Sruti S Ragavan

I am an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, India. My research is in human-computer interaction, with strong overlaps with programming, information seeking and more recently machine learning. Most recently, I am interested in end-user programming (i.e., enabling non-programmers to modify and write programs), with a special focus on the constraints of the Global South.

Before this, I was a HCI researcher in the Calc Intelligence group at Microsoft Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom, where I obsessed (and still obsess) about various aspects of end-user programming (i.e., helping non-programmers program to accomplish some task).

Before joining Microsoft Research, I got my M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science advised by the awesome Margaret Burnett at Oregon State University.  Before that, I was a Senior consultant at ThoughtWorks where I helped build bespoke software for various clients, and did some tech / agile consulting. (I still strongly identify myself as a developer, btw!).

Outside of Computer Science, I have an interest in Indian history, philosophy, performing arts, mythology and textile and culinary traditions. I’m a student and teacher of Sanskrit. I’m married to Dr. Sudarshan Narayanan, a materials scientist, and fellow Sanskrit lover.