Kartik Sawhney

kartiks2@stanford.edu | 510-766-3419

About Me

I am a software engineer at Microsoft on the Cortana team within AI and Research division. I graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science, focusing on artificial intelligence and human computer interaction. My interests lie in the intersection of technology and business, and I enjoy machine learning, natural language processing, data mining, universal design, accessibility and assistive technologies. My past experience includes internships at IBM Research, Microsoft and Uber, as well as research experience with Stanford HCI group.

I am passionate about using technology to bring about positive change, and have worked on several projects and initiatives over the years to empower people with disabilities. I founded project STEMAccess in 2013 that provides resources, support and mentorship for blind math and science students in India. Recently, in 2017, I alongwith some other blind math and science students in India launched I-Stem that expands on this work, focusing on advocacy and research to enhance STEM accessibility. In 2016, I also co-founded an award-winning social venture NextBillion.org, a mentorship program for students with disabilities interested in tech. So far, we have completed over 85 mentorships across 10 countries.

In recognition of my technical skills and social initiatives, I've been honored with several national and international awards and scholarship including the Queen's Young Leaders Award 2016 presented by Her Majesty the Queen (60 young leaders from across 53 commonwealth countries), Dalai Lama Fellowship, Google Lime Scholarship (for excellence in CS), Lime Connect Fellowship (20 students from across the US), National Child Award for Exceptional Achievements (India's highest honor for young achievers), among others. As a member of UNICEF's Youth Council, I also work closely with the UN, sharing my views at several international conferences (including the 70th session of UN General Assembly), besides being recognized as a UNICEF Digital Champion and being elected to the Expert Panel on Technology and Education by the UN Special Envoy on Global Education.

Professional Resume

Select Projects

• Community detection using graph structure and semantic understanding of text
• Extracting kinetic features from wearable tech for clinical symptoms of Parkinsons Disease
• Exploring convolutional neural networks for automatic image colorization
• The Effect of Speech Disfluencies on Turn-Taking
• Using Language to Predict Kickstarter Success
• Engineering Empathy-a VR experience for mental health sensitization (requires Google cardboard and our tactile device for most effective experience)
  Final report
• Sonification utility for conveying graphical information to the blind

Papers, essays and articles

• All Onboard: The Effects of Voice Communication on Online Collaboration (honorable mention in HCI research project competition at Stanford)
• Realizing limitless possibilities: Technology empowers people with disabilities (published by UNICEF)
• End the 'book famine' with better technology, attitudes and copyright law (published by UNICEF)
• Evaluating STEM Accessibility for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Reassessing Impact: Implications of Technological Advancement in Developing Countries
• Tracing the Portrayal of Disability in India Cinema

Recent blogs and stories

• The Journey of a Blind Student from India to Stanford published by IvyPlus Network
• Student Who Proved Doubters Wrong is Ready to "Make a Difference" as Microsoft Intern published by Microsoft Jobs
• Technology: transforming the lives of children with disabilities published by UNICEF East Asia and Pacific
• Fighting for ICTs to be accessible for all published by International Telecommunications Union
• My visit to New York published by Leonard Cheshire Disability
• A blog on the historic Marikesh Treaty for the blind and its implications published by Project Eyeway

In press:

• From Delhi to Stanford: Visually-Impaired Student Taps Altruism to Launch His Social Enterprise (Forbes)
• Two Indians among Queen's Young Leaders (Hindustan Times)
• Eight most inspiring Indian success stories that prove nothing is impossible | IBN Live
• Denied by IIT JEE, Blind Topper Kartik Sawhney Opts for Stanford | Indiatimes
• Kartik Sawhney, Blind Indian Teen, Beats Discriminatory Education System | Huffington Post
• Kartik Sawhney | DAISY Consortium
• Light at the End of the Tunnel | The Hindu

Audio and video:

• Kartik on NPR
• Kartik at the celebrations of international day of persons with disabilities at UN headquarters
• Kartik sharing his experiences on a student panel at Stanford (ENGR110-210, Winter 2016) (starts at 35:20)
• Kartik at LIFE 2014 organized by the Global Education and Leadership Foundation
• Kartik on a pannel at UNICEF's Activate Talks titled "Youth with Disabilities and Innovation; Making the World Inclusive for All" at UNICEF headquarters, NYC (speech starts at 5:19)
• Kartik in conversation at NRI Samay (Los Angeles radio)
• Kartik at Anaahat 2013 (National South-Asian A Cappella Competition at UC Berkeley) (starts at 7:03)
• Kartik in Nazar Ya Nazariya (a television show in India)
• A short clip on UNICEF's State of the World Children's Report featuring Kartik
• One of the several television interviews after declaration of grade 12 results
• An audio program by Score Foundation featuring Kartik

Useful Resources for blind students:

• I-Stem
• Access2Science for blind students
• Accessible log table

Copyright (©) 2018 Kartik Sawhney.