Hello. Most people call me Beth and I am an Assistant Professor at George Mason University in the Department of Psychology in the Human Factors and Applied Cognition Group and Director of the Applied Psychology and Autonomous Systems (ALPHAS) Lab. I am also an alumna of the Humanity Centered Robotics Initiative (HCRI) at Brown University.

I am the co-creator of the Anthropomorphic RoBOT (ABOT) database, a collection of images of and data about real-world human-like robots. ABOT was created as a resource to enable systematic, generalizable, and reproducible research on the psychological effects of robots’ human-like appearance.

More broadly, my research focuses on human interaction with robots, autonomous systems, and related technologies like augmented and virtual reality. I am studying how we can design these systems to be better partners, teammates, and companions for people in the near future. My research background is diverse and interdisciplinary and includes collaborations with researchers in the departments of engineering and industrial design, computer science, cognitive science, and commercial product companies outside of the university.

I have an interest in how robots and other technologies are changing the way we interact with the world and one another, including the future of human relationships. I recently gave a presentation on this topic at an event called Orlando Nerd Nite and The Smithsonian's Future is Here Festival in Washington, D.C.

I'm a slow runner, fast learner, and live in an electric ukulele household. I’m also passionate about: Saxophone, Space, Star Trek, Sustainability, People, and Creating. You can listen to my friends and me talk about Star Trek, on my podcast at makeitsosopodcast.com

More publications can be found on Research Gate and Google Scholar