Petr Slovak

Petr Slovak is a Reader in Human Computer Interaction at the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, University College London (UCL). His research spans the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction, mental health promotion, and learning sciences, with a focus on developing technologies that support social-emotional competencies in real-world contexts.

His research interests include:

• Human-Computer Interaction for mental health
• Social-emotional competencies development
• Self-regulation and emotion regulation technologies
• Child-Computer Interaction
• Digital interventions for mental health promotion
• Technology probes in family contexts

Dr. Slovak's recent research focuses on embedding socially assistive robots in family contexts to support self-regulation in young children; using voice assistants like Alexa/Google Home for mental health prevention interventions; embedding conflict-resolution training into Minecraft gameplay for children; and developing personal informatics apps for positive parenting techniques. His work demonstrates a consistent trend toward designing in-situ, context-aware interventions that seamlessly integrate into daily family life while addressing critical mental health needs across diverse populations.

His research has been recognized with:

• Best Paper awards at CHI'17 and CSCW'18
• Positioning Parent Positive award (2022)

Dr. Slovak has secured significant research funding from prestigious organizations including the Medical Research Council, EPSRC, and Wellcome Trust. He collaborates extensively with institutions worldwide, including UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, Oxford University, and the Anna Freud Centre in London, as well as with Committee for Children, a US-based non-profit organization. His current projects include developing socially assistive robots for emotion regulation, voice-based mental health interventions, conflict-resolution training in Minecraft, and digital parenting support tools, all with strong real-world implementation focus.