Gayatri Kawlra

Hi, I'm Gaya. I am an experienced computational social scientist specializing in the political economy of emerging technologies. I earned my PhD from Columbia University, where I am currently an adjunct assistant professor. My latest course, "Reimagine the City with Web 3.0", focuses on the transformative potential of decentralized technologies for urban governance and the ethics of data-driven governance models. Previously I taught "Urban Data and Informatics", leveraging Python for advanced quantitative analysis, spatial mapping, and data visualization. My academic contributions include multiple first-author publications and conference presentations on the ethics of synthetic populations for urban computing, mapping spatial injustice, and Web3 and the future of society.

Previously, I co-founded and managed Earth Labs, a company dedicated to making Ethereum transaction receipts accessible to non-technical users.

With over six years of experience in conducting mixed methods research and policy analysis, I have had the opportunity to work with interdisciplinary teams at institutions such as Columbia World Projects, the Center for Spatial Research, and the Rockefeller Foundation. I contributed to high-impact projects including Microsoft Research's ElectionGuard pilot, a digital identity project in Sub-Saharan Africa alongside the Oxford Internet Institute, and a digital mental health intervention trial with experts from Columbia Irving Medical Center and New York State Office of Mental Health.

I am passionate about human-centered product innovation, balancing the risks and benefits of decentralized technologies, and exploring the intersection between technology and society.