Mary Ellen Foster

Dr. Mary Ellen Foster is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Computing Science at the University of Glasgow, where she has been advancing the field of human-robot interaction since 2015. With a PhD from the University of Edinburgh (2007) and extensive experience at institutions including Technical University of Munich and Heriot-Watt University, she has established herself as a leading expert in social robotics and embodied conversational agents. Her research has garnered over 2,800 citations, particularly focusing on developing robots capable of natural, face-to-face conversation with humans. She has led significant projects including the European Horizon 2020 MuMMER project on socially aware human-robot interaction and is currently coordinating a UK/Canada collaborative project investigating the use of socially intelligent robots in pediatric emergency rooms. Her work spans the development of artificial characters that can both produce and understand social signals, including speech, facial expressions, body language, and gestures, contributing substantially to the field through numerous publications in prestigious venues and conferences. Her research methodology combines observational studies of human behavior, computational modeling, and practical implementation in robotic systems, making her a key figure in advancing the integration of social robots in real-world applications