Research Group on Data-Driven Innovations for Human-Technology Symbiosis

Welcome to the Research Group on Data Driven Innovations for Human-Technology Symbiosis

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With the advancement of technology, we are heading towards a future where we will be interacting, coordinating, and collaborating with different forms of intelligent technology in almost every aspect of our lives. As technology (computers, machines, robots, systems, etc.) becomes more intelligent and human-like, the relationship and interaction patterns between humans and technology are expected to evolve, become interdependent, and approach symbiosis leading to Human-Technology Symbiosis. In such a future, our abilities and our machines' abilities would complement one another, allowing us to pursue goals that they nor we could achieve alone.

As outlined in a recent journal article published by Nature, the modern-day Internet of Things (IoT) could become the Internet of Bodies (IoB), enabling humans to upgrade their link with technology by wearing devices or by embedding sensors or chips in their bodies. Brain chips, like Elon Musk's Neuralink, may further improve the connection and bandwidth between humans and machines and blur the boundaries between them. There can be several such examples of Human-Technology Symbiosis. At the Research Group on Data-Driven Innovations for Human-Technology Symbiosis (DDIHTS), we explore the intersections of Big Data, Data Analysis, Human-Computer Interaction, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing to contribute towards advancing research in the areas of human-technology interactions, coordination, and collaborations for the future of Human-Technology Symbiosis.

Dr. Nirmalya Thakur is the Director of the Research Group on Data-Driven Innovations for Human-Technology Symbiosis (DDIHTS). He is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Prior to joining the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, he worked as an Assistant Teaching Professor of Computer Science at Emory University for two years. His research interests include Big Data, Data Analysis, Human-Computer Interaction, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing. He has co-authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in these fields. He completed his PhD at the University of Cincinnati, where he received numerous accolades including the Dean's Fellowship, the Distinguished Thesis Award, the Interdisciplinary Research Fellowship, the Risk Management Awareness Award, and the Engineer of the Month Award. Dr. Thakur has received research funding for his research projects in the form of multiple fellowships and grants including a grant from the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Thakur has received several awards, honors, and recognitions both at a national and international level. He has been featured on the cover page of Millennium Magazine, interviewed by IEEE TV, featured by Yahoo News, Business Insider, and multiple other news outlets for his contributions to the field of Computer Science. He received the Young Scientist of the Year Award at the 2nd International Business and Academic Excellence Awards, the Excellent Researcher of the Year Award at the 2nd International Academic and Research Excellence Awards, the Young Innovator Award at the 2nd Universal Innovators Leadership Awards, and the Best Presenter Award at the 5th International Conference on Data Science, and Information Technology. He was was recently featured in the American Scientist Magazine.To learn more about this work, please visit: www.nirmalyathakur.com

Dr. Thakur has advised and mentored several students who have co-authored papers in different international conferences and professional journals such as the Journal of Future Internet (Impact Factor 2.8), Journal of Computers (Impact Factor 2.6), Journal of Data (Impact Factor 2.2), and Journal of Computation (Impact Factor 1.9). Some of the recent conferences where his students co-authored papers include the 26th HCI International Conference (HCII 2024) in Washington, United States, the 12th International Conference on Human Interaction and Emerging Technologies (IHIET 2024) in Venice, Italy, the 25th HCI International Conference (HCII 2023) in Copenhagen, Denmark, the 5th International Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering (CSSE 2022) in Guilin, China, and the 7th International Conference on Human Interaction & Emerging Technologies: Artificial Intelligence & Future Applications (IHIET-AI 2022) in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 2022, two students from his research group received Research Fellowships to support their research projects. Please visit the publications section of this website to learn more about these incredible success stories of students in DDIHTS!

DDIHTS is actively seeking dedicated and motivated students to join our team!

PhD Position: DDIHTS has an opening for a PhD position in a research project at the intersections of Natural Language Processing (NLP), Data Science, and Deep Learning. This project will focus on detecting misinformation on different social media platforms. This PhD position is fully funded (i.e., 100% scholarship and a competitive stipend will be provided).

Master's Position: DDIHTS has an opening for an MS student to join an ongoing research project at the intersections of Data Mining, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing. This project, which could form the basis of an MS thesis, focuses on analyzing and interpreting public discourse about COVID-19 on social media platforms such as Twitter (formerly X) and YouTube.