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Tochukwu Ikwunne

Education

Postdoctoral Scholar, Northern Arizona University (2023 - 2025).
Ph.D. Computer Science, Trinity College Dublin (2019 - 2023).
M.Sc. Computer Science (Distinction), Nnamdi Azikiwe University (2014 - 2016).
B.Sc. Computer/Statistics (Second Class Upper), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (2006 – 2010).
Diploma in Computer Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (2002 - 2005).

About Tochukwu

Tochukwu Ikwunne is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of New Haven, where he works at the intersection of human-computer interaction, serious Games for Health, and Explainable AI. He is the director of C3 Lab (Culture‑Centered Computing for Care).He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin, where he researched culture-centered engagement design for mobile health technologies. His work has been recognized with multiple awards, including the ADAPT Early-Stage Researcher Award for groundbreaking contributions to digital health innovation. Tochukwu’s current research focuses on designing human-centered digital systems that promote engaging and sustainable interactions with technology. He has led projects funded by the NIH and NSF I-Corps programs, co-created health technologies with Indigenous communities, and published in top peer-reviewed venues. He remains committed to shaping a future where technology is both accessible and empowering for all.

Publications

  • Nkwo, M., Ikwunne, T., Adejoro, C., & Anuyah, O. (2025). Exploring usability of AI systems in the Global South: Toward responsible human-centered AI for sustainable cities and communities. In Usability for the World: Building Better Cities and Communities (pp. 125–165). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-88326-2_5
  • Graham, A., Ikwunne, T., & Duval, J. (2025, October). Co-designing culturally grounded mobile health games for hypertension management in Indigenous communities. In Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (pp. 1 11). https://dl.acm.org/doi/full/10.1145/3663547.3746321
  • Bamimore Akodu, R. M., Oyewale, C. T., Ikwunne, T., & Elmimouni, H. (2025, July). Cultural adaptation through digital identities: Privacy and self-expression among Sub-Saharan students in Morocco. In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Communities & Technologies (pp. 242 249).
  • Ikwunne, T., Hederman, L., & Wall, P. J. (2023). DECENT: A sociotechnical approach for developing mobile health apps in underserved settings. DIGITAL HEALTH, 9. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076231203595
  • Ikwunne, T., Hederman, L., & Wall, P. J. (2023). A mobile health design process to improve engagement with mobile health. In Proceedings of the 17th MultiConference on Computer Science and Information Systems (MCCSIS), Porto, Portugal (July 15 - 18). https://www.iadisportal.org/digital-library/a-mobile-health-design-process-toimprove-community-health-workers-engagement-with-mobile-health
  • Ikwunne, T., Hederman, L., & Wall, P. J. (2022). Co-creating digital health services: Activity theory and communicative ecology framework analysis. In 8th International Workshop on Socio-Technical Perspectives in IS Development (CEUR-WS Vol. 3239). http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-3239/paper7.pdf
  • Ikwunne, T., Hederman, L., & Wall, P. J. (2022). The DECENT toolkit to support design of user engagement of mobile health technologies from a practice theory perspective. In International Working Conference on Transfer and Diffusion of IT (pp. 94–104). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-18344-7_20
  • Ikwunne, T., Hederman, L., & Wall, P. J. (2022). Mobile health: A systematic review. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications (IJACSA), 13(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2022.0130235
  • Ikwunne, T., Adigwe, W., Nnamene, C., Ogwara, N., Okemiri, H., & Emenike, C. (2021). Design and implementation of a collaborative management system for effective service delivery. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications (IJACSA), 12(10). http://dx.doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2021.0121041
  • Ikwunne, T., Hederman, L., & Wall, P. J. (2021). Designing mobile health for user engagement: The importance of socio-technical approaches. arXiv preprint arXiv:2108.09786.
  • Ikwunne, T., & Hederman, L. (2021). ICT and the environment: Strategies to tackle environmental challenges in Nigeria. In Advances in Computer Vision and Computational Biology (pp. 497–507). Springer, Cham.
  • Ikwunne, T., Hederman, L., & Wall, P. J. (2020, July). Understanding user engagement in ICT for development: An exploratory study. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 710 - 721). Springer, Cham.
  • Abubakar Kawu, A., Kahuhu Koruhama, A., Ikwunne, T., & Pretorius, C. (2020, October). Designing mobile technologies with rural communities in Namibia. In Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services (pp. 1 - 4).
  • Ikwunne, T. A. (2018). Evaluations of human emotional state and affective computing to support job-seekers. In Proceedings of the Second African Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Thriving Communities (pp. 1-3).
  • Ikwunne, T. A. (2017). ICT adoption and service efficiency in Nigerian hospitals. International Journal of Control and Automation, 10(8), 117-126.
  • Ikwunne, T. A., & Orji, R. (2016). Personalized persuasive messaging systems for reducing patient dissatisfaction with prolonged waiting times. In Proceedings of PERSUASIVE (PPT@PERSUASIVE) (pp. 74-82).
  • Ikwunne, T. A., & Onyesolu, M. O. (2016). Optimality test for multi-server queuing models with homogeneous servers in outpatient departments of Nigerian teaching hospitals. International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science, 8(4), 9.
  • Ikwunne, T. (2014). ICT for greener environment: A case for Nigeria. Nsukka, Nigeria: Great AP Express Publishers Ltd. https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/10703704

Honors, Distinctions & Awards

  • Principal Investigator, Pilot Project Program | Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative (SHERC PPP) Award, $100,000, NIH U54MD012388 (2024–2026)
  • Collaborator, Pilot Project Program | Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Award, $150,000, NIH U24MD015970 (2024 2025)
  • ADVANCE CRT Commemorative Plaque, SFI Centre for Research Training in Advanced Networks for Sustainable Societies (2023)
  • NSF I-Corps Micro-Grant, $3,000 Commercialization discovery for CardioCare Quest (customer discovery with physicians, Indigenous patients with hypertension, social workers, and registered nurses; supports proposed R03 studies)
  • ADAPT Recognition Award - Early-Stage Researcher, Trinity College Dublin (December 8, 2022) https://www.adaptcentre.ie/news-and-events/adapt-recognition-awards-2022/
  • Doctoral Fellowship, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) & ADVANCE CRT (2019–2023)
  • Heidelberg Laureate Forum - Young Researcher, Heidelberg, Germany (2021, 2023)
  • YALI Network Health Advocate (2018), Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI)
  • Effective Communication for Healthy Outcomes, Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) (2018)
  • ACM SIGCHI Gary Marsden Student Development Fund, AfriCHI Summer School & Conference (2018)
  • Conference Travel Funding, Center for Values in Medicine, Science and Technology (2017)
  • ACM SIGCHI Gary Marsden Student Development Fund, AfriCHI Conference (2016)
  • Senior Secondary School Award (SS1) - Best Student in Mathematics

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