Gnanathusharan Rajendran

Gnanathusharan Rajendran is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at Heriot-Watt University, where he leads the Developmental Psychology in Action Lab. He also serves as Director of the Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences and is a key member of the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, contributing to the National Robotarium's Safe and Secure AI for Robotics theme.

• Education: BSc and MSc in Psychology (University of Birmingham), PhD in Developmental Psychology (University of Nottingham)
• Prior Affiliations: ESRC Research Fellow (University of Nottingham), Lecturer/Senior Lecturer (University of Strathclyde), Lecturer (University of Edinburgh)

Rajendran's research explores digital technologies' impact on neurodivergent populations, particularly autistic children and adults. His work spans human-robot interaction, cognitive modeling, and social vulnerability studies, with applications in rehabilitation and STEAM education. Recent publications highlight:

• 2025: Autistic traits and depression symptom predictors
• 2024: Trust dynamics in human-robot collaborations
• 2023: Robot trust repair mechanisms
• 2022: Psychometric scale development for autism research

Scientific contributions include:

• Co-Investigator for UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Node
• ESRC Research Fellowship
• Member of Wellcome Trust committee

His lab collaborates with Digital Education initiatives and emphasizes Open Science Framework adoption for reproducibility. Rajendran actively mentors PhD students and engages in public science communication, including a 2017 BBC feature on Robotic Revolution in Healthcare.