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Sebastian Scherer is an Associate Research Professor at the Robotics Institute (RI), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where he leads cutting-edge research in autonomous aerial systems and robotics. His work focuses on enabling unmanned rotorcraft to operate safely and efficiently in cluttered, low-altitude, and extreme environments. Education: Ph.D. in Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University (2010) MS in Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University (2007) BS in Computer Science (Minor in Robotics), Carnegie Mellon University (2004) His research interests span robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, SLAM, visual-inertial odometry, energy infrastructure, and public policy . He has made seminal contributions to UAV autonomy, including the first obstacle avoidance for micro aerial vehicles in natural environments (2008) and the first automatic landing zone detection and landing on a full-size helicopter (2010). His recent publications (2023–2025) demonstrate a strong focus on resilient autonomy, multi-robot exploration, foundation models for robotics, and large-scale dataset development. His team has released key datasets like TartanGround , BETTY , and SubT-MRS , and simulation tools like Pegasus Simulator , indicating a systems-level approach to advancing real-world autonomy. The research trends emphasize self-supervised learning, robust perception, risk-aware planning, and multi-modal fusion for off-road and urban environments. Scientific Awards: Popular Science Best of What's New 2010 Award AIAA@Infotech Best Paper Runner-up Award (2010) Siebel Scholar Dr. Scherer has advised numerous students and leads a vibrant research group focused on high-impact robotics applications. He has secured significant grants related to UAV autonomy, energy infrastructure, and urban air mobility. His lab develops experimental infrastructure such as AIrTonomy for testing next-generation autonomous aerial vehicles. He is actively involved in advancing SLAM and localization in extreme environments, notably through participation in the DARPA Subterranean Challenge. His team develops large-scale datasets and benchmarking frameworks to push the boundaries of robustness and generalization in mobile robotics.

• Robotics
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
• Autonomous Navigation
• +13 more

Tiancheng Zhao is a principal researcher at the Binjiang Institute of Zhejiang University and founder of the Om Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (Om AI Lab), dedicated to frontier open multimodal AGI research for building next-generation agents that transform work and life through advanced human-machine interaction. His academic credentials include: Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University (2016-2019) under Prof. Maxine Eskenazi, Prof. Louis-Philippe Morency, Prof. William W. Cohen, and Dr. Dilek Hakkani-Tur, with pioneering dissertation “Learning to Converse With Latent Actions” in end-to-end generative conversational models M.S. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University (2014-2016) B.S. in Electrical Engineering from UCLA (2010-2014) with Summa Cum Laude, focusing on speech signal processing under Prof. Abeer Alwan Dr. Zhao’s research centers on multimodal foundation models and agents, tackling three core challenges: Multimodal Models for cross-modal representation learning in high-dimensional data, Learning to Learn for effective skill acquisition from diverse signals (supervised labels, rewards, meta-learning), and AI Agents for open-world understanding and complex decision-making. His work bridges computer vision, natural language processing, and real-world applications including healthcare analytics and remote sensing. Analysis of his 50+ publications reveals accelerating innovation in multimodal large language models (2024-2025), with emphasis on stable vision-language architectures (VLM-R1), agent orchestration frameworks, and domain-specific applications in geospatial analysis and healthcare. Key trends include solving long-tail distribution challenges in satellite imagery, developing human-like zooming capabilities for multimodal LLMs, and creating unified benchmarks for autonomous GUI testing. His scientific recognition includes: National Breakthrough Technology Award by Ministry of Science and Technology (2021) Microsoft Research Best & Brightest PhD (2018) BEST PAPER AWARD at SIGDIAL 2018 Best Paper Nomination at SIGDIAL 2016 Top 1 Outstanding Bachelor of Science Award at UCLA (2014) As Om AI Lab founder, Dr. Zhao leads research teams developing computational building blocks for human-AI collaboration. While specific student mentorship details aren’t public, his extensive publication record with junior co-authors indicates active research supervision. Current projects focus on practical system implementations for real-world multimodal agent deployment across diverse domains.

• Multimodal Foundation Models
• AI Agents
• Vision-Language Models
• +3 more

Shinji Watanabe is an Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute and a Courtesy Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department. He holds a Ph.D. (Dr. Eng.) from Waseda University, Japan, and has held research roles at NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL), and Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on automatic speech recognition, speech enhancement, and machine learning for speech processing. Watanabe has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers and received the Best Paper Award at IEEE ASRU 2019. His work emphasizes robust speech processing in challenging environments, multilingual models, and neural audio codecs. He leads the ESPnet toolkit development for end-to-end speech processing systems and contributes to technical committees like IEEE SLTC and APSIPA SLA. Recent research trends include streaming speech systems, universal speech enhancement (URGENT challenges), and fusion of discrete speech units with self-supervised representations. He explores scalable speech foundation models through benchmarks like ML-SUPERB 2.0 and investigates cross-modal audio-visual processing in challenges like MISP 2025. Education : B.S., M.S., Ph.D. (Waseda University) Affiliations : CMU Language Technologies Institute, CMU ECE, Former roles at MERL and Johns Hopkins Key Projects : ESPnet, OpenWhisper-Style Models, URGENT Challenge Frameworks

• Automatic Speech Recognition
• Speech Enhancement
• Spoken Language Understanding
• +3 more

Jeffrey P. Bigham is an Associate Professor at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute within the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University . His research spans human-computer interaction , human-AI interaction , accessibility , dialog systems , NLP , and crowdsourcing . Current PhD Students: Hamza El Alaoui, Jessica Yin Huynh, Sara Kingsley, Peya Mowar, Yi-Hao Peng, Atieh Taheri PhD Graduates: Erin Brady, Yu Zhong, Ting-Hao Huang, Anhong Guo, Cole Gleason, Prakhar Gupta, Stephanie Valencia, Kundan Krishna, Jason Wu His work is funded by Apple , Bosch , DARPA , Google , Microsoft , the National Institute of Disability Rehabilitation Research , the National Science Foundation , and Yahoo! He also holds a CMU HCII Career Development Fellowship . Selected Awards: NSF CAREER Award 2019 Best Paper at ASSETS 2021 Best Paper Nomination at CHI 2024 Best Paper Nomination at CHI 2021 Best Paper Nomination at DIS 2021

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Human-AI Interaction
• Accessibility
• +6 more

Richard M. Stern is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), holding courtesy appointments in the Language Technologies Institute and Department of Computer Science, and serving as an Artist Lecturer in the School of Music since 2007. His interdisciplinary work bridges engineering and music technology through the School of Music's programs. Education: Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 1976 Professor Stern's research spans sound, speech, hearing, and music, with core emphases on robust speech processing in variable acoustic environments, music information retrieval, automated accompaniment, and foundational contributions to binaural perception theory. His work integrates psychoacoustic principles with machine learning to address challenges in speech recognition and human-robot interaction. Recent publications (2022-2025) reveal intensified focus on deep learning for speech enhancement in reverberant/noisy conditions, human-robot interaction scenarios, and music tagging—highlighting innovations in beamforming, source separation, and temporal modulation modeling. Awards and Honors: Fellow of the IEEE Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America Fellow of the International Speech Communication Association (ISCA) ISCA Distinguished Lecturer Allen Newell Award for Research Excellence (1992) Lutron Award for Teaching Excellence (2018) Professor Stern has advised numerous graduate students in speech and audio research, though specific names are unlisted in source materials. His grant portfolio includes significant National Science Foundation and industry-funded projects in speech technology, with leadership roles in initiatives like Interspeech 2006. He actively collaborates with CMU's Language Technologies Institute and Music and Technology program. He maintains strong ties to CMU's interdisciplinary ecosystem through the Language Technologies Institute and School of Music's Music and Technology program, contributing to research that merges acoustic engineering with musical applications.

• Speech Recognition
• Audio Signal Processing
• Music Information Retrieval
• +3 more

Fernando De la Torre is a Courtesy Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, with an affiliation to the Robotics Institute where he has been a research faculty member since 2005. He holds a Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from Ramon Llull University (2002). His research focuses on machine learning and computer vision, with applications in human health, augmented/virtual reality, generative models, and data-centric methodologies. He directs the Human Sensing Laboratory, which explores technologies for human behavior analysis and health monitoring. Notable contributions include founding FacioMetrics LLC (acquired by Meta), advancing facial recognition and 3D human digitization, and developing frameworks for robust visual models. His work bridges theory and practice, with over 225 peer-reviewed publications and editorial roles, including Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence. Recent research trends emphasize generative AI applications in satellite imagery analysis, VR/AR rendering optimizations (e.g., Gaussian splatting), and clinical motion recognition for healthcare. His projects often intersect with industry, addressing challenges in wearable health monitoring and immersive technologies. His lab collaborations span academia and industry, focusing on scalable solutions for 3D human modeling, adversarial robustness, and multimodal data fusion. Key achievements include pioneering work on 3D face animation from speech and garment reconstruction from single images.

• Machine Learning
• Computer Vision
• Augmented Reality
• +4 more

Academic Profile Christina Harrington is an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University with dual appointments in the School of Computer Science (Human Computer Interaction Institute) and School of Design. She directs the Equity and Health Innovations Design Research Lab , focusing on community-centered technology design. Her work bridges industrial design, interactive systems, and human factors psychology to advance health equity through technology. Research Focus Harrington's research employs participatory and speculative design methods to address systemic inequities in technology. She examines how design can support health autonomy for older adults, people with disabilities, and historically excluded communities (particularly Black and Latinx populations). Her work actively challenges corporate design paradigms through frameworks like design justice and community collectivism , with recent emphasis on ethical AI and conversational technologies. Research methodologies include: Community-based participatory research Speculative co-design Critical race and disability frameworks Intersectional analysis of technology impacts Publications Focus Her recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate strong focus on equity-centered design with three dominant themes: 1) Health technology disparities affecting Black older adults, 2) Participatory AI and algorithmic justice, and 3) Design justice pedagogy. Over 60% of recent works explicitly examine racial equity in AI systems, health interfaces, and design education. Honors & Recognition Google Award for Inclusive Research (2022) for "Transforming theory into practice: eliciting cultural imaginaries and design thinking to understand Black-Centered Design" Skip Ellis Early Career Award (2022) Data & Society Faculty Fellow (2022-2023) Leadership & Impact As lab director, Harrington leads community-engaged projects that translate design justice principles into practice. She serves on committees for community tech initiatives and has industry experience at Apple, Lenovo, and Motorola. Her work influences both academic discourse (ACM CHI, CSCW, DIS) and industry practices in ethical design.

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Health Equity
• Racial Equity
• +7 more

David Lindlbauer is an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute (HCII), where he leads the Augmented Perception Lab and co-directs the CMU Extended Reality Technology Center. His research focuses on advancing Mixed Reality (MR) and Extended Reality (XR) interfaces through computational interaction methods that optimize spatial, temporal, and multimodal feedback.

• Mixed Reality
• Computational Interaction
• Extended Reality (XR)
• +5 more

Joel Greenhouse is a Professor of Statistics at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), affiliated with the Department of Statistics & Data Science. He has been on the faculty since 1983 and held leadership roles, including serving as Associate Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences from 1997 to 2002. He also holds an adjunct appointment as Professor of Epidemiology and Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. His expertise spans statistical methodology, clinical trial design, and meta-analysis, with a focus on integrating data from multiple sources to address complex healthcare and public health challenges. Greenhouse earned his Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the University of Michigan and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at CMU. His research emphasizes developing statistical tools for observational studies, clinical trials, and meta-analytic frameworks, particularly in neurology, mental health, and public policy contexts. Notable contributions include analyzing the impact of media on youth suicide rates, improving aphasia classification through automated speech analysis, and evaluating highway safety through driver health data. Education: Ph.D. in Biostatistics, University of Michigan Affiliations: Adjunct Professor at University of Pittsburgh, Member of National Academy of Sciences’ committees Professional Service: Data and safety monitoring boards for NIH/VA studies, co-chair of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration review panels His awards include CMU’s Doherty Award for Education, Ryan Teaching Award, and E. Dunlop Smith Award for teaching excellence. His work bridges theoretical statistics with real-world applications, particularly in interdisciplinary collaborations across medicine, psychology, and public policy. Greenhouse’s recent articles highlight trends in leveraging large datasets for clinical insights (e.g., aphasiaBank), re-evaluating environmental and behavioral health associations, and advancing causal inference methods. His interdisciplinary approach ensures statistical rigor addresses societal challenges, from suicide prevention to highway safety.

• Statistical Methodology
• Biostatistics
• Meta-Analysis
• +4 more

Marlene Behrmann is the Thomas S. Baker University Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), affiliated with the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She leads the Behrmann Lab, which moved to the University of Pittsburgh in 2023. Her research focuses on visual cognition, object recognition, and neural mechanisms of perception, with a particular emphasis on face and word recognition. Behrmann holds a B.A. and M.A. in Speech and Hearing Therapy and a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Toronto. She is a leader in her field, recognized by her induction into the National Academy of Sciences (2015) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019). Her work combines neuropsychological studies of patients with brain damage, neuroimaging, and computational modeling to explore visual processing. Recent research highlights include studies on dorsal-ventral pathway interactions, functional reorganization post-hemispherectomy, and autism-related sensory processing differences. Behrmann has advised numerous graduate students and postdocs, contributing to their academic and professional development. Key awards include her National Academy of Sciences membership and American Academy of Arts and Sciences fellowship. Her lab collaborates widely, publishing in top journals like Cerebral Cortex , PNAS , and Trends in Cognitive Sciences . She also engages in translational research to improve interventions for perceptual and cognitive disorders.

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Visual Perception
• +4 more

Jack Mostow is a Research Professor affiliated with the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. His work focuses on educational technology, artificial intelligence, and natural language processing. He is renowned for developing Project LISTEN's automated reading tutor that listens to children's oral reading, integrating speech recognition and machine learning to improve literacy. His research addresses challenges in child literacy, automated assessment, and the application of AI in education. Key contributions include advancing speech recognition accuracy for children’s voices, designing adaptive tutoring systems, and exploring EEG and visual features to gauge learning states. He has contributed to global education initiatives, such as the XPRIZE field study, and developed tools for iterative improvement of intelligent tutoring systems. His work emphasizes scalable educational technologies for under-resourced regions and data-driven approaches to enhance learning outcomes. Mostow’s publications span over two decades, addressing topics like reinforcement learning for instructional policies, semi-supervised affect perception, and difficulty-controllable question generation. His research bridges AI, education, and human-computer interaction, aiming to create systems that adapt to learners’ needs while advancing computational methods for educational analytics.

• Educational Technology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Natural Language Processing
• +3 more

Mayank Goel serves as an Assistant Professor in the Software and Societal Systems Department (S3D) at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science. His research bridges computer science and societal impact through practical sensing systems that leverage existing environmental devices for health monitoring and human-computer interaction without requiring hardware modifications. Dr. Goel specializes in mobile computing, signal processing, and machine learning to develop unobtrusive health technologies applicable to real-world scenarios. His core research areas include passive activity recognition for chronic disease management (particularly multiple sclerosis), privacy-preserving acoustic sensing, smartwatch-based clinical interventions for post-operative care, and equitable healthcare systems for global development contexts. He emphasizes end-to-end solutions through close collaboration with medical professionals and designers to ensure immediate deployability outside laboratory environments. Analysis of his 2024-2025 publications reveals a strong interdisciplinary focus spanning computer science, biomedical engineering, and clinical practice. Key trends include longitudinal digital phenotyping for neurological conditions, on-device privacy preservation in activity recognition, and multimodal procedural assistance systems. His work consistently addresses real-world challenges in sensor placement flexibility, user adoption barriers, and equitable access to medical technologies. No scientific awards were mentioned in the available documentation. Information regarding student advising, research grants, or laboratory affiliations was not specified in the provided materials, though his publication record indicates active collaboration with medical professionals and bio-engineers for clinical validation of health technologies.

• Mobile Computing
• Sensing
• Signal Processing
• +7 more

Barbara Shinn-Cunningham is the Glen de Vries Dean of the Mellon College of Science at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and holds professorships in Psychology, Biomedical Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering. She is also the founding director of CMU's Neuroscience Institute. Her research focuses on auditory neuroscience, particularly auditory attention, binaural hearing, and multisensory integration, with applications to hearing disorders and assistive technologies. Shinn-Cunningham earned her B.S. from Brown University and her M.S. and Ph.D. from MIT in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Education: B.S., Electrical Engineering, Brown University (1986) M.S., Electrical & Computer Engineering, MIT (1988) Ph.D., Electrical & Computer Engineering, MIT (1994) Research Interests: She investigates how the brain processes sound in complex environments, including spatial hearing, auditory attention deficits in aging and clinical populations, and the neural mechanisms underlying cochlear synaptopathy. Her work integrates behavioral studies, neuroimaging (EEG, fMRI), and computational modeling to bridge basic science and translational research. Awards & Recognition: Fellow, Acoustical Society of America (2009) Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (2000) National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellow (2008) Helmholtz-Rayleigh Interdisciplinary Silver Medal (2019) Advising & Grants: She mentors a diverse team of graduate students and postdocs, focusing on training the next generation of auditory neuroscientists. Her grants include funding from NSF, NIH, and the Department of Defense. She leads the LiMN Lab, which explores neural mechanisms of sensory processing and attention. Labs & Teams: Director of the Lab in Multisensory Neuroscience (LiMN) at CMU, part of the Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute. Collaborates with engineers, clinicians, and marine biologists to advance auditory technology and neuroimaging techniques.

• Auditory Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Perception
• +5 more

Maria Tomprou is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory at the Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University. She holds an ORCiD identifier (0000-0003-3173-1677) and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her academic journey includes prior roles at the same university, specifically as Distinguished Service Professor from 2018 to 2024. Research Focus: Employee self-regulation in organizations, career management, and employment relationships Teaching: Organizational Behavior (70-311), Managing Across Cultures (70-342), and Team Dynamics and Leadership (70-341, 88-341) Her scholarly contributions span collective intelligence, algorithmic management, and organizational change. Her work has appeared in journals like Journal of Organizational Behavior , Computers in Human Behavior , and PlosOne . She actively contributes to editorial work, currently serving as Guest Editor for the Special Issue on Toxicity in Organizations at the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology . Scientific recognition includes: CMU's Teaching Innovation Award (2025) McGregor Award Best Paper (2019) EDAMBA Thesis Competition 2nd Prize Emerald Publishing Awards

• Organizational Behavior
• Psychological Contracts
• Career Management
• +4 more

Henny Admoni is an Associate Professor in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), with a courtesy appointment in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute. She leads the Human And Robot Partners (HARP) Lab, focusing on assistive and collaborative robotics, particularly how robots can interpret human nonverbal cues like eye gaze to improve interactions. Her research spans healthcare, human-robot teamwork, and socially assistive robotics, supported by NSF, ONR, and industry partners. Admoni holds a PhD in Computer Science from Yale University and a BA/MA from Wesleyan University. Education PhD in Computer Science, Yale University BA/MA in Computer Science, Wesleyan University Research Interests Admoni’s work emphasizes human-centered robotics, including assistive systems for mobility-impaired users, driver situational awareness modeling, and fostering social support networks through AI. She investigates how robots can proactively learn from humans, adapt to team dynamics, and communicate transparently to build trust. Key themes include nonverbal communication, shared autonomy, and ethical design. Grants & Awards NSF CAREER Grant (2020) Okawa Research Grant (2021) A. Nico Habermann Career Development Professorship (CMU) Advising & Teaching Admoni advises graduate students on topics like robot learning, assistive systems, and human-robot teaming. She teaches courses on Human-Robot Interaction at both undergraduate and graduate levels, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches that blend robotics, AI, and cognitive science. Labs & Projects The HARP Lab develops robots for meal preparation assistance, driving support, and socially assistive interventions. Current projects include the HARMONIC dataset for collaborative tasks and COHUMAIN for socio-cognitive architectures in human-machine teams. Admoni is on sabbatical at KTH University through 2025.

• Human-Robot Interaction
• Assistive Robotics
• Nonverbal Communication
• +5 more