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Contact Information

Office:
Fuller Laboratories, B21
Phone: +1-508-831-6637
Fax: +1-508-831-5776
sidner@wpi.edu

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Candace L. Sidner

• Research Professor, Computer Science
• Affiliated with:
  • Robotics Engineering

I'm a research professor at WPI, which means I participate in research activities with students and faculty. I am a computer scientist, and my specialties include natural language processing, AI, intelligent user interfaces, and human-robot interaction. Students at WPI are excellent to work with! My job is to introduce them to new ideas, and then I find they run with those ideas in new directions. I currently head a large NSF project about creating virtual agents and robotic agents that "live" in people's homes for long periods of time as companions. Prof. Charles Rich is a co-head of this effort. These companion agents are always aware of the human resident, participate in conversations throughout the day on a wide range of topics, and reason about the relationship between the agent and the human. There are a number of technical challenges, some of which grad students are researching, and some of which I lead with participation from students (especially undergraduate students). One of the challenges I am currently exploring is how to have conversations that cover many topics, change enough from day to day so that they are not boring and repetitive. Another challenge is how to support a robot doing the companion tasks in a person's residence. My photo is one of me taken last summer in St. Emilion, France. I love to travel, and being a scientist gives me many opportunities to do so.