HMC Expert: Jim Boerkoel
Jim Boerkoel, PhD, specializes in human robot interaction, artificial intelligence, and interaction design—designing better human computer interactions.Boerkoel directs the Human Experience & Agent Teamwork Lab. The goal of the HEATLab is to develop techniques that augment humans’ own cognitive and physical abilities to create integrated human-agent teams that are more capable than their individual counterparts. The HEATLab’s current projects include Productivity and Wellness Pal (PaWPal), which explores whether an agent (smartphone app) can learn and visualize trends about the experiences of its human teammate in order to nudge them towards behavior that optimizes their productivity and wellness; Robot Brunch, which explores what it takes for multiple robots to schedule robust interactions in the messiness of the real world; and Human Robot Conavigation, which explores how to plan and schedule robots’ interactions with humans on shared activities so that the exchanges are fluid and intuitive.
Prior to joining Harvey Mudd, Boerkoel worked as a postdoctoral associate with the Interactive Robotics Group at MIT. He completed his PhD thesis on developing distributed approaches for constraint-based, multi-agent scheduling at the University of Michigan.
Media Appearances
- hmc.edu, 3/20/19 HEATlab Papers Published by ICAPS
- PC Magazine, 11/5/18 How to Create Robots That Can Deal With Unpredictable Humans
- Inc.com, 2/28/18 How Do You Design a Robot That Isn’t Sexist or Racist? It’s Harder Than You Think
- USA Today, 2/19/18 Erica, the Humanoid Robot, is Chatty But Still Has a Lot to Learn
- Business Insider, 3/2/17 Harvey Mudd Offers Unique Curriculum in Computer Science
- hmc.edu, 3/1/17 Prestigious NSF Award to Support HEATlab Research
- Voice of America, 2/21/17 Women Thrive in Computer Science at California College
- CGTN, 2/1/17 Women Computer Science Majors Break Down Tech Stereotypes
- hmc.edu, 11/17/16 Students’ Research on Robot Collaboration Accepted at AAAI-17
- hmc.edu, 12/15/15 Robot Researchers Invited to AI Conference
- hmc.edu, 11/24/14 Students Present Research on Human Robot Teaming
Further Resources
Interviews and Assistance
Judy Augsburger
Director of Public Relations
301 Platt Blvd.
Claremont, CA 91711
909.607.0713
jaugsburger@hmc.edu