PITalk with Winslow Burleson: Motivational Environments for Learning, Creativity, Health and Well-Being

The Motivational Environments research group at Arizona State University advances research that incorporates wearable and ambient sensors, responsive spaces, robots and relational agents. Affective Learning Companions, real-time multi-modal characters, are beginning to sense and respond to learners’ affective cues. Creativity research methodologies and support tools are advancing empirical investigations in research organizations and everyday life. Astronaut Robot Mission Simulators and Robotic Pet-Building activities are empowering project based teams and education through novel Human-Robot Interactions. Smart-homes, programed by individuals, families, and care-givers are empowering personalized e-health and well-being. This research is forming a transdisciplinary framework to advance Human-Computer Interaction methods, theories, technologies, architectures, and environments to promote creativity, teamwork, learning, health and well-being. 

Winslow Burleson is an Assistant Professor of Human Computer Interaction in the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU) and a Visiting Honors Faculty Fellow in ASU's Barrett Honors College. He is the Founding Director of the Motivational Environments research group and author of over 100 scientific publications (including the "best paper" at AI in Ed 2009 and the 2011 UMUAI James Chen Award for best paper of the year) and has been awarded 10 patents. In 2009, he was recognized by the U.S. National Academy of Engineering as, "One of the nation's brightest young engineering researchers and educators."  He received his PhD from the MIT Media Lab, is a Kavli Fellow, and serves on National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, and National Science Foundation committees. Burleson has a BA in Biophysics from Rice University and MSE in Mechanical Engineering Product Design from Stanford University,