Presenter

Pallabi Bhowmick, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Human Factors and Aging Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, working with Prof. Wendy Rogers. Her research focuses on designing and evaluating emerging technologies – such as virtual reality and robotics – to support independent living, cognitive engagement, and social connection among older adults in the US. She is particularly interested in how virtual reality can be used to foster cognitive stimulation and social engagement, as well as how robotic technologies can support daily activities and interactions to improve independence and autonomy, as part of multi-site projects including the NIA-funded CREATE consortium and the NIDILRR-funded TechSAge RERC respectively. She uses user-centered design, mixed-methods evaluation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration involving health, engineering, and social science perspectives to improve technology accessibility and adoption. Pallabi holds a Ph.D. in Health Informatics from Indiana University Bloomington, where she investigated how technology can reduce social isolation and promote aging in place. Her academic background also includes an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Engineering from India, an M.S. in Informatics from the Technical University of Munich, Germany, along with a couple of years of software development experience at Wipro and Intel. She is passionate about translating academic insights into practical, user-centered solutions that have a meaningful societal impact.