Raja Kushalnagar

Dr. Raja Kushalnagar is a Professor and Director of the Information Technology undergraduate program and Accessible Human-Centered Computing graduate program at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. With over fifteen years of experience in the accessible technology field and
his own experiences as a deaf individual, Raja brings a wealth of lived experience and research to the field. He focuses on strategic planning, local industry, alumni relations, and faculty support. Raja has a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Master of Laws (LLM) in Intellectual Property and Information Law from the University of Houston in 2010 and Juris Doctor (JD) from Texas Southern University in 2008.

As a Deaf professor, he brings consumers, industry, and policymakers together on accessibility issues with focus on a deaf/hard of hearing perspectives and evidence-based research. In the accessible computing field, he investigates information and communication access disparities between hearing and deaf. and advocates for laws and regulations to incorporate accessible computing advances such as automatic captioning/subtitling. He has mentored over 100 undergraduates, including over 60 who are deaf or hard of hearing. He has received over $4 million in grants and has published nearly 100 articles. Raja focuses on increasing the numbers of people with disabilities in the computing pipeline through community involvement.