Hi, I’m Areen Khalaila
I research, design, and engineer solutions at the intersection of accessibility and technology.
I just completed a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, with a minor in Physics, at Brandeis University with highest honors. I was advised by Prof. Dylan Cashman as part of the BraVa lab . My senior honors thesis, titled “From Touch to Insight: Exploring Tactile Strategies and Design Guidelines for Non-Visual Graphical Perception,” explored visual perception studies with tactile representations of data for visually impaired users. Throughout my time at Brandies, I have received several awards, which you can find in my CV.
I was formerly a research intern at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. I conducted research under the guidance of Patrick Carrington and Franklin Mingzhi Li, using form factor cameras to enhance cooking experiences for visually impaired individuals.
Outside of research, I was a teaching assistant (TA) for different Computer Science courses, ranging from introductory classes to more advances ones, every semester since freshamn year. I also led both small and big classes as a head TA. I served as a mentor for first-gen students, offering them academic support.
I am always open to new opportunities and collaborations. Feel free to reach out to me via email at first name kh at brandeis dot edu or on LinkedIn. Check out my GitHub.
Featured Projects
BackTrack
BackTrack is a privacy-focused app that lets you effortlessly identify which Instagram users aren’t following you back, using locally uploaded JSON data without needing your login credentials.
StreetScape
StreetScape promotes inclusive education by allowing sighted and visually-impaired children to utilize tactile learning tools and foster spatial awareness through interactive, accessible street puzzles.
Virtual Date Dinner
Designed a Virtual Dinner Date web application using React and CSS3 for a responsive, interactive user experience. Features include a dynamic date scheduling interface with react-datepicker.
Brandeis Sport Complex
Crafted an interactive web application for the Brandeis Sports Complex, facilitating seamless member interaction through event postings, and dynamic API integration for event update.
Latest News
- 🗞️ Officially a Brandeis alum! Earned my B.Sc. in Computer Science with a minor in Physics — and graduated summa cum laude.
- 🗞️ I was honored to receive The Jacques Cohen Award, one of the three departmental awards given to undergraduates.
- 🗞️ Our StreetScape paper got accepted at CHI LBW
- 🗞️ Thrilled to announce that I have received a Conference Presentation Award and a Senior Thesis Award from the Provost’s Undergraduate Research Fund
- 🗞️ I will be a student volunteer at ASSETS this year!
- 🗞️ Just finished my REU at CMU and said goodbye to my lovely mentors and friends
- 🗞️ Submitted a poster to IEEE VIS 2024 and it got accepted
- 🗞️ Presented my Tactile Graphics research project at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Collaborations Symposium at Brandeis University
- 🗞️ I got accepted to the CMU HCII REU
- 🗞️ Got accepted to the Sparks Startups Program for innovation
- 🗞️ Started Head TAing COSI 12B - Java OOP at Brandeis
- 🗞️ Started TAing COSI 131A - Operating System at Brandeis
Pieces of My Life
