Chaona Chen

Dr. Chaona Chen is a Lecturer in Robotics at the University of Sheffield's School of Computer Science, specializing in computational modeling of social signals, cultural influence on communication, and human-centered AI/social robotics. She holds a Ph.D. and B.Sc. from the University of Glasgow and Wuhan University respectively. Her research emphasizes culturally adaptive social robots and mental health applications.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Glasgow (UK)
• B.Sc. in Computer Science, Wuhan University (China)

Research Interests: Dr. Chen's work focuses on:
- Mathematical modeling of facial expressions, gaze, and body movements
- Cultural and social conventions influencing human communication
- Developing AI/social robots for social skill training in mental health contexts

Awards & Funding:

• Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (£100k, 2021-2024)
• Lord Kelvin/Adam Smith Fellowship (£90k, 2021-2024)
• Best Workshop Paper Award (IEEE ICRA 2021)

Grants & Projects:

• European Research Council-funded FaceSyntax project (2017-2021)
• Multiple grants from EPSRC, ESRC, and international collaborations

Teaching & Supervision: Supervises 2-4 Masters and 3-6 Undergraduate research projects annually. Teaches courses in Social Robotics and Advanced Cognition.

Labs & Collaborations: Active in Sheffield Robotics and the Complex Systems Modelling research group. Collaborates with MIT Media Lab and Carnegie Mellon University on social robotics.