Venkatesh Potluri

Venkatesh Potluri is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. His research focuses on exploring the accessibility challenges faced by blind and visually impaired (BVI) populations in their use of technology through qualitative, data-driven, and ethnographic methods. He is dedicated to contributing datasets and improvements to real-world systems—for instance, his development of the CodeWalk feature has been integrated into Microsoft's VS Code LiveShare, enabling BVI developers to collaborate seamlessly with sighted developers. He has been honored as an Apple Scholar and Google Lime Scholar and continues to make significant contributions in areas such as accessible developer tools, accessibility of computational notebooks, and the impact of generative AI on people with disabilities.

• Present·University of Michigan, School of Information·Assistant Professor
  • Leads a research group focused on accessibility technologies, human-computer interaction, developer tools, and artificial intelligence, exploring the impact of technologies like generative AI on individuals with disabilities and developing real-world accessibility solutions.
• July 2017 - July 2018·Microsoft Research India·Researcher
  • Worked as a researcher at Microsoft Research India, focusing on projects such as CodeTalk (improving the accessibility of IDEs for blind developers) and CodeScape (enhancing developer productivity using spatial audio UI).
• January 2017 - May 2017·Microsoft Research India·Research Intern
  • Contributed to the development of the CodeTalk project, a Visual Studio plugin designed to improve the accessibility of integrated development environments (IDEs) for blind developers.
• March 2016 - December 2016·Microsoft India R&D Ltd.·Consultant
  • Oversaw accessibility efforts for Microsoft's Office Android applications, including prioritizing features, designing experiences, engineering implementations, and testing. Proposed and prototyped a voice input-powered solution for simplifying navigation in Word.

• 2018 - Present·University of Washington·PhD Student
  • Computer Science and Engineering, under the guidance of Professor Jennifer Mankoff.
• 2010 - 2015·International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad·Dual Degree (Bachelor's and Research Master's)
  • Computer Science and Engineering, with a thesis on audio rendering of mathematical content.
• 2008 - 2010·P. Obul Reddy Public School·High School