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Maria Paula L

- Research Program Mentor

MS at Georgia Institute of Technology

Expertise

Human Computer Interaction, UX Research, Psychology, Educational Technology for Second Language Learners, AI Literacy, AI Ethics

Bio

I'm originally from Peru, but I've been around the U.S. for about 8 years where I completed my BS in Psychology at Georgia State University and my MS in Human-Computer Interaction at Georgia Tech! Currently I'm UX Researcher at Pulse Labs. I am passionate about improving human experiences using any technology from Robotics to mobile devices. As well as advocating for inclusivity and accessibility. This passion comes from my experience working on a Social Robot project and their role in aiding literacy education for kindergarten students from underserved communities. My passion for technology, education, and equity continues. My master's thesis was a health equity project to help T2 diabetes from underserved communities monitor their nutritional habits through technology. As well as help them improve their health and technology literacy. My interests are in UX accessibility, health equity, education, and ethics. My hobbies outside of academia and work are painting and playing video games!

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

AI Literacy and Trust

Investigate issues related to AI literacy and trust. For example, how much knowledge would someone need to trust certain artifacts or features? It is a broad topic, open to discussion to narrow it down.

Robotics and Society

The student will investigate a topic in robotics such as home-care robotics. Research on the current obstacle and investigate/design solutions for it. Open to more discussion with the student and based on their interest with the topic.

UX/ Human-Computer Interaction project

This can be done as a desing project. Some topics might be sustainability, education. We can discuss

Health and equity

This is a research project that can be focused on health literacy or barriers to health.

Coding skills

Java, Arduino

Languages I know

Spanish (native), Portuguese (Intermediate level)

Teaching experience

I have worked as Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Computer Science undergraduate course Human-Computer Interaction at Georgia Tech. I led weekly studios with students to guide them in their semester-long projects. Provide feedback and instruction for usability testing, concept evaluation, prototyping, and presentation skills.

Credentials

Work experience

Georgia Institute of Technology Office of Information Technology (2022 - 2022)
UX Design Researcher
Georgia Institute of Technology (2022 - 2023)
Graduate Teaching Assistant
MIT Personal Robots Group & Georgia State University Reading Lab (2019 - 2022)
UX/UI Research Assistant
Pulse Labs (2023 - Current)
UX Researcher

Education

Georgia State University
BS Bachelor of Science (2021)
Psychology
Georgia Institute of Technology
MS Master of Science
Human Computer Interaction

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