Tawanna Dillahunt facts for kids

Tawanna Dillahunt is an American computer scientist and information scientist. She works at the University of Michigan School of Information. Dr. Dillahunt leads a special group called the Social Innovations Group. This group creates and improves technology to help solve real-world problems. Her important research has been mentioned over 4,600 times by other scientists.

Early Life and Education

Tawanna Dillahunt was born in North Carolina, United States. She loved learning about computers from a young age. In 2000, she earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Computer Engineering. She received this degree with high honors from North Carolina State University.

She continued her studies to become an expert in her field. In 2005, she earned her Master of Science (MS) degree from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology. Later, she earned another MS degree in 2011 from Carnegie Mellon University. She completed her highest degree, a PhD, also from Carnegie Mellon University, in 2012.

After finishing her education, Dr. Dillahunt joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 2013. She became a professor at the University of Michigan School of Information.

Career and Research Focus

Dr. Dillahunt is a leader in a field called human-computer interaction. This field studies how people use and interact with computers and technology. She also works on pervasive computing, which means technology that is everywhere around us. Her work also includes social computing, which looks at how technology helps people work together.

She has received many important awards for her work. One of these is the Inaugural Skip Ellis Early Career Award. This award comes from the Computing Research Association. She also received the Fran Allen IBM PhD Fellowship and the Richard Tapia Scholarship. The National Academy of Sciences recognized her as a Kavli Fellow.

Designing Technology for Communities

Dr. Dillahunt is well-known for creating and testing new technologies. These technologies help people with important issues. For example, she designs tools to help people find jobs. She also works on ways to make our environment more sustainable. This means using resources wisely to protect the planet.

Another area of her work is technical literacy. This helps people learn how to use technology better. She has received many grants from the National Science Foundation to support her research. These grants help fund her important projects.

Helping Underserved Communities

Recently, Dr. Dillahunt received a grant to study transportation problems. She is looking at how people in certain areas of Michigan get around. These areas include both cities and rural places where people might not have many options. Her goal is to find ways to make transportation easier for everyone.

She has also developed many technology tools. These tools help find better ways to connect people who might be overlooked with job opportunities. She is also connected with the Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program. This program is at the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Currently, she is an associate professor at the University of Michigan's School of Information. She also works in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department.

Selected Works

Dr. Dillahunt has written many important research papers. These papers share her findings with other scientists. Here are a few examples of her work:

• Froehlich, J., Dillahunt, T., and others. (2009). UbiGreen: investigating a mobile tool for tracking and supporting green transportation habits. This paper looked at a mobile app that helped people track their eco-friendly travel.
• Dillahunt, T. R., & Malone, A. R. (2015). The promise of the sharing economy among disadvantaged communities. This research explored how sharing services could help communities that face economic challenges.
• Dillahunt, T. R. (2014). Fostering social capital in economically distressed communities. This paper discussed how to build stronger community connections using technology.
• Dillahunt, T., Wang, Z., & Teasley, S. D. (2014). Democratizing higher education: Exploring MOOC use among those who cannot afford a formal education. This work studied how online courses (MOOCs) could help people get an education even if they couldn't afford college.