My research interests are in applied machine learning, computer vision, data science and their applications to education, affective computing, and human behavior recognition. My work is highly interdisciplinary and frequently intersects cognitive science, psychology, and education. Before joining WPI, I was a research scientist at the Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning at Harvard University. In 2012, I co-founded Emotient, a San Diego-based startup company for automatic emotion and facial expression recognition. I also love teaching and have lectured, mentored, and tutored students in the USA, South Africa, Rwanda, and Germany.
Research Interests
Scholarly Work
News
Media Coverage
Forbes reported online about research led by Shichao Liu to study the optimal indoor conditions for learning. Liu, Jacob Whitehill and Steven Van Dessel received $299,991 develop technologies that detect and boost student engagement in lessons by controlling classroom temperature, ventilation, and lighting.
This article featured the news that computer science assistant professor Jacob Whitehill and his colleagues received a $750,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop a platform that will combine machine learning, natural language processing, and elements of psychology and educational theory to deliver rapid feedback on teacher-student interactions.