Moojan Ghafurian



        

I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo and co-director of the Social and Intelligent Robotics Research Lab (SIRRL). Prior to joining SYDE, I 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). I got my PhD in Information Sciences and Technology from the Pennsylvania State University and my research interests and background are in human-computer/robot interaction, social robotics, affective computing, and cognitive science. Most of my 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.

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I am looking for graduate students to start in Winter, Spring, and Fall 2025. If you are interested, please contact me with the information outlined in this link.


Recent News:

  • I gave a keynote talk at the SCRITA workshop at RO-MAN 2022.
  • We have received CBB seed funding to create a platform that will enable social robots to obtain data from smart health sensors and devices to support mental and physical health and wellbeing
  • Our article titled "Zoomorphic Miro Robot’s Affective Expression Design and Perceived Appearance" with Gabriella Lakatos and Kerstin Dautenhahn was published in International Journal of Social Robotics, and was mentioned in an article by Consequential Robotics.
  • Our article titled "Improving Humanness of Virtual Agents and Users' Cooperation through Emotions" with Neil Budnarain and Jesse Hoey is accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing (IF: 10.5, see https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9484714).
  • Our article titled "Social Robots for the Care of Persons with Dementia: A Systematic Review" with Jesse Hoey and Kerstin Dautenhahn is accepted for publication ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (THRI).
  • Our recent study on the impact of COVID-19 on perception of social robots was mentioned in University of Waterloo news, and  London Evening Standard.
  • I have joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo as a Research Assistant Professor.
  • I will be joining the Vector Institute as a  Postgraduate Affiliate.
  • Our article titled "Countdown Timer Speed: A Trade-off between Delay Duration Perception and Recall" with Frank E. Ritter and David Reitter is published in ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI).
  • We have received a catalyst grant from the University of Waterloo’s Network for Aging Research to develop emotionally intelligent robots to help people with dementia. Details can be found here.
  • I will be giving a talk at the Wes Graham Symposium at 2019 Recognizing Excellence Summit. The talk is available here.
  • Our article titled "Role of Emotions in Perception of Humanness of Virtual Agents" was mentioned in University of Waterloo news, ACM TechNews, and Semiconductor Engineering.
  • Our article titled "Impatience in Timing Decisions: Effects and Moderation" was mentioned in Penn State news, EurekAlert (AAAS) and ScienceDaily.