Hello Again!
I'm Neha - an engineer turned UXer focused on making digital products more intuitive and easy to use. I am super passionate about creating solutions at the intersection of user experience, visual craft, and product strategy.
My undergraduate degree in Computer Science gave me a strong background in software engineering and helped me understand the various stakeholders and processes involved in the development of digital products. Over the past few years, I have taken on roles throughout the product development lifecycle encompassing research, design, and implementation. I've worked as an engineer and researcher in multidisciplinary teams at Georgia Tech, Data Innovations, TechVeda, and SevenTablets Inc.
Currently, I'm pursuing my Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction at Georgia Tech and designing data-driven experiences at the intersection of technology, music, and entertainment.
In my free time, I like making playlists and telling stories through photography and film.
Scroll down to learn more about my journey and interests!
Journey to HCI
Born and raised in a small coastal city called Visakhapatnam in Southeast India, I've always been fond of hot summers and bike rides by the ocean. When I turned 11, my family moved to Burlington, Vermont where I was forced to acclimate to an entirely new way of living. While I'm not thrilled about the painfully long winters, growing up in New England and spending my formative years in Vermont made me quickly fall in love with fall, hiking, and maple lattes.
After finishing high school in VT, I moved to D.C. and started my undergraduate studies at Georgetown University as a Biochemistry major. I started college in the Fall of 2012, intending to concentrate in premed and go to medical school after graduation. During this time, I also worked as a quantitative researcher in an oncology lab, where I studied the structural and functional properties of intrinsically disordered proteins and their prevalence in cancer pathways. Although I was intrigued by research that I did, I found the lack of answers and human contact frustrating. Stuck at this mental precipice, I realized that beyond seeing and understanding what was already there, I craved to create something new.
Maintaining a love of problem-solving, I decided to pursue a double major in Computer Science. Later that year, I worked as a UI/UX Intern at SevenTablets Inc., where I began to see technology as an opportunity to apply my artistic eye to design and implement creative strategies through functional programming. This internship experience enabled me to envision a career in software engineering where I could create elegant solutions that combined my creative mind and passion for technology and life science in a purposeful way.
Upon graduating college, I worked in various software engineering roles that allowed me to build a strong, technical skillset. During this time, I worked on cross-functional teams including designers, engineers, and researchers. Interested in studying the nuances of human behavior and fueled by a desire to create solutions at the intersection of art and technology, I decided to apply to graduate programs in HCI.
Fast forward two years, I am now approaching my final semester of the Masters in HCI program at Georgia Tech, immersing myself in projects and research opportunities that have taught me how to employ qualitative and quantitative research methods and design empathetic solutions to create experiences that leave a positive impact on society.
