Faculty

 

Bilge Mutlu (PhD, Carnegie Mellon University) is the director of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory and a faculty member at the Departments of Computer Sciences, Psychology, and Industrial & Systems Engineering. Professor Mutlu’s research interests fall into human-computer interaction (HCI), human-robot interaction (HRI), and computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW). His research program focuses on designing humanlike agents and robots that exploit human social and cognitive processes to deliver to people social, cognitive, and organizational benefits. Particular areas of his research applications are in communication, attention, learning, and assistance in social conditions such as brain injury and autism.

 

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Graduate Students

 

Irene Rae is a second year graduate student at the Department of Computer Sciences. She graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in Industrial Design. In the past she’s worked as a web designer, a web programmer, and a graphic designer. Her research interests include embodied-mediated communication, human robot interaction, web/interface accessibility, and graphic visualization.

 

 

 

Allison Terrell is a third year Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Sciences. She graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a double major in computer science and software engineering. Her current research interests include data visualization, information extraction, visual exploration, and knowledge discovery and data mining (KDD).

 

 

 

 

Sean Andrist is a second year graduate student in the Department of Computer Sciences. His current research interests include embodied conversational agents: combining animation principles and findings in psychology to create believable virtual agents with humanlike nonverbal behaviors.

 

 

 

 

Chien-Ming Huang is a second year Ph.D. student at the Department of Computer Sciences. His research interests include human-robot interaction, cognitive modeling, and social behavior modeling. He is currently working on a project to investigate how robots can serve effective roles in educational settings.

 

 

 

 

Daniel Szafir is a second year Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer Sciences. He completed his undergraduate work at Boston College where he received a dual degree in computer science and history. His research focuses on designing interactive agents and interfaces that can leverage neural signals such as EEG and fNIRS to adapt their behaviors to users.  His interests include brain-computer interfaces, augmented reality, and wearable robots/exoskeletons.

 

 

 

Tomislav Pejsa is a first year graduate student at the Department of Computer Sciences. He received his undergraduate degree in 2007 at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb, Croatia. He completed three years of graduate study at the same institution, and took part in several research projects in the field of embodied conversational agents. In 2011, he transferred to UW-Madison, where he is currently involved in a project that aims to study and develop effective cross-modal gaze mechanisms for embodied agents. His research interests revolve around animation techniques for virtual humans, particularly animation of communicative behaviors such as gestures, facial animation, and gaze.

 

Dee Miller is a second year PhD student in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering specializing in Human Factors & Ergonomics. She has conducted research in the area of usability engineering and cultural ergonomics. Her current research interests include human-computer interaction, cognitive ergonomics, affective engineering, patient-centered computing, and mobile and ubiquitous devices and their application in healthcare.

 

 

 

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Staff & Interns

 

Jilana Boston is a third year undergraduate majoring in Psychology with a certificate in Criminal Justice. She is currently working to develop a model of effective social behavior in an educational setting. She is also exploring the effects of using remote presence.

 

 

 

 

Brandi Hefty is a sophomore undergraduate student studying both Psychology and Spanish. She is excited to be working in the HCI laboratory under many intelligent and respectable people. She is hoping to learn the basics of being part of a lab group and running experiments in order to adopt and enhance that knowledge in her future studies.

 

 

 

 

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Alumni

 

Faisal Khan is a graduate student at the Department of Computer Sciences. His current research interests are in human-robot interaction, using machine learning and computer vision techniques for modeling human social cues and interaction, and visualization of complex, temporal data.

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Mumm is a research intern who graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from UW-Madison. He is broadly interested in the design of next generation human-computer interfaces. In particular, he is interested in the use of brain measurement devices (i.e., EEGs and fNIRS) as input devices to control and interact with computers. Jonathan is also interested in “The Media Equation” paradigm and the social-psychological aspects of human-robot interaction. He plans to pursue a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction.

 

 

Erdem Kaya is a second year graduate student at the Department of Computer Sciences. He graduated from Turkish Naval Academy with degrees in Computer Sciences and Navigation. In the past, he worked as a Navy Officer on different naval platforms including corvettes and mine hunters where he had experience with remotely operated vehicles (ROV). His research interest is computer-mediated communication and ROVs.

 

 

 

Nathalie Cheng received her B.S. in Human-Computer Interaction after working closely with Bilge Mutlu to construct it as an individual major. During her time at UW-Madison, she took lead roles in organizations such as the Campus Women’s Center and Yoni Ki Baat while interning at various companies such as Chomp and Lab126. Her academic interests lie in educational technologies, computer-mediated communication, and socioculturally conscious design.

 

 

Amy Veldre is a senior undergraduate student studying Accounting. She takes care of administrative work at the lab. She is excited to learn about how robots and virtual agents can be used in healthcare and educational settings through her work at the lab.

 

 

 

 

Yunkyung Kim is a research intern and a 4th year doctoral student at the Industrial Design department of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). She is a member of the Product and Environment System Design Research Lab and works with Professor Myung-suk Kim. She graduated with a B.S. in Industrial Design from KAIST. Her research interests are in human-robot interaction, user experience, and user-centered design research.

 

 

 

Kohei Yoshikawa is a research intern and a graduate student at the Graduate school of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Japan. He is also a member of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory and works with Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro. He graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from Osaka University. His research interests are in robotics and human-robot interaction.

 

 

 

Megan DiVall is a senior in Mechanical Engineering at UW-Madison, minoring in Computer Science. She is interested in the broad areas of robotics and artificial intelligence. She is currently studying deception in human-robot interaction. She plans to pursue graduate education in Computer Science.

 

 

 

 

Andrego Halim is a senior in Computer Science, minoring in Business at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is currently exploring how humanlike agents might use gestures in an educational setting. In his spare time, Andrego enjoys playing piano, cooking, and ballroom dancing.

 

 

 

 

Philip Zhao is a third year undergraduate student in Computer Science, minoring in Economics at UW-Madison. He is originally from Canton, China. He is currently working on designing and implementing interactive games to be played with humanlike agents and robots.

 

 

 

 

Anika Abid is a sophomore engineering student. Her research interests are in computer-mediated communication, particularly how linguistic cues might improve collaborative outcomes.

 

 

 

 

 

Yujie Wu is a sophomore computer engineering student from China. He is new to the team this semester and is interested in many topics, such as music, snowboarding, food, programming, and napping during rainy weather. He dreams to build his own robot someday.