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Texas iSchool Welcomes New Assistant Professor, Dr. Min Kyung Lee

Professor Min Kyung Lee looking at the face of white robot

The University of Texas at Austin School of Information is pleased to announce that Dr. Min Kyung Lee of Carnegie Mellon University will be joining the Texas iSchool as an assistant professor starting in January 2020. 

Dr. Lee is currently a research scientist in Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon Universityin the Machine Learning Department and the Center for Machine Learning and Health.

Her research focuses on improving Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology for human contexts by making AI more sensitive to human concerns and behavior so that people can use algorithmic decisions as tools for more informed and fairer decision-making. 

Lee is passionate about the theoretical research and societal impact associated with AI. Drawing from design, computer science, and social science, she creates and deploys new AI services in the field, working with real-world organizations. 

Her research interests include human-computer interaction, computer-supported collaborative work, human-centered artificial intelligence, algorithmic fairness & transparency, human-robot interaction, and design. Lee’s current research is inspired by –and complements– her previous work on social robots for long-term interaction, seamless human-robot handovers, and telepresence robots. 

Lee has conducted some of the first studies that empirically examine the social implications of algorithms’ emerging roles in management and governance in society including how people perceive algorithms, and how algorithmic services that work in the real world can be designed to be fairer and more trustworthy.

She is a Siebel Scholar and has received the Allen Newell Award for Research Excellence, research grants from NSF and Uptake, and five best paper awards or honorable mentions in venues including CHI, CSCW, DIS and HRI. 

Lee currently serves as Associate Editor of ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (THRI). Herwork has been featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, New Scientist, Washington Post, MIT Technology Review, and CBS. 

Dean Eric T. Meyer expressed his gratitude to the Texas iSchool Search Committee chaired by Pat Galloway, for identifying Lee and helping recruit her to The University of Texas at Austin School of Information. “We had an outstanding pool of candidates this year, but Min really stood out for her clarity of vision and the impacts of her research,” said Meyer. 

“Dr. Lee comes to us from a world-leading group at Carnegie Mellon, and I am confident she will be an excellent addition to the iSchool. I think I speak for the faculty when I say we look forward to working with her as her career develops, and I’m certain students will benefit tremendously from her experience, knowledge, and skill.”

Lee earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technologyin 2004. In 2007, she received a Master of Design in Interaction Design from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Design. 

Lee went on to earn a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction in 2011 and Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction in 2013 both from Carnegie Mellon University, School of Computer Science, HCI Institute. To read more about Dr. Min Kyung Lee, visit her website.