Ghent University

Tony Belpaeme is a Professor at Ghent University (Belgium) and Senior Researcher at imec. At Ghent he leads a team studying cognitive robotics and human-robot interaction. Starting from the premise that intelligence is rooted in social interaction, Belpaeme and his research team try to further the science and technology behind artificial intelligence and social robotics. This results in a spectrum of results, from theoretical insights to practical applications. He coordinated several large-scale European projects studying how robots can support children while learning a second language and how long-term human-robot interaction can be use in paediatric applications.

Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (IIIA-CSIC)

I'm a tenured scientist at the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (IIIA-CSIC). I graduated in Computer Science from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 2003 and obtained my PhD in Computer Science, specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, in 2008, studying coordination and collaboration between robots at IIIA-CSIC. I was then awarded the prestigious Marie-Curie Fellowship to pursue a postdoc at LAAS-CNRS in Toulouse, where I researched models of Theory of Mind (ToM) in robotics until 2010. Following that, I joined Imperial College London in the UK for a second postdoc, this time working with social robots in educational settings to advance the areas of long-term interaction and child-robot interaction. In 2014, I transitioned to industry, working at Cambridge Consultants as part of the User-Centered Design team in innovative product development processes. In 2018, I joined La Salle-Ramon Llull University as a Lecturer, where I grew the research and teaching areas in robotics. I then moved to PAL Robotics in 2022 as a senior scientist in the Human-Robot Interaction team, where I expanded the development of social service robots in the healthcare sector. My research interests lie in the areas of cognitive systems, multimodal interaction, and mental models for social robots, with a focus on their application in real-world settings, keeping the user at the center of design through co-design processes and public involvement.

George Mason University

David Porfirio is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering and Computing, at George Mason University. He earned his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was recognized with an NSF GRFP fellowship and the Cisco Systems Distinguished Research Graduate Fellowship, and subsequently completed an NRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. His work spans robotics, human-computer interaction, and artificial intelligence, focusing primarily on capturing human input for robot task specifications through non-traditional user interfaces, such as those that facilitate spoken language input, tactile demonstrations on a small tabletop, and embodied demonstrations of social interactions with a partner. David’s research has been recognized with a best paper award at UIST and a best short contribution award at HRI, and an NRC Postdoctoral Research Publications Award.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Guy Laban is a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He is the director of LabaLab, the Language, Affect, and Behaviour in AI Lab. His research examines how people communicate and share emotions with artificial agents that communicate and reason using AI, including social robots and chatbots. He studies how these agents can understand and interact more effectively with humans, and how these interactions influence social dynamics, emotional experiences, and well-being. In his research, he works on interactions and interventions that facilitate rich social interactions with human users to support their health in a variety of contexts. Previously, he was a Research Associate in the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge. Before that, he completed his PhD at the Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of Glasgow as an Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in ENTWINE, the European Training Network on Informal Care, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) funded by the European Union. Guy is an Associate Editor for ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction, and his research has been supported by funding bodies including the Huo Family Foundation and the ABC Robotics Initiative.

KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Iolanda Leite is an Associate Professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, where she leads research on developing robots that can perceive, learn from, and respond appropriately to people in real-world situations. She holds a PhD in Information Systems and Computer Engineering from IST, University of Lisbon. Before joining KTH, she had postdoctoral appointments at Yale University and Disney Research. Her work has been recognized with best paper awards at top-tier conferences like HRI and ICMI, and best paper nominations at ICRA. She currently serves as co-editor-in-chief of the ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (THRI) journal.

McGill University

Ajung Moon is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at McGill University and a core member of the Quebec AI institute (Mila). She directs the RAISE (Responsible Autonomy & Intelligent System Ethics) lab where she explores the intersection between responsible robotics, human-robot interaction, and AI ethics. Her team’s work is highly interdisciplinary and spans classic empirical HRI studies, case studies, to technology policy. Currently, she is obsessed with the need to unlock the possibility of responsible ownership and deployment of AI-powered interactive robots in public and private spaces. Prior to her academic career, AJung served as Senior Advisor for the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, worked as CEO of an AI ethics consultancy, and founder of the oldest Canadian non-profit specializing in responsible robotics, the Open Roboethics Institute.

Familiar Machines & Magic

Dr. Bahar Irfan is a Senior Research Scientist at Familiar Machines & Magic. Her research focuses on developing personal robots that can continually learn and adapt to assist in everyday life. Previously, she was a Postdoctoral Researcher and Digital Futures Fellow at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, where her work on large language models for conversational robots received three best paper awards and was featured on Sweden’s educational broadcasting channel. Prior to that, she held R&D Associate roles at Disney Research Los Angeles, working on emotion-driven adaptation of conversations, and at Evinoks, developing customized solutions for industrial robots and smart buffets. Dr. Irfan earned her PhD through a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fellowship jointly with the University of Plymouth and SoftBank Robotics Europe (Aldebaran), focusing on multimodal personalization in long-term human-robot interaction. She holds an MSc in Computer Engineering, specializing in user-centered task planning for household robotics, and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Boğaziçi University.