Hi! I’m a PhD candidate in computer science and communication at Northwestern University, where I’m part of the Midwest Uncertainty Collective and advised by Professor Jessica Hullman. My research is in human-computer interaction, privacy, and visualization.

I am interested in creating tools that help people reason about complex algorithms. This often involves building interfaces or designing abstractions that map algorithmic components to real-world outcomes. Specifically, I’ve spent much of the past few years creating tools that support data curators and end users (people contributing their data) reason about differential privacy, and have studied sources of conflicts in debates around the U.S. Census Bureau’s use of differential privacy.

During my PhD, I have been supported by an Advanced Cognitive Science Fellowship and a Data Science Fellowship. I have also been a visiting PhD student at Columbia University, advised by Professors Rachel Cummings, Elissa Redmiles, and Gabriel Kaptchuk, and a visiting graduate student in the Data-Driven Decision Processes program at Simons Institute, UC Berkeley. I’ve also interned at Microsoft Research, where I was mentored by Drs. Jenn Wortman Vaughan and Hanna Wallach.

During the academic year, I co-organize HCI+D’s PhD Book Club. We read books that help us think critically about technology and media. Please reach out if interested in joining!

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priyankan [at] u.northwestern.edu
@priyakalot
@priyakalot