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Talk on "Human Signal Processing: advancing computational understanding of cognitive and affective processes through a biopsychosocial perspective." by Larry Zhang, Indiana University, USA

We are pleased to inform you about the upcoming seminar by Larry Zhang, Indiana University, USA titled:"Human Signal Processing: advancing computational understanding of cognitive and affective processes through a biopsychosocial perspective." Everyone interested is cordially invited to attend!

Title:

Human Signal Processing: advancing computational understanding of cognitive and affective processes through a biopsychosocial perspective

Abstract:

How do we know if someone is susceptible to stress? Are we innately able to determine if we can trust someone or not? Can we determine if someone is feeling stuck creatively? Will therapy be helpful to someone? How does memory deteriorate as we age or develop cognitive decline? Though these are seemingly disparate questions, they are all driven by affective and cognitive processes.

Current approaches to developing an improved understanding of these processes utilize novel sensing modalities in conjunction with powerful data-driven approaches (e.g., ML & AI). However, strictly data-driven systems may lead to a flawed or misinformed understanding of cognition and affect, as we do not know if they can precisely measure the subjective human experience. Informed by neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, and physiology, I will demonstrate how we can leverage empirical theories and modern technologies together to better understand the human experience with an emphasis on applications in improving mental and physical well-being. This includes the exploration of studies on the development of improved clinical interview screening in psychiatric settings, the enhancement of wearable sensors for determining malignant versus benign reactions to stress, and the search for the mechanistic understanding of memory retrieval.

Ultimately, by scaling research in the computational understanding of affective and cognitive processes, we will be able to develop intelligent interfaces to enrich the human experience.

Speaker Bio:

Larry is a dual PhD Candidate at Indiana University in Intelligent Systems Engineering and Informatics (Complex Network and Systems Track). He is interested in using affective computing, cognitive science, and network science methods to better understand human behavior, brain, and physiology. In particular, he is interested in developing interdisciplinary approaches to improve computational understanding of psychological mechanisms.

Larry has previously been a visiting researcher at USC Institute for Creative Technologies, NII, and Central European University and has been pursuing industry research at Samsung Research America in parallel with his PhD. Larry is currently interning in the Human Sensing and Interaction group at Sony R&D in Tokyo.