Palashi Vaghela

Palashi Vaghela is an Assistant Professor at the School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University and holds the Canada Research Chair in Technological Inclusion. She earned her Ph.D. in Information Science from Cornell University and was previously a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on the intersections of information science, science and technology studies, and feminist studies, with a particular emphasis on power relations, inequities, and socio-technical practices in the field of computing. Employing ethnography and historical analysis, she investigates issues of labor, culture, and values in the computing industry, with a specific interest in caste and gender relations within the Indian computing sector. Her work aims to challenge normative narratives within the world of technology and to advocate for caste-oppositional technological futures.

• 2025-Present·Simon Fraser University·Assistant Professor
  • Researching technological inclusion and socio-technical practices, serving as Canada Research Chair.
• 2020-2025·University of California, San Diego·Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Focused on communication studies, analyzing the relationship between technology and society.

• 2015-2020·Cornell University·Ph.D. (Information Science)
  • Researched the intersection of science and technology studies, with a focus on caste and gender relations.
• 2010-2014·DA-IICT, India·B.Tech. (Information and Communication Technology)
  • Focused on the fundamentals of computer science and information technology.