Dr. Shriya Srinivasan is an assistant professor of bioengineering at Harvard University where she directs the Harvard Biohybrid Organs and Neuroprosthetics (BIONICS) lab. She is also an accomplished Bharathanatyam dancer and choreographer. Blending her scientific and artistic expertise, Dr. Srinivasan teaches workshops on the biomechanics of dance and is engaged in research at the interface between these disciplines. At ArtLab, she worked with collaborators to examine how haptic feedback interfaces can be implemented to enhance learning and experience dance performance.
Wearable haptic interfaces have been studied in the context of motor and sensory learning and rehabilitation. These interfaces, which transmit tactile or musculotendinous information using sensations such as vibration, touch, and force feedback, are promising for applications in dance. Dr. Srinivasan and her team are investigating the capability of wearable neural interfaces to improve the learning process by providing feedback on the quality of movement. These devices may also enable viewers to become a part of art and experience a performance in a multisensory modality.
Dr. Srinivasan received her doctoral degree in medical engineering and medical physics through the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program. Her doctoral research focused on developing novel neural interfaces utilizing tissue engineering to better interface human limbs with prostheses in the context of amputation and paralysis. Dr. Srinivasan’s innovations have already touched patients through clinical translation. She has been awarded the Delsys Prize and the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize and has been recognized by Forbes and the MIT Technology Review as one of 30 innovators under 30.
The disciple of Guru Sujatha Srinivasan, Artistic Director, Shri Kalaa Mandir, Dr. Shriya Srinivasan has performed widely in the US and in India. In 2015, she co-founded the Anubhava Dance Company with Joshua George. Dr. Srinivasan’s works bring current social themes to life through the pristine form of classical Indian art. Recently, she co-choreographed Vivarta: Transformations – an original work on environmental conservation that premiered at the Cleveland Public Theatre for DanceWorks 2019; she has also created pieces focused on women’s empowerment and the possibilities for science/engineering breakthroughs to aid human disability.
Dr. Srinivasan developed the project Experiencing Dance Through Haptics during her faculty artist residency.
In November 2024, Dr. Srinivasan and the Anubhava Dance Company performed at the Harvard Art Museums. They were featured in the Harvard Gazette article, Dance the audience can feel.
Her ArtLab residency culminated in a work-in-progress public performance at ArtLab, recorded for the new NOVA series Building Stuff, viewable on YouTube: