Tell us about your work
I am currently a Senior Lecturer at EECS. On the teaching side of things, I have covered a variety of subjects including Programming, Digital Media and Social Networks, Artificial Intelligence, Game and Interactive Design. I am the Research Lead of our Doctoral Training Centre in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence and previously the co-chair of the Equalities/Athena Swan committee. Currently I am interested in using primarily quantitative measures applied to data from social media, mobile and wearable sensors, game play, etc to find novel solutions to a variety of problems such as detecting crowd and group behaviour, analysing game play and improving cognitive skills.
Tell us how you got into Computer Science?
I was always fascinated by the games we had on our family computer and I remember learning to program simple games in basic as a young girl. At the start of my university studies (while studying Classics!), I became fascinated with computing when I discovered I could talk to another human being through my computer -- crazy, I know ;) ! Soon after, I started running a BBS (Bulletin Board System) and discovered that to mod it I needed to learn to code properly. After that it seemed only natural to side step into Computer Science.
What brought you to Queen Mary?
I travelled a lot in my early life and met several students and graduates from Queen Mary. When I decided to move more permanently to the UK, QM offered me the opportunity to be both research assistant and a PhD student. During my studies, I transitioned to a Lecturer and after completing my PhD, I decided to continue on as an academic member of staff.
What’s the best thing about your work?
I love to learn new things and as an academic, I am constantly exposed to new ideas from diverse communities. I love interacting with students and seeing them develop throughout their time here.
When not at EECS, what are your interests?
Apart from spending time with my family, I like to knit, swim, play games, garden and travel.