About me
I am a PhD candidate at the People and Robots Laboratory at the Computer Sciences Department of University of Wisconsin-Madison, advised by Bilge Mutlu. I received my PhD minor in Human Development and Family Studies, MS degree in Cognitive Science (‘20) from Middle East Technical University and a BS degree in Computer Science (‘18) from Bilkent University.
I am on the job market for post-doc and industry research positions! open to relocate
Research Interests
My research goal is to develop design principles for socially interactive systems and to understand the social, practical, and meaningful impact of these systems in people’s and communities’ everyday lives.
I take an interdisciplinary approach in my research, grounded in areas such as computer science, interaction design, cognitive science, and human ecology. I apply qualitative and design-based research methods to understand user needs and develop technical insights to design, prototype, and deploy socio-technical systems. I use ecological theories to describe observed phenomena within long-term and real-world deployments.
Research Themes
Three complementary themes describe my research that contributes to our understanding and design of socio-technical systems, applied in the context of social robots for families:
1) Human-Centered Design of Social Robots: I identify the practical needs and preferences of users for integrating socially interactive systems into daily life, through methods such as participatory design, qualitative interviews, or technology probe studies in real-world settings. I translate these understandings into technical insights that guide design requirements and I conduct iterative design and development processes to prototype social robots for real world use.
| Examples | Designing in-home robots as reading companions, for caretaking, as homework assistants | Designing unboxing experiences and emotional expressions for social robots |
2) Understanding Real-World Use of Social Robots: I study how users interact with social robots in natural real-world settings or in research lab contexts; through controlled user studies or exploratory field studies; and over short-term or long-term evaluations.
| Examples | 4-week in-home deployment of the Misty robot platform as a reading companion robot for children |
3) Theory and Methods for Human-Robot Interaction: I draw theoretical insights from interdisciplinary fields to situate my research in the broader socio-technical systems. I develop design methods to capture a holistic lens in human-robot interaction.
| Examples | Theory: Family Theories in Human-Robot Interaction, Toward Family-Robot Interactions | Methods and Tools: Theater-inspired interaction design, Family-Robot Routines Inventory |
Talks and Selected Publications
My YouTube Playlist of Paper Talks
Highlighted Milestones
February 28, 2025 I will be attending HRI 2025 as part of HRI Pioneers 2025 workshop Networking Chair!
February 20, 2025 Co-Organizing two workshops at IDC2025! Full Day Workshop: Towards a Research Agenda for Including Children and their Care Ecosystems in HCI & Half Day Workshop: Designing Playful and Ethical Child-AI Systems
November 29, 2024 Co-Organizing a workshop at CHI2025! Mobile Technology and Teens: Understanding the Changing Needs of Sociocultural and Technical Landscape - Check out our workshop here!
May 12, 2024: Hosted a full-day workshop at CHI2024 focusing on “Methods for Family-Centered Design” Check out our workshop here!
March 11, 2024 Attended HRI PIONEERS Workshop 2024 Cohort and presented my full-paper “Toward Family-Robot Interactions: A Family-Centered Framework in HRI”
Jan 11, 2024 Presented my research at the Talking Robotics Webinar #69 titled “Robots and Routines: Exploring the Future of Social Robots in Family Life”
Dec 4, 2023: Proposed my thesis and advanced to the status of PhD Candidacy.
Nov 17, 2023: Presented my research as an invited speaker at the CS Colloqium at University of Iowa, Rising Stars in HCI
Jun 22, 2023: Presented my recent work at IDC2023, Chicago (Full Paper: Homework Companion Robot Short Paper: Family Theories in HRI )
Jun 19, 2023: Hosted a half-day workshop at IDC2023 on Family-Centered Interaction Design
May 26, 2023: Passed my qualifying examination focusing on a literature review for “Social Robots for Families”
April 23, 2023: Attended the Doctoral Consortium at CHI2023, Hamburg.