Ila Kumar

Research Assistant
Groups
  • Affective Computing

Ila is a research assistant and first-year PhD student in the Affective Computing group at MIT Media Lab. Her work focuses on designing technology to support holistic well-being and collective care, especially for communities that are marginalized by mainstream tech and mental healthcare systems. 

She draws inspiration from trauma-informed and healing-centered design methodologies, as well as co-design and design justice practices.

Prior to joining Media Lab, Ila spent 3 years designing technology to improve well-being in non-profit, academic, and healthcare settings. Before this, she completed her BA in Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Archived
Project Research

Designing healing-centered technology to support foster youth

In this project, we are exploring ways to design technology that promotes healing and care for young people who have experienced foster car…
Archived
Project Research

Acuation: Real-Time Acupoint Stimulation To Mediate The Urge To Smoke

Acu.ation is an intervention that aims to mediate the urge to smoke by pairing a wearable device that delivers transcutaneous electric acup…
Archived
Project Research

Empathetic behavior training for physicians working with patients who have Opioid Use Disorder

The Affective Computing group is collaborating with Weill Cornell Medicine to build empathetic behavior in physicians working with opioid u…
Archived
Archived
Project Research

SEPTA Alerts: Improving the accessibility of public transportation in Philadelphia for people with disabilities

We designed an app that uses augmented reality to make public transit in Philadelphia more accessible for people with disabilities.The desi…
Archived