PEOPLE
Joseph E Michaelis
Director and Principle Investigator
Joe is the Director of the Learning + Interest + Technology Lab. Joe's research focuses on social interactions between children and robots in learning contexts. Interest development is at the forefront of this work, and each project is designed to utilize the social interactions with robots to support robot-assisted learning and interest in STEM domains.
Sam Arnold
Graduate Research Assistant
Sam is a PhD student at the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago. His research focuses on understanding the experience of teacher's knowledge building and decision making in research practice partnerships.
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Paul Hatch
Graduate Research Assistant
Paul is a PhD student at the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the UIC. Prior to joining LSRI, he practiced industrial design at a global consultancy. His interests are in technology to aid learning, interest development, and visualization methods for conceptualization and collaboration.
Veronica Grosso
Graduate Research Assistant
Veronica is a PhD student in Computer Science at UIC, specializing in research on stereotypes and biases in human-robot interaction, as well as the long-term adoption of robots within families. With expertise in human-computer interaction (HCI), she is dedicated to advancing understanding of the mental models guiding people's interactions with robots.
Amna Hassan
Graduate Research Assistant
Amna is a PhD student in Computer Science at UIC, working at the intersection of human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, and technology in education and healthcare. Her research explores how people interact with and make decisions alongside AI systems, with a focus on trust, safety, and responsible human-AI collaboration. She is particularly interested in designing AI technologies that can better support people across different contexts, including educational and healthcare settings.
Faria Habib
Graduate Research Assistant
Faria is a PhD student in computer science at the University of Illinois Chicago. Faria's research focuses on human-computer interaction, specifically designing interfaces and creating technologies for diverse user groups. She also has a background in automation engineering, with expertise in Java and JavaScript.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Jon Domanus
Research Assistant
Jon is a junior undergraduate student in the University of Illinois Chicago Computer Science department concentrating in Software Engineering with interests in web applications, AI automation, and backend systems.
Levell Kensey
Research Assistant
Kerou Zhou
Research Assistant
Kerou Zhou is an undergraduate Computer Science and Design student at UIC with an interest in Human-Robot Interaction. She is passionate about exploring how humans and robots can collaborate in meaningful and intuitive ways.
Leo Barrientos
Research Assistant
Mihaela Harizanova
Research Assistant
Graduate Student Alumni
Dr. Rabia Ibtasar
Ph.D. Learning Sciences
Md Ansiur Rahman
MS Computer Science
