Research Team

Since August 2018 Kerstin Dautenhahn has been Canada 150 Research Chair in Intelligent Robotics at University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. She has a joint appointment in the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Systems Design Engineering and is cross-appointed with the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at University of Waterloo. She is Visiting Professor at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. At Waterloo, she is director of the Social and Intelligent Robotics Research Laboratory (SIRRL). The main areas of her research are Human-Robot Interaction, Social Robotics, Assistive Technology and Artificial Life.

Chrystopher Nehaniv is a Mathematician, Computer Scientist, Complex Adaptive Systems Researcher, and, since August 2018, Full Professor in the Departments of Systems Design Engineering and of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

Moojan Ghafurian is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Prior to joining SYDE, she was a Research Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (2020-2023) and the Inaugural Wes Graham postdoctoral fellow at the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science (2018-2020) at the University of Waterloo. She got her PhD from the Pennsylvania State University in 2017, and her research interests and background are in human-computer/robot interaction, social robotics, affective computing, and cognitive science. Her research explores computational models of how humans interact with computers to inform user-centered design of socially and emotionally intelligent technologies in multiple domains, especially in healthcare and for supporting older adults, persons with dementia, and caregivers.

I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. I'm interested in applying intelligent assistive technologies to health issues.

My research interests are in the area of machine learning, control, and robotics. Now, I am working on planning and decision making in human-robot interaction.

Email: a2noormo@uwaterloo.ca
Location:E7 5406
Research Interests: Machine Learning, Robotics

I am a PhD student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. My research interests are mostly in the area of developing social and intelligent robots.

I am a PhD candidate in Systems Design Engineering Department. In my research I am borrowing from dramaturgy to design social robotic systems that can be used for fostering anti-bullying peer-support between children. I am also a Student Researcher at Robotics, Google Brian. 

I am a PhD student at the System Design Engineering Department in both SIRRL and SHEVS Lab. The focus of my research is on socially compliant mobile robots that can navigate in pedestrian-rich environments.

My research focuses on the creation of visual capabilities for robotic platforms. Previously I have investigated anthropomorphic visual systems. Currently, I am exploring cognitive architectures that could enable robotic platforms with making memory informed vision-dominant decisions.

I am a PhD student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. My research focuses on enhancing socially intelligent agents by making them more empathic, sensitive and interactive. I am interested in creating robots that can assist individuals with their mental health, through dialogue, understanding, and companionship.

I am currently pursuing my PhD in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. My primary research focus lies in utilizing robots to assist children facing various challenges, such as autism or domestic issues.

I am a MASc student (Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence) in the Department of Electrical and Computer engineering at the University of Waterloo. I will be working on ML techniques for speech and language therapy.

I am a MASc student specializing in Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo. I hope to bring some new insights to the world of Social and Intelligent Robotics. I am particularly excited about the recent advancements in AI that will help us attain these Social objectives more and more autonomously.

I am a recent Mechatronics graduate from Ain Shams University in Egypt. With a passion for robotics, humanoids, and human-robot interactions, I have embarked on a new academic journey by joining the Spring 2023 semester for a Master of Applied Science (MASc) program.

I am a MASc student in the Department of Systems Design Engineering. I am currently researching the personalization of social robot behaviours in healthcare situations, specifically understanding how a robot's personality can impact the user experience.

I am a MASc student following the Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence specialization in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo. I will be working on the improvement of a social robot as a public speaking rehearsal coach.

My primary goal is to develop safe and secure robots capable of interacting with humans in diverse scenarios. I'm particularly interested in creating methods that enhance robot intelligence, with a focus on reinforcement learning and large language models. I'm driven by the potential of robotics to improve human life and push the boundaries of technology. You can find out more about my projects on my website.

Michele Boldo is a Visiting PhD Student at the University of Waterloo, in the SIRRL Lab. He is currently working toward the PhD degree with the Department of Computer Science at the University of Verona in Italy. His research focuses on developing efficient human pose estimation models for remote monitoring and motion analysis. Additionally, his work involves EDGE AI and the optimization of embedded software for edge computing.

Garrett Miller-Junk is in his fourth year of Mechatronics Engineering undergrad at the University of Waterloo. He is interested in mobile robotics and autonomous control systems. Currently, he is working in the SIRRL Lab, focussing on computer vision solutions to assist robots with identifying and new objects that they see.

I am a 3rd year Biomedical Engineering Student working as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at SIRRLL. My interests lie in human-robotic interactions, humanoid robotics, machine learning, and natural language processing. My assistance in the lab includes vision-based object detection for autonomous pick-and-place robotic applications utilizing the Fetch robot.

Jomills Jose Anand is a third-year Software Engineering student working as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in SIRRL. He’s interested in the space of robotics, autonomous vehicles, and scientific computing. Within SIRRL, he will be working with the Furhat robots to research robot-human interactions.

Kavya Arun is a fourth-year Systems Design Engineering student interested in robotics, human-computer interactions, and the intersection of hardware and software engineering. She will be working alongside Soomin on developing therapeutic games for the QT robot which children with speech disabilities will use.

I am a 3rd-year Biomedical Engineering student working at SIRRL. My passion lies in exploring the intersections of Human-Robot Collaboration, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Robotics, and Decision-Making within social robotics.

I am a third-year Computer Science student at the University of Waterloo passionate about using technology for social good. At SIRRL, I am researching the application of social robots as mental health coaches to enhance human-computer interaction in therapeutic contexts.

Sharanya Gupta is a third-year Computer Engineering student working as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the SIRRL. He has an interest in machine learning and artificial intelligence along with computer vision. Within SIRRL he focuses on developing methods for continual learning for socially intelligent human-robot interactions.