Sooyeon Jeong

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Purdue University and the director of the Human-Agent Interaction (HAI) Lab. 

My current research focuses on designing and deploying interactive AI agents that can improve people's lives by providing personalized support based on each user's needs, traits, and behaviors. I deploy these agents to evaluate how they build relationships and rapport with people over time and improve their well-being, health, and learning. I believe relational technologies can be more than just tools and become helpful companions for people by continuously adapting themselves to help users achieve their health goals. Some of my research interests are in Human-Computer/AI Interaction, Social Robotics, Affective Computing, Applied Machine Learning, and Digital Health.

I received an S.B. and an M.Eng. from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at MIT, and an S.M. and a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT Media Lab. Prior to joining Purdue, I spent a year as a National Research Service Award (NRSA) T32 Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies at Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.