Human-Centered Computing (HCC)
School of Interactive Computing
Georgia Tech 🐝
I'm a fifth-year PhD candidate in Human-Centered Computing (HCC) at Georgia Tech. My research interests are across HCI, Human-Centered AI, Conversational AI Design, Ubiquitous Computing, and Health. I work on the design and evaluation of AI systems in assistive social environments, currently focusing on supporting aging-in-place for older adults and their caregivers.
I'm particularly interested in the design of explanations in such systems, and in studying how people perceive and respond to AI explanations that contain contextual cues about their environment (e.g., data from sensors, smart devices, or conversational history). To inform my work, I primarily use behavioral and usability studies, research through design methods, and longitudinal field deployments of interactive systems. My research is part of an ongoing cross-institutional collaboration between Georgia Tech (Atlanta), Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh), and Northeastern University (Boston).
My doctoral advisors are Dr. Beth Mynatt and Dr. Sonia Chernova in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech, and I also work with Dr. Agata Rozga at Georgia Tech. Currently, I am also working as a Visiting Researcher at the Conversational Human-AI Interfaces Lab (CHAI Lab) at Northeastern University, collaborating with Dr. Smit Desai on studying explanatory personalities for LLM-based Conversational AI systems.
Over the years, my research has been generously supported by Emory Healthcare's Brain Health Center, NSF AI Institute for Collaborative Assistance and Responsive Interaction for Networked Groups (AI-CARING) and the George Family Foundation Fellowship for Innovation in Health Systems. My work has been published at ACM CHI, CSCW, ASSETS, GROUP, and UCAml, and has won a 🏆 best paper award at ACM ASSETS and a 🏆 best poster award at ACM GROUP. I am also a 🏆 Foley Scholar Award Finalist (the highest award for student excellence in research contributions to computing at Georgia Tech).
I'm currently on the job market for Postdoctoral, Tenure-track Faculty, and Industry Research positions.
Update! ✨
I passed my dissertation proposal in May 2025 and officially became a PhD Candidate! My PhD dissertation is titled "Designing Human-Centered Explanations in LLM-Based Conversational AI Systems for Aging-in-Place". I'm fortunate to have a wonderful group of advisors and committee members, including Dr. Thomas Ploetz, Dr. Mark Riedl (Georgia Tech), Dr. James Landay (Stanford University), and Dr. Jodi Forlizzi (Carnegie Mellon University).
Prior to the PhD, I completed my Master's in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) at Georgia Tech (2019-2021), and Bachelor's in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at VIT Vellore, India (2015-2019).
2025
October 2025: I will be attending the Summit for AI Institutes Leadership (SAIL) 2025 as a Graduate Student Representative (GSR) from AICARING in Reston, Virginia. SAIL is the primary venue that brings together researchers and staff across 29 NSF-funded AI Institutes. Looking forward!
September 2025: I was selected as a Foley Scholar Award finalist for 2025-2026! The Foley Scholars award is the highest departmental award for research excellence at Georgia Tech. 🎉
June 2025: I attended the Human-Computer Interaction Consortium (HCIC) in Lake Lawn, Wisconsin, and presented my work on Building Context into AI Explanations.
May 2025: I passed my PhD proposal at Georgia Tech and officially became a PhD Candidate! Fortunate to have a fantastic set of advisors and committee members. 🎉
April 2025: Our one-day, hybrid workshop on Technology-Mediated Caregiving for Older Adults Aging in Place at CHI’25 in Japan was a success! We had 42 attendees from 11 countries join us in Japan for an insightful day of paper talks, pressing discussions, and collaborative design activities. 🎉
January 2025: I presented a work-in-progress poster at GROUP’25 in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and won the Best Poster Award! 🏆
2024
November 2024: Our workshop proposal was accepted to CHI’25. I’ll be working with 10 co-organizers across 7 global institutions to host this workshop in Yokohama, Japan. More to come soon! 🌸
October 2024: I attended the AAAI Aging-in-Place Symposium in Arlington, Virginia.
August 2024: I was selected to represent School of Interactive Computing (IC) on Georgia Tech College of Computing’s Graduate Student Advisory Council (GSAC).
July 2024: I gave a talk on LLMs for Older Adults at GT OMSCS 8001: LLMs, hosted by Rachel Lowy.
April 2024: I presented our work on contextual AI explanations at the Human-Centered Explainable AI (HCXAI) workshop at CHI’24 in Honolulu, Hawaii. 🦋
March 2024: I gave a talk on Conversational AI Design in Multi-User Caregiving Settings at the RCHI Lab at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), hosted by Dr. Zachory Erickson.
January 2024: I collaborated with researchers at Columbia University Medical School and Stevens Institute of Technology to write about the use of Artificial Intelligence in the determination of clinical outcomes for anesthesia. Journal paper here.
Past years
November 2023: I presented two of our works on explanations and conversational breakdowns in AI systems and on studying compensatory calendaring and archival strategies at UCAml'23 in Cancun. Paper here and here.
October 2023: I presented our work on recognizing limitations in Conversational AI systems at CSCW'23 in Minneapolis. Paper here.
April 2023: I passed the PhD Qualification Exam at Georgia Tech. 🎉
October 2022: I presented our work on Conversational AI assistants for medication management at ASSETS'22 in Athens, Greece, and won the Best Paper Award! 🏆 . Paper here.
Publications
For the most updated list of my publications and writings, please see my Google Scholar profile, or my CV here.
Conferences and Journal Papers
11. "The Only Thing Certain About This is Uncertainty”: Exploring Informal Care Coordination Practices Among Older Adults with MCI.
Josey Benandi*, Niharika Mathur*, Agata Rozga, Sangha Park and Elizabeth D. Mynatt
Under Review at the ACM CSCW 2026.
10. "It feels like hard work trying to talk to it”: Understanding Older Adults’ Experiences of Encountering and Repairing Conversational Breakdowns with AI Systems.
Niharika Mathur, Tamara Zubatiy, and Elizabeth D. Mynatt
Under Review at the ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing.
9. "Why did you say that?": Recommendations for Understanding Explainability in Conversational AI systems for Older Adults with MCI.
Niharika Mathur, Tamara Zubatiy, Agata Rozga, Elizabeth D. Mynatt
International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence, UCAmI 2023. [paper]
8. “I don’t know how to help with that” - Learning from Limitations of Modern Conversational Agent Systems.
Tamara Zubatiy, Niharika Mathur, Larry Heck, Kayci Vickers, Agata Rozga, Elizabeth D. Mynatt
ACM Conference On Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing, CSCW 2023. [paper]
7. A Collaborative Approach to Support Medication Management in Older Adults with MCI Using Conversational Assistants (CAs).
Niharika Mathur, Kunal Dhodapkar, Tamara Zubatiy, Jiachen Li, Brian D. Jones, Elizabeth D. Mynatt
ACM Conference on Computers and Accessibility, ASSETS 2022. [paper]
6. Empowering Dyads of Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment And Their Care Partners Using Conversational Agents.
Tamara Zubatiy, Kayci L. Vickers, Niharika Mathur, Elizabeth D. Mynatt
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2021. [paper]
Workshops and Extended Abstracts
5. [Lead organizer] Technology Mediated Caregiving for Older Adults Aging in Place.
Niharika Mathur, Elizabeth Mynatt, Alisha Pradhan, Masatomo Kobayashi, Katie Seaborn, Jenny Waycott, Tamara Zubatiy, John Vines, John Rudnik, Agata Rozga, Erin Buehler
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2025 Workshop. [workshop website] [workshop proposal]
4. A Research Through Design Study on AI Explanations for Collaborative Everyday Tasks for Older Adults Aging in Place.
Niharika Mathur, Tamara Zubatiy, Elizabeth D. Mynatt
ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work, GROUP Companion 2025. [paper]
🏆 [Best Poster Award]
3. [Co-organizer] Workshop on Design for Tactile and Embodied Learning.
Abigale Stangl, Niharika Mathur, and Yasmine Belghith.
At The School of Design, Georgia Tech 2025.
2. Categorizing Sources of Information for Explanations in Conversational AI Systems in the Home for Older Adults Aging in Place.
Niharika Mathur, Elizabeth D. Mynatt
ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2024 Workshop on Human-Centered Explainable AI (HCXAI). [paper]
Book Chapters
1. Sentiment analysis of the #MeToo movement using neutrosophy: Application of single-valued neutrosophic sets.
Ilanthenral Kandasamy, W.B. Vasantha, Niharika Mathur, Mayank Bisht, Florentin Smarandache
Optimization Theory Based on Neutrosophic and Plithogenic Sets 2020. [paper]