Education
- PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering UC Santa Barbara, 2024
- MSc in Electrical & Computer Engineering UC Santa Barbara, 2019
- BSc in Computer Engineering Sharif University of Technology, 2011
Atieh Taheri, PhD
Presidential Postdoctoral FellowI'm Atieh, a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII) at Carnegie Mellon University where I work with Professors Jeffrey Bigham and Patrick Carrington. I recently earned my PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering with Professor Misha Sra at UC Santa Barbara.
My research sits at the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction and Accessibility. I design, build, and evaluate technologies that expand physical agency for people with disabilities, exploring immersive VR interactions and intelligent systems that foster inclusive, expressive experiences.
Work Experience
- Student Researcher Google · 2022-2023 (7 months)
- Associate Apple · Summers 2016 & 2017
- Software Engineer Intern Magic Leap · Summer 2015
Publications
Research, creative work, and public scholarship.
Designing Through Lived Experience: Reflections on Control, Embodiment, and Social Bias in Accessibility Research
ASSETS '25: Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility
StepWrite: Adaptive Planning for Speech-Driven Text Generation
UIST '25: Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology
Agentic Workflows for Conversational Human-AI Interaction Design
arXiv preprint (2025)
Virtual Steps: The Experience of Walking for a Lifelong Wheelchair
User in Virtual Reality
2024 IEEE Conference Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR)
MouseClicker: Exploring Tactile and Physical Agency for People with
Hand Motor Impairments
ACM Transactions on Accessible
Computing (2024)
Virtual Buddy: Redefining Conversational AI Interactions for Individuals with Hand Motor Disabilities
UIST '23 Adjunct: Adjunct Proceedings of the 36th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology
Breaking Barriers to Creative Expression:
Co-Designing and Implementing an Accessible
Text-to-Image Interface
arXiv preprint (2023)
Design and Evaluation of a Hands-free Video Game Controller for Individuals with Motor Impairments
Frontiers in Computer Science (2021)
Exploratory Design
of a Hands-free Video Game Controller
for a Quadriplegic Individual
AHs '21: Proceedings of the Augmented Humans International Conference
Designing a First Person Shooter Game for Quadriplegics
CHI EA '21: Extended Abstracts of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
Awards & Honors
Recognitions celebrating research impact, leadership, and community building.
Awardee, OpenAI Researcher Access Grant 2025 - $5,000 API credits
Awardee, Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, Carnegie Mellon University 2024, USA
Awardee, People's Choice Best Poster at UIST 2023, USA
Winner, Student Game Competition, Innovative Interfaces, CHI 2021, USA
Awardee, GHC 2021 Student Scholarship for the Virtual Grace Hopper Celebration, USA
Awardee, Electrical & Computer Engineering Fellowship for Outstanding Academics, UC Santa Barbara, USA 2021
Recognized, Outstanding Lower-Division Italian Student, Academic Year 2019-20, UC Santa Barbara, USA 2020
Recognized, Outstanding Lower-Division Italian Student, Academic Year 2018-19, UC Santa Barbara, USA 2019
Awardee, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department Fellowship, UC Santa Barbara, USA 2014
Awardee, Fellowship of Exceptional Talents, Sharif University of Technology, Iran 2011
Ranked 2nd, Cumulative GPA among B.Sc. Students in Software Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Iran 2011
Ranked 6th, Cumulative GPA among all B.Sc. Students, Computer Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Iran 2011
Winner, Best Internship Project, Mobile Value Added Services Lab, Sharif University of Technology, Iran 2011
News & Talks
Coverage and conversations about my work and collaborations.
Virtually Accessible
HCII Researchers Ensure AR, VR Technologies Work for Everyone
Taheri: Presidential Postdoc Fellow
Atieh Taheri to join the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon
University as a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow in fall 2024
Determined to Succeed
UCSB student achieves her dreams despite spinal muscular atrophy
Speaker in the Panel Discussion at the Docker Community All
Has remote working contributed to a more diverse workplace?
