Ankolika De

Hello! I'm Ankolika, a transdisciplinary researcher.

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at Vanderbilt University's College of Connected Computing, in the Computing + Society program. I study how people engage with and adapt to platform technologies, including but not limited to AI systems and social media. I also analyze how technological change is framed in corporate and public discourse.

I collaborate with communities to design more inclusive and accountable systems. Using methods such as interviews, focus groups, content and discourse analysis, and participatory design, I center user perspectives. My research draws from Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, Information Sciences, Sociology, Media Studies, Design, Critical Platform Studies, and Science and Technology Studies.

I hold a Ph.D. in Informatics from Pennsylvania State University and a B.S. in Computer Science with a minor in Psychology from City University of Hong Kong, where I graduated with First Class Honours. My work has been presented and published at ACM CHI, CSCW, FAccT, AIES, ICA, AOIR and in journals including New Media & Society, Platforms & Society, and Convergence.

Outside of research, I'm an avid Bharatanatyam dancer and was part of Natya, Penn State's only competitive classical dance team. I enjoy swimming, reading, cooking, and travelling. I also participate in open mic poetry, and enjoy reading, writing and listening to the same.