety to Safety-through-Noticing: A Photovoice Study with Eastside Detroit Residents.
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
Publication
Understanding Food Planning Strategies of Food Insecure Populations: Implications for Food-Agentic Technologies.
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
Publication
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.
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].
Publication
Equitable Research PRAXIS: A Framework for Health Informatics Methods
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.