Hi, I'm Dorsa

AI & UX Researcher with over 3+ years of experience designing and evaluating culturally inclusive, multilingual digital solutions in educational and emerging technology contexts. Led UX research for AI-powered university portals, significantly improving accessibility and engagement for international student populations. Currently serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute, where I teach Extended Reality: UX & AR/VR and integrate immersive technologies into user-centered design.

Dorsa Charkhian - AI & UX Researcher
User Experience AI Education AR & VR

About Me

Passionate about the intersection of AI and human experience

I am a UX Researcher and Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute's School of Information, where I teach Extended Reality: UX & AR/VR and guide graduate students in designing immersive, inclusive, and culturally sensitive experiences.

I hold a Master's in Digital Media with a focus on User Experience and AI from Drexel University, where I led an AI-powered chatbot project that improved accessibility and engagement for international students. My research and design practice combine AI-driven design strategies, usability testing, and qualitative research to craft interactive systems that enhance both usability and empathy.

In my recent work, I've explored how immersive technologies like VR and AR can transform learning experiences—designing VR environments for fashion education and extended reality installations for museums. My goal is to bridge creativity, ethics, and emerging technology to design systems that not only function intelligently but also respond to human diversity with care and inclusivity.

AI & Human-Computer Interaction

Conversational AI VR/AR Design Cross-cultural UX Accessibility Design

UX Research & Design

User Interviews Usability Testing Design Thinking Inclusive Design

Tools & Technologies

Unity CodeSandbox A-Frame HTML CSS JavaScript ComfyUI Figma AI Platforms Miro

Resume

Professional experience in AI & UX Research

Summary

AI & UX Researcher with over 3+ years of experience designing and evaluating culturally inclusive, multilingual digital solutions in educational and emerging technology contexts. Led UX research for AI-powered university portals, significantly improving accessibility and engagement for international student populations. Currently serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute, where I teach Extended Reality: UX & AR/VR and integrate immersive technologies into user-centered design.

Experience

Aug 2025 – Present

Visiting Assistant Professor – Extended Reality: UX & AR/VR

Pratt Institute, School of Information
  • Teach INFO 680-01 Extended Reality: UX & AR/VR, a graduate course on UX principles and interaction design for immersive environments
  • Lead in-person sessions on Unity, A-Frame, XR interface design, usability testing, and AR/VR application evaluation
  • Mentor graduate students on applying UX research and design methods to extended reality projects with focus on accessibility and inclusivity
Sep 2025 – Oct 2025

UX Design and Research Fellow

Trops (Colla Netrix, Inc.)
  • Designed and researched UX for The Trops mobile app, creating event-based and community-centered features
  • Led user research, usability testing, and iterative improvements to enhance accessibility and inclusivity
  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams and reported to the CTO on design strategy
Jul 2024 – Jun 2025

UX Research Lead – AI Chatbot for Inclusive Portals

Drexel University's College of Media Arts & Design
  • Led AI-powered UX research for Drexel One chatbot, improving accessibility and achieving 80% higher satisfaction and 89% task success
  • Secured grant funding and managed a cross-functional design and development team
  • Conducted 30 user interviews and 50 A/B tests, analyzing results with Figma, Miro, and Cursor AI
Feb 2025 – Jun 2025

UX Researcher & Designer – Fashion Technology VR Initiative

The Academy of Natural Sciences
  • Designed and executed UX research for a VR fashion education experience, completing IRB certification (CITI)
  • Collected feedback from 50+ students across 3 courses through surveys and interviews
  • Increased engagement by 45% and comprehension by 50% via iterative UX testing and analysis
Sep 2023 – Jun 2025

User Experience Design Teacher Assistant

Drexel University
  • Improved UX/UI course delivery, increasing project completion by 25%
  • Led sessions and feedback workshops, enhancing student time management by 30%
  • Mentored and reviewed projects, raising design quality by 35% and engagement by 20%
Feb 2023 – Jun 2023

UX Researcher – Interactive 3D Installation

The Academy of Natural Sciences
  • Collaborated on "Plumes and Pixels", presented at ACM SIGGRAPH Asia 2024
  • Researched user flow and content structure for interactive 3D digital twin of vintage bird-of-paradise headwear
  • Boosted social media reach by 25% through Instagram content collaboration

Education

M.S. in Digital Media, User Experience & Interaction Design

Drexel University • Graduated June 2025

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Wood Design

Graduated June 2022

Skills

Research

Mixed-methods, Qualitative, Usability Testing, User Interviews, A/B Testing, Journey Mapping, Data Synthesis (3yrs)

Design & Prototyping

Figma, Miro, Photoshop, TouchDesigner, Information Architecture, Rhino (4 yrs), MatrixGold (3yrs)

Emerging Tech

AI Chatbot Design, Generative AI (ChatGPT, Cursor, DALL·E), AR/VR (Unity, A-Frame), CAD (Rhino, MatrixGold) (3yrs)

Honors & Volunteering

  • 2025 IDEA-Development, Education, and Cultivation (DEC) Teaching Micro Grant Award from the Department at Drexel University • Nov 2024
  • UX Mentorship Program, PhillyCHI
  • Chair Volunteer, UXPA International

Featured Projects

UX/UI projects showcasing AI integration, cultural design, and social impact

AI Tools for UXID

Integrating AI tools to enhance design efficiency and user experience in UXID. Focused on streamlining the design process while maintaining high-quality user-centered outcomes.

AI Integration Design Efficiency UXID

Plumes and Pixels

Acknowledged in the SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 paper "Plumes and Pixels: Bridging Digital and Traditional Art in SciArt Education." This project explores the intersection of digital and traditional art in educational contexts.

SciArt Education Digital Art SIGGRAPH Asia

SE - Sharing Excess Mobile App

Designed a mobile interface to help users find free food resources, focusing on accessibility and efficient information delivery for Sharing Excess organization.

Mobile Design Accessibility Social Impact

Supporting Parents in Childcare

UX/UI design project focused on supporting parents in childcare, combining functionality with cultural significance to create meaningful user experiences.

Parenting UX Cultural Design Family Support

Cultural UX/UI Design Projects

Four projects showcasing the ability to blend functionality with cultural significance, demonstrating expertise in culturally-sensitive design approaches.

Cultural Design UX/UI Functionality

Research & Publications

Exploring the future of AI-human interaction

My research lies at the intersection of User Experience (UX), Human-AI Interaction (HAI), and Inclusive Design, addressing two broad themes:

(1) designing AI-supported academic and public service systems that adapt to users' language proficiency, cultural expectations, and digital literacy, and

(2) developing human-centered frameworks that enhance accessibility, trust, and emotional intelligence in digital environments.

For a full list of my publications, please visit one of the platforms below:

Let's Connect

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