Overview

I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Twente, specializing in Human-Robot Interaction with a focus on socially assistive technologies. My research bridges social psychology, sports science, sociology, and computer science to explore how robots can support and engage people in meaningful ways.

Before returning to academia, I worked as a Data Scientist in the Machine Learning and AI group at Miele & Cie. Inc.. Prior to that, I led projects at the Cologne Cobots Lab (CCL), developing and deploying social robots in public environments such as museums, shopping malls, and transit hubs.

I also held postdoctoral positions in the ERC project The Future of Prediction, led by Prof. Elena Esposito, where I investigated the societal implications of predictive AI, and at the HRI Laboratory at Kyoto University, working with Prof. Takayuki Kanda on persuasive mobile robots in public spaces.

I hold a B.Sc. in Bioinformatics and Genome Research (2009) and an M.Sc. in Intelligent Systems (2011), both from Bielefeld University, with additional studies at the University of Helsinki and Aalto University. After my M.Sc., I joined the Applied Informatics Group, contributing to the SocialRobots project, which focused on robots that promote physical activity in long-duration space missions.

I earned my Ph.D. at the CITEC Graduate School, supervised by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Franz Kummert.

My current research investigates real-time user-adaptive learning in social robots, enabling dynamic personalization based on user preferences and task goals. In parallel, I focus on the development of social-physical Human-Robot Interaction frameworks for rehabilitation and physiotherapy contexts