Expert in human-robot interaction: Teena Hassan new professor at H-BRS

20230307 Teena Hassan Professorin Ernennung (2)

The Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences has gained a new professor: Teena Hassan. The scientist will teach and conduct research in the Department of Computer Science. Her area of expertise is autonomous systems. And there it is the social interactions between humans and robots that particularly interest her.

Professor Teena Hassan with University President Hartmut Ihne. Photo: Martin Schulz

University President Hartmut Ihne was visibly happy when he presented Dr Teena Hassan with her certificate of appointment. According to him, the university has not only gained an extraordinarily competent scientist. She also represents a highly exciting subject area that also offers many points of contact to socially relevant issues.

Teena Hassan will work at the university's Department of Computer Science. Her professorship is entitled "Mathematical Foundations of Autonomous Systems". Among other things, her research focuses on the social interaction between humans and robots. The recognition of facial expressions plays a central role in this. Computer systems are able to analyse human facial expressions in order to recognise the mental states of people. Research into this ability also serves to develop assistance systems to improve people's quality of life.

The computer scientist is no stranger to the H-BRS. From 2012 to 2014, she completed a master's degree in autonomous systems. Her master's thesis "Dynamic facial expression estimation by means of model fitting" was awarded the best possible grade (1.0). She also received the prize for the best Master's thesis by a female student among all departments at H-BRS.

Teena Chakkalayil Hassan is originally from India, where she also completed her Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering. One of her main research goals has always been to improve people's quality of life by developing new technologies with a special focus on users with special needs. This brought her to Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, where she further pursued her interest in autonomous systems. She then worked as a research assistant at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits in Erlangen. This was followed by a position at Bielefeld University, where she continued her research on social human-robot interaction. From 2015 to 2020, she completed her doctorate at the University of Bamberg in the Faculty of Business Informatics and Applied Computer Science. Most recently, Teena Hassan was employed at the University of Bremen.

With her professorship at the H-BRS, she also intends to enter into dialogue with society. "Knowledge should flow," she says, "and people should learn about science from scientists." It is also very important to her to get girls interested in robotics. In her free time, she enjoys reading biographies and writing poetry.

H-BRS

Teena Hassan, Video: H-BRS

Die Informatikerin ist an der H-BRS keine Unbekannte. Von 2012 bis 2014 absolvierte sie ein Masterstudium im Studiengang Autonome Systeme. Ihre Masterarbeit „Dynamic facial expression estimation by means of model fitting“ wurde mit der bestmöglichen Note (1,0) ausgezeichnet. Zudem erhielt sie den Preis für die beste Masterarbeit einer Studentin unter allen Fachbereichen der H-BRS.
Teena Chakkalayil Hassan stammt ursprünglich aus Indien, wo sie auch ihren Bachelor-Abschluss in Informatik und Ingenieurwesen gemacht hat. Eines ihrer wichtigsten Forschungsziele war schon immer die Verbesserung der Lebensqualität der Menschen durch die Entwicklung neuer Technologien mit besonderem Augenmerk auf Nutzer mit besonderen Bedürfnissen. Dies brachte sie an die Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, wo sie ihr Interesse an autonomen Systemen weiter verfolgte. Danach war sie als wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Fraunhofer-Institut für Integrierte Schaltungen in Erlangen beschäftigt. Es folgte eine Tätigkeit an der Universität Bielefeld, wo sie weiter an der sozialen Mensch-Roboter-Interaktion forschte. Von 2015 bis 2020 promovierte sie an der Universität Bamberg in der Fakultät Wirtschaftsinformatik und Angewandte Informatik. Zuletzt war Teena Hassan an der Universität Bremen beschäftigt.
Mit ihrer Professur an der H-BRS verbindet sie auch die Absicht, in den Dialog mit der Gesellschaft zu treten. „Wissen soll fließen“ sagt sie. „Und die Menschen sollen von Wissenschaftlern etwas über Wissenschaft erfahren.“ Ganz wichtig ist es ihr außerdem, Mädchen für Robotik zu interessieren. In ihrer Freizeit liest sie gerne Biografien und schreibt Gedichte.