About

I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Digital Worlds Institute at the University of Florida (UF), working in collaboration with the College of Education and the Florida Semiconductor Institute. My research focuses on designing and evaluating AI-powered tools using large language models, vision-language models, and VR environments to support semiconductor manufacturing education.

I completed my PhD in Human-Centered Computing at UF in May 2026. My dissertation investigated how AI-driven pedagogical conversational agents can be designed for personalized, interest-based learning. A related publication can be found here.

I am a mixed-methods research with deep expertise in qualitative research; I've led and contributed to numerous in-depth interview studies, grounded theory analyses, and usability evaluations. Coming from a computer science background, I've consistently served as a bridge between development teams, UX designers, and researchers.

I am extremely passionate about people and technology! I have always found people interesting and complex, and I feel there are always unique stories to be found in each conversation. One summer during my undergraduate education, I had the opportunity to attend the University of Westminster in London for a summer exchange program. There, I was introduced to an area of research that combined my two passions of people and technology - user experience research! That just proved to be the single most influential experience which shaped everything that came after!

Summer Exchange Program at the University of Westminster, London (with Dr. Antonis Michalas)

After completing my Bachelor's in Information Technology, I moved to Gainesville, Florida to pursue a Master's in Computer Science at the University of Florida. My time as a volunteer research assistant during this time gave me my first real taste of the full research cycle, from ideation to publication, and I haven't looked back since! My PhD in Human-Centered Computing (2021-2026) was the most formative chapter yet. Over five years I published across numerous venues including IEEE, ACM, and IFIP, presenting at international conferences. A personal highlight was competing in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT), a competition where researchers distill years of work into a three-minute talk for a general audience. I won third place (read more about that here)! My research involved chatbots for personalized learning, augmented reality STEM tools, block-based programming environments, and intelligence analysis workflows - always with a focus on the human at the center.

The Embodied Learning and Experience Lab, University of Florida

Presenting in the finals of the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition

Outside of research, I'm an avid reader, a fitness enthusiast, and a guitarist. Over the last ten years I've built a small community of online musician friends scattered across the globe. We collaborate remotely on song covers. Coldplay are a particular favourite. Below are a couple of recordings: