International Conference on Language, Culture, Technology, and Autonomy (ICLACTA) 2025

Dr. Usree Bhattacharya serves as Associate Professor in TESOL and World Languages in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia (UGA). She holds a PhD in Education from the University of California, Berkeley, and her research bridges language education, artificial intelligence (AI), and disability studies, with a particular focus on how English literacy impacts educational opportunities across multilingual contexts.

As director of the Rett Lab@UGA, Dr. Bhattacharya leads pioneering research into language and literacy development in individuals with Rett syndrome—work inspired by her daughter’s diagnosis in 2018. The lab brings together interdisciplinary teams to examine how individuals with complex communication repertoires create meaning and engage within educational environments. This foundational research provides a springboard for Dr. Bhattacharya’s broader investigation into how AI systems shape discourses around communication, learning, and cognition, particularly in the context of significant disability.

She also actively contributes to policy and curriculum initiatives promoting responsible AI implementation in educational settings. Dr. Bhattacharya’s leadership in this area extends to service on the inaugural Executive Committee of UGA’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence and to participation in the state of Georgia’s first committee on ethical and educational AI guidance for K–12 teachers and administrators.

Her work seeks to redefine how we understand the relationship between AI, literacy, and human communication.