Robin Murphy @ University of South Florida

Robin Roberson Murphy received a B.M.E. in mechanical engineering, a M.S. and Ph.D in computer science (minor: Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems) in 1980, 1989, and 1992, respectively, from Georgia Tech, where she was a Rockwell International Doctoral Fellow. She is a Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of South Florida with a joint appointment in Cognitive and Neural Sciences in the Department of Psychology. Dr. Murphy is a founder and international leader in both rescue robotics and human-robot interaction, and was recognized by TIME Magazine in 2004 as an innovator in artificial intelligence. Her work in rescue robotics began in 1995, investigating artificially intelligent robots and new concepts of cooperative teams such as marsupial and heterogenous teams, while also working directly with responders to establish the domain theory. She was the first to introduce ground, air, and sea robots to disaster response, participating in the World Trade Center disaster (2001), La Conchita, CA, mudslides (2005), Hurricanes Charley (2004), Katrina (2005), and Wilma (2005), and the Midas Gold Mine response (2007) and was honored with the NIUSR Eagle award. Dr. Murphy is currently investigating the diffusion of innovation in robotics and is co-chairing a DARPA ISAT study on detecting emergent innovation in information technologies in the field.