- Responsive Environments
Snehalkumar 'Neil' S. Gaikwad
Biography
Neil Gaikwad received his PhD in Society-Centered AI from MIT. After the MIT Media Lab, he joined as an Assistant Professor in Data Science and Computer Science at UNC Chapel Hill, where he also serves on the Faculty Advisory Council of the UNC Parr Center for Ethics and is a Fellow at the MIT Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values. He is an alumnus of Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science.
Neil's research advances socially responsible design of AI systems and policy through computational approaches that align human values and ethical principles for equitable decision-making in high-stakes settings. This work has been featured in leading AI and HCI conferences as well as The New York Times, Bloomberg, WIRED, and the United Nations. He is an alumnus of Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science.
Neil has been recognized with the Facebook Research Fellowship, Human Rights & Technology Fellowship, Rising Star recognition from Stanford University and the University of Chicago, and MIT's highest student honor - the Karl Taylor Compton Prize and Graduate Teaching Award. As a dedicated educator and mentor, he has guided over 30 students to publish influential papers, secure competitive fellowships, and shape AI fairness policy, while teaching at Carnegie Mellon, MIT EECS, MIT IDSS, and the MIT Media Lab.
Selected Awards and Honors
Leadership
- Karl Taylor Compton Prize, 2019, MIT's Highest Student Award
Research and Innovation
- Facebook Research Fellowship, 2019
- Rising Star in Stanford Management Science and Engineering, 2024
- PKG Fellowship for Public Interest Tech and Social Impact, 2024
- Schmidt Science Fellowship MIT Nomination, 2023
- Fellow, MIT Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, 2023
- MIT Social & Ethical Responsibilities of Computing Scholar, 2023
- Rising Stars in Data Science, UChicago, 2021
- MIT William Asbjornsen Albert Memorial Science & Engg Fellowship, 2021
- MIT Human Rights & Technology Fellowship, 2021
- INK Fellow Emerging Innovator, 2019
- Best Paper Honorable Mention, UIST 2017
Teaching
- MIT GSC Graduate Teaching Award, 2018
- MIT Kaufman Teaching Certificate, 2017
- Teaching Fellow MIT EECS Comm Lab, 2020
Professional Service
- EAAMO 2021, Program Committee, Best Reviewers
- CHI 2020 and CHI 2019 Special Recognition, Outstanding Reviews
- IJCAI 2018, Distinguished PC
Arts
- MIT Arts Scholars
- National Geographic Photo of the Day