Comité Científico / Scientific Committee

Rosalind Picard. Founder and Director of the Affective Computing Research Group, MIT Media Laboratory (USA)

Professor Rosalind W. Picard, Sc.D. is founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, co-director of the Media Lab's Advancing Wellbeing Initiative, and faculty chair of MIT's Mind Hand Heart Initiative. She has co-founded Empatica, Inc. creating wearable sensors and analytics to improve health, and Affectiva, Inc. delivering technology to help measure and communicate emotion.

Picard holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with highest honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and master's and doctorate degrees, both in electrical engineering and computer science, from MIT. She is a top-cited computer scientist, best known for authoring the book Affective Computing, which became instrumental in starting a new field by that name. Picard also served as a founding member of the IEEE Technical Committee on Wearable Information Systems in 1998, helping launch the field of wearable computing. Picard is an active inventor and her group's inventions have been twice named to "top ten" lists, including the New York Times Magazine's Best Ideas of 2006 for their Social Cue Reader, used in autism, and 2011's Popular Science Top Ten Inventions for a Mirror that Monitors Vital Signs. Her inventions have applications in autism, epilepsy, depression, PTSD, sleep, stress, dementia, autonomic nervous system disorders, human and machine learning, market research, health behavior change, and human-robot interaction.

Ivan Riobo - Georgia Tech Ubicomp Group (USA)

Ivan Riobo, MBA, MS is an Affiliated Research Scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology within the Ubicomp Group at the College of Computing, whose research revolves around understanding how ubiquitous technology can help individuals with autism, their families and community around them in order to develop technologies that improve their quality of life. Ivan, has published in IMFAR, UbiComp as well as other leading conferences in topics at the crossroads of autism and technology. He is also a parent of a child in the Autism Spectrum (ASD) and has been certified as a DIR Floortime therapist, among other certifications. He currently divides his time between research at Gerogia Institute of Technology and teaching Science and Robotics to autistic individuals at The Hirsch Academy, an inclusive school in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Sue Fletcher-Watson - University of Edinburgh (UK)

Sue is a developmental psychologist based at the University of Edinburgh in the Patrick Wild Centre for the study of autism, intellectual disability and Fragile X syndrome. She is engaged in a range of projects exploring the uses of technology in autism education, support and outcome measurement. In 2010-2014 she directed a team who developed a new iPad app for children on the autism spectrum, and later published the results of a randomised controlled trial of the effects of playing the app. At the same time she launched a special interest group on autism and technology, managing a monthly digest now circulated to more than 300 subscribers worldwide, which has given rise to a web-based autism and technology information resource: www.asdtech.ed.ac.uk She has collaborated with a range of commercial partners to develop new technologies for autistic users, and has investigated technology use in the classroom and at home using qualitative methods to capture rich descriptions of user experiences. Most recently she has begun to advise the BBC, a leading UK TV broadcaster, on making their online games and apps accessible to autistic players. Current research projects include the development of a novel technological tool to support pretend play in autism, and an evaluation of the effects of digital toys and games on peer-interaction in children with autism. Sue regularly offers training on the many uses of technology to support learners with autism across settings and her website features evidence-based app reviews and guides for parents and practitioners, among other resources. You can find out more about Sue’s work at www.dart.ed.ac.uk and by following her on twitter, @suereviews

Mark Brosnan - University of Bath (UK)

Brosnan is Professor of Psychology at the University of Bath (UK) and Director of the Centre for Applied Autism research (CAAR: http://go.bath.ac.uk/caar). Brosnan is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and a member of the Cognitive Psychology Section and the Division of Neuropsychology. Brosnan's research examines how children with autism can be involved within the design of computer-based tutors. He is part of a team (with Johnson, Benton, Grawemeyer from Computer Science) that have developed protocols for 'participatory design' that effectively support children with autism to be active design partners. This has informed a series of design principles that have guided the development of a mathematics tutor - designed by people with autism for people with autism. This process has provided unique insights into how those with autism would like computer-based learning to look and work. These have been applied to the development of an iPad app to support the effective development and delivery of social stories (with Johnson, Smith and Constantin: http://go.bath.ac.uk/social-stories). Brosnan is currently working with colleagues across Europe on a project to match autistic people with the most appropriate digital technology (www.smart-asd.eu), a project to identify best teaching practice within autism-specific education (AMUSE) and a project to identify evidence-based practice guidelines for digital technologies that support the autistic community. A free app called 'asc me I.T.' allows the autistic community to input into the earliest stages of the technology design process by sharing their ideas with researchers (with Parsons, Yuill, Good: www.ascme-it.org.uk).

Gerardo Herrera - Chair (Universitat de València, España)

Gerardo Herrera is the responsible of the Autism & IT Group at the IRTIC Technological Institute of the University of Valencia (Spain). He has published a number of papers on IT for people at risk of exclusion, including in high impact scientific journals such as ACM-Tochi, Presence Journal (MIT Press) and Autism (AIJRP from Sage Publications) where he also collaborates as a reviewer. He is currently the project coordinator of two EU Erasmus+ project (strategic partnerships in the field of education): SMART-ASD (2015-2017): “Enhancing Communication And Learning With Tablets, Smartphones And Smartwatches In Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders And/Or Learning Difficulties” and AMUSE (2016-2018): Autism in Mainstream Units in Schools across Europe: Identification and dissemination of best practice.

Ouriel Grynszpan - University Pierre et Marie Curie (France)

Ouriel Grynszpan holds Master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Supélec, France (1996) and Virginia Tech, USA (1996). Before joining academia, he worked as a telecom and software engineer. He received a Ph.D. in cognitive sciences from the University of Paris South (2005). Since 2007, he is an associate professor in Neurosciences at the University Pierre et Marie Curie. He is currently affiliated with the Institute for Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ISIR). He conducts research on social interactions using virtual reality and embodied conversational agents. He led several projects on technology based treatment for autism.

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Jelle van Dijk - University of Twente (The Netherlands)

Jelle is a design-researcher at the University of Twente (“High Tech - Human Touch”) and a research fellow at the Design Lab Twente, Netherlands. He has a background in Cognitive Science and a Phd in Industrial Design on the design of Tangible and Embodied Interaction. His current research focuses on designing for Embodied Empowerment. Using Embodied theory he investigates how to design new forms of mixed physical-digital interaction may empower people with cognitive- and/or social disabilities in organizing and taking control over their own everyday lives. He takes a participatory design approach and conduct research-through-design.

Jacqueline Nadel - La Salpétrière Hospital (France)

Jacqueline Nadel is a CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) Research Director at La Salpétrière Hospital, Emotion Centre. She is the author of numerous papers and of several books at Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. She is involved in interdisciplinary programs interfacing social neuroscience, cognitive psychology, epigenetic robotics and clinical interventions for severe autism. Her studies are based on innovative designs allowing an online approach of nonverbal parameters of communication, mainly via reciprocal imitation. Additionally, she edits the French scientific journal ENFANCE, coordinates the interdisciplinary network Autisme- Science, and is an expert for EU scientific projects.

María José Rodríguez Fortiz - University of Granada (Spain)

María José Rodríguez Fórtiz is Doctor in Computer Science since 2000. She teaches in the ETSIIT of the University of Granada since 1990, when she finished her degree in Computer Science. She has been main researcher or has participated in 30 research projects and contracts with business. Her research lines are related to the application of ICTs to special needs and elderly people. She is specialized in accessibility, usability and adaptation of the software to the user, taking into account user profiles and context information. In all projects and contracts she has collaborated with teams of physicians, psychologists and educators. The majority of her projects are directly related to ASD. She has received several prizes and recognitions of her work. She has several publications and her team has developed several free computer programs as result of her research and projects. She has directed and direct Phds and final projects (from students in the last course) related with her interest topics above mentioned. She is reviewer of some journals. She is reviewer from a National Agency of Quality that evaluates projects. She is member of several committees in the University of Granada related to teaching and research.

Marilena Mademtzi - Yale Child Study Cente (USA)

Marilena is a Hilibrand Postdoctoral Associate at the Technology and Innovation Lab, Yale Child Study Center. She is interested in the application of instructional technology, such as serious games and social robots to assess and enhance socio-emotional and adaptive skills of individuals with autism. Her current work includes a home-based intervention using a robot with school-aged children with autism and their parents. She is also working on designing an new networking mobile app with a group of teenage girls with autism and their parents. Previous work focused on the development of sensory-motor skills of children with autism using a Kinect-based video game in a school environment and the implications that this held for social participation and adaptive skills. Marilena completed her undergraduate degree in Special Education at the University of Thessaly, Greece. She received her MEd with a specialization in autism from the University of Birmingham, UK and she recently completed her PhD studies at the same University.

Lila Kossyvaki - University of Birmingham (UK)

Lila is a Lecturer in Severe Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties, Department of Disability Inclusion and Special Needs (DISN), School of Education, University of Birmingham. She is also a chartered psychologist and a SEN teacher. She has a strong interest in school and home-based interventions to promote social communication and play skills in children with autism and learning difficulties. Lila largely uses participatory action research designs working in close partnerships with participants in real world settings. She has worked on a number of research projects exploring Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) in typically developing children and children with autism (i.e. ECHOES, The Shape project, Share-It, the Monoma project) and she is part of the European funded project Transform Autism Education exploring best autism practices in the UK, Italy and Greece. Lila has also worked in special schools and day care settings for adults in Greece and the UK. She is part of the advisory team of http://www.specialeducation.gr/ and a governor in charge of Teaching, Learning and Assessment at Hamilton School.

Roberto Erick Lopez-Herrejon - University of Quebec (Canada)

. Dr. Roberto Erick Lopez-Herrejon is an Associate Professor at the Department of Software Engineering and Information Technology of the École de Technologie Supérieure of the University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada. Prior he was a senior postdoctoral researcher at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria. He was an Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Lise Meitner Fellow (2012–2014) at the same institution. From 2008 to 2014 he was an External Lecturer at the Software Engineering Masters Programme of the University of Oxford, England. From 2010 to 2012 he held an FP7 Intra-European Marie Curie Fellowship sponsored by the European Commission. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006, funded in part by a Fulbright Fellowship sponsored by the U.S. State Department. From 2005 to 2008, he was a Career Development Fellow at the Software Engineering Centre of the University of Oxford sponsored by Higher Education Founding Council of England (HEFCE). His main expertise is in software customization, software product lines, and search based software engineering. He is interested in application of these research areas for the customization and personalization of IT solutions for autism.

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James Cusack - Autistica (UK)

James Cusack is Director of Science at Autistica and has broad experience working within the field of autism, holding specific expertise in autism research. He completed his PhD at the University of Aberdeen where he studied how people with autism detect the actions of others. In his post-doctoral studies he led the development of an automated measure of facial imitation which is being used in the study of autism, mood disorders and schizophrenia. James has sat on a number of advisory panels discussing the role of research in autism, including: A Future Made Together; and the publication Educational Provision and Outcomes for People on the Autism Spectrum. He was part of a core stakeholder group which successfully campaigned for Scotland’s first ever autism strategy. From a young age James has also worked directly with families affected by autism, as well as having experience in clinical, educational and social care settings. Since joining Autistica James has continued to advance Autistica’s community-driven research agenda with a view to ensuring people affected by autism have an equal right to a long, happy and healthy life.

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Javier Sevilla - University of Valencia (Spain)

. He graduated in Computer Science from the Valencia Polytechnic University (Spain) in 1995. He worked at iSOCO, S.A where he researched the semantic web visualisation area, and participated in many international projects. He has managed many national and international IT projects related to disability. He is co-founder of the ADAPTA Foundation and collaborates in this organization leading IT projects that apply the technology to improve the quality of life of people with autism. He is currently the Secretary of the ADAPTA Foundation, and led the “Inclusive Contents” project funded by the Spanish Government where he designed and developed software to support school management with extensions that assist the teachers with the education of people with disabilities.

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Luis Pérez de la Maza - AUCAVI Foundation (Spain)

.He is Vice President and Founding Trustee of AUCAVI Foundation and Principal of the AUCAVI school, a specialized school for learners with ASD (Madrid-Spain). He is also Advisor at AQUA Johannesburg (South Africa). Mr. Perez de la Maza is a special education teacher, with a degree in Educational Psychologist and a Master in educational computing. He is involved in various work groups and projects regarding ICT for people with ASD.

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Simon Wallace - AT Autism (UK)

Simon has worked in the autism field since 1994. He has held research and honorary clinical positions at the Institute of Psychiatry in London and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford. Since leaving academic research in 2008 Simon has worked in the UK and Europe within the charitable sector. Along with colleagues he wrote the European Commission’s DG-SANCO strategy on autism and built a network of nine government departments in south-east Europe who signed up to a working partnership on autism. His most recent position was as Research Director of UK medical research charity Autistica, where he wrote and implemented their five year research strategy. Simon joined AT-Autism in 2016 to develop their international activities, particularly around health services.