*We remain open to the orientations we do not yet have language for, creating space for the emerging and the unnamed in our technological futures.
Our Philosophy | Our Team | Publications | Join Us**
<aside> 🌺
Roots remind us that meaningful change begins beneath the surface. They grow not upward toward attention, but downward toward connection, anchoring, nourishing, and sustaining what follows. At ROOT, we believe technologies should strengthen relationships rather than extract from them, cultivate sufficiency rather than accelerate consumption, and help more just and livable worlds take root and blossom.
</aside>
…How can technology be disengaged from logics of speed, scale, optimization, and efficiency? How might technology design be reoriented towards alternate post-capital, decolonial, and indigenous values? How does technology engage with and nurture underlying social, political, and ecological infrastructures?…
<aside> 🌼
Roots do not grow alone; they intertwine with soil, fungi, water, microbes, and neighboring plants, forming living networks of mutual dependence. They remind us that flourishing is never individual but relational. At ROOT, we draw inspiration from these hidden ecologies, studying how technologies can foster relationships of care, reciprocity, and collective flourishing rather than extraction and isolation.
</aside>
Dr. Vishal Sharma Principal Investigator Assistant Professor UIUC
…What would it mean to design for enough? How can technology nurture planetary care? How might technology be designed for collective use? What does digital support for communal harmony and trust entail? How can repair and maintenance be made fundamental to technology design agenda?…
<aside> 🌸
Roots grow in the opposite direction from visibility, doing the quieter work of sustaining life. Rather than focusing only on the visible artifacts of technology, at ROOT, we investigate the deeper assumptions, infrastructures, values, and relationships from which technologies emerge. Reorienting these foundations is what allows different, better technology-mediated futures to bloom.
</aside>
…How can technology design center our collective well-being? What does “responsible” design mean given the growing climate crisis? Can technology be made truly sustainable? What other, alternative ways remain hidden in mainstream technology research? What can we learn from alternate cultures?…
Dr. Anupriya Tuli Research Collaborator Postdoctoral Researcher KTH Sweden
Dr. Bonnie Nardi Founding Mentor Professor Emeritus University of California Irvine
Dr. Asra Sakeen Wani Research Collaborator Postdoctoral Researcher Carleton University
Dr. Karla Badillo-Urquiola Mentor Assistant Professor University of Notre Dame
Dr. Beatriz Palacios Abad Research Collaborator Assistant Professor Uni of New Mexico
Dr. Anjali Karol Mohan Research Collaborator Urban and Regional Planner Integrated Design, India
For a full and up-to-date list, see the Google Scholar.
2026 Practicing Community-Led Design Justice: Rethinking Participation with At-Risk Communities Nimra Ahmed, Mirjam Alexandra Weibel, Vishal Sharma, Adrian Petterson, Jasmine C Foriest, Elaine M Huang ACM DIS 2026
Beyond Extraction? Generating Games with AI, Responsibly Vishal Sharma, Eleanor Mather, Pejman Mirza-Babaei, Neha Kumar ACM DIS 2026
Whose Data Builds the City? Critical Data Practices for Socio-Environmentally Just Urbanization Vishal Sharma, Anjali Karol Mohan, Neha Kumar ACM CHI 2026
UnWEIRDing Peer Review in Human Computer Interaction Hellina Hailu Nigatu, Farhana Shahid, Vishal Sharma, Abigail Oppong, Michaelanne Thomas, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed ACM CHI 2026
ROOT Lab will be recruiting students interested in HCI, critical computing, community informatics, and responsible AI, in topics of sustainability, climate justice, more-than-human, and other critical orientations. Please see the guidelines below, and take a look at the publications to determine a fit.
Prospective PhD Students
PhD positions begin in Fall 2027.
Apply to the Ph.D. in Information Sciences at UIUC and list Dr. Vishal Sharma as a faculty advisor. More details here.
Priority Deadline for Graduate College fellowship: October 20, 2026, 10:59 p.m. CST Final Deadline: December 1, 2026, 10:59 p.m. CST.
If accepted, the program offers guaranteed financial support for five academic years (excluding summers). You can review program requirements here.
Also, email your CV to vishal [dot] sharma [at] nd [dot] edu along with a brief description of your research interests.
A wonderful piece of advice to prospective PhD applicants compiled by my friend and colleague, Dr. Azra Ismail: Unveiling the Hidden Curriculum #1 - What do PhD programs look for?
Research Assistants
Positions begins as early as Fall 2026.
Existing graduate and undergraduate students at UIUC are welcome to join as research assistants. You can apply to conduct research for credit, and a limited number of funded RA positions may be available (with priority given to senior students).
Email your CV to vishal [dot] sharma [at] nd [dot] edu along with a brief description of your research interests.
Others
Students/researchers from outside UIUC are welcome to join as research collaborators.
Funded opportunities are not available at the moment.
Email your CV to vishal [dot] sharma [at] nd [dot] edu along with a brief description of your research interests.