Kavya Rajendran

Kavya Rajendran - Photo

Kavya Rajendran is a first-year PhD student in the Human-Centered Computing program at UMBC. They successfully defended their master's thesis in December 2024. They are interested in Human-Computer Interaction through the lens of Affective Computing, Dance Movement, and Social Computing for the well-being of all people in the present and the future.

Open To Work in Summer 2026

Interested in graduate/PhD level internship roles similar to: UX Researcher, UI/UX Designer, Product Management.

Kavya Rajendran's

UX Design Projects

HCC 729 - Human-Centered Design Coursework Reflection

Reflecting on Blackboard Redesign

Fictional Redesign UI Protyping

They redesigned a fictional device (Neuralyzer) according to user analysis and task analysis to improve the functionality and aesthetic of the device within the context of use through creative problem-solving and user empathy.

HCC 613 - UI Prototyping Coursework

The Neuralyzer from MIB trilogy

Fictional Redesign UI Protyping

The actor Will Smith dressed as a Men In Black Agent holding a neuralyzer that is emitting a blinding blue light from the top of the device

They redesigned a fictional device (Neuralyzer) according to user analysis and task analysis to improve the functionality and aesthetic of the device within the context of use through creative problem-solving and user empathy.

HCC 613 - UI Prototyping

The Neuralyzer from MIB trilogy

Fictional Redesign UI Protyping

The three modalities graphics - Left to Right: First graphic is a hand writing on paper with a pen; Second graphic is a long-haired person posing like they are dancing with arms and legs stretched and bent slightly backward; Third graphic shows blue and ye

They redesigned a fictional device (Neuralyzer) according to user analysis and task analysis to improve the functionality and aesthetic of the device within the context of use through creative problem-solving and user empathy.

Kavya Rajendran's

HCC Research

They are interested to continue research in the domains of
Affective Computing and Group Work.

HCC 746 / Masters' Thesis - Affective Computing

Effects of Self-Expression Modalities on Positive and Negative Self-Reflection for Emotional Well-Being

Affective Computing Multimodal Self-Reflection

The three modalities graphics - Left to Right: First graphic is a hand writing on paper with a pen; Second graphic is a long-haired person posing like they are dancing with arms and legs stretched and bent slightly backward; Third graphic shows blue and ye

This IRB-approved research project was conducted by Kavya Rajendran and Golnaz Moharrer (PhD student) under the supervision of Dr. Andrea Kleinsmith (Associate Professor at UMBC).My master's thesis "Exploring the Effects of Self-Expression Modalities on Positive and Negative Self-Reflection Toward the Design of an Interactive Technology for Emotional Well-Being", based on this research that contributes to multimodal digital self-reflection, will be published in ProQuest in January 2026. Find the abstract link here.

HCC 760 Report - Human-Computer Interaction

Calling my Long-Distance Grandma: How can Digital Communication Technologies Support Long-Distance Intergenerational Relationships?

Older Adults Digital Communication

Calling my long-distance grandma heading - Kavya and their grandma talking on a video call

This literature review highlights the significance of digital communication technologies in safeguarding and enhancing intergenerational relationships across long distances. Existing research and systems specifically addressing the conversational needs of grandparents relating to themes of learning, storytelling, unexpected phenomena, sharing experiences or nostalgia, and cultural exchanges are discussed. Integration of storytelling and parent scaffolding are highlighted as features that need to be included in the information and communication technologies (ICTs) targeted at older adults. Future research indicates promise for thoughtfully designed, accessible information technologies overcoming physical and geographical barriers to enable meaningful intergenerational connections globally, but the optimal implementation of the same requires further study.Request access to this report by entering your email in this link.

Undergraduate Final Project

Sentiment Analysis on Movie Reviews

Machine Learning Sentiment Analysis Deep Learning

collage of words - play, time, movi, charact, store, even, watch, film, scene, one, see, look, find, think, way, make, come, love, much, show, life, end, seem, people, actor, made, well, still, world, famil, good, say, great, day

This journal paper puts forth the idea that an efficient deep learning model built using proper methodology would assist people in classifying a movie as good or bad based on the reviews it receives. Two deep learning algorithms named Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) and a variant of RNN named Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) are implemented to compare their performance on a movie review dataset and to determine which algorithm yields better accuracy. This ML project was the collaborative effort of Kavya Rajendran, , Kamalishree A , Kavya Rajendran , Priya Shrinithi R under the guidance of Khanagavalle G RFind the journal article published at IJSDR as given below:
"Sentiment Analysis on Movie Reviews", International Journal of Science & Engineering Development Research (www.ijsdr.org), ISSN:2455-2631, Vol.7, Issue 7, page no.5 - 10, July-2022, Available : http://www.ijsdr.org/papers/IJSDR2207002.pdf

Kavya Rajendran is a:

PhD Student

HCC Researcher

They returned to UMBC to pursue a doctorate degree in Human-Centered Computing after successfully defending their master's thesis.

They are collaborating with Dr. Andrea Kleinsmith and Golnaz Moharrer to contribute towards Human-Computer Interaction research.

Product Enthusiast

They are proficient in UX Design - Visual Design and User Experience Research through their education and design case studies/projects.

When you can’t find them designing or coding, they would probably be listening to music or daydreaming and ideating a fictional world in the digital space.

They finished their Master's in Human-Centered Computing at UMBC after obtaining their Bachelor's in Computer Science Engineering from SVCE.

When you can’t find them designing or coding, they would probably be listening to music or daydreaming and ideating a fictional world in the digital space.