Two JCU Alumni Present Research Paper at 2024 Conference on Social Robotics +AI in Denmark

JCU alumni Luisa Porzio and Anthony Tricarico, both Class of 2023, recently traveled to Odense, Denmark to present their research paper at the Conference on Social Robotics +AI (ICSR), alongside Psychology Professor Merel Keijsers. The paper is the result of Luisa and Anthony’s independent study research conducted at JCU, and it explores how different measures of anthropomorphism compare in capturing human-like qualities in non-human agents.

We asked Luisa and Anthony about this important achievement and their time at JCU.

Luisa was born and raised in Rome, and she spent her fourth year of high school studying abroad in Toronto, Canada. She earned her BA as a double major in International Affairs and Psychology with a minor in Legal Studies. During her time at JCU, she played on the varsity women’s soccer team. Luisa became fascinated by the world of methodological research and data analysis during her Statistics and Psychometrics class with Professor Keijsers. After graduation, she worked at JCU as a Resident Assistant.

Anthony originally hails from a small town near Potenza (Basilicata), in Southern Italy. He grew up playing basketball, which he continued doing during his university years. He studied at JCU as an Economics and Finance major, with a minor in International Affairs, and later added a second major in Psychological Science. Through the Center for Career Services, he landed an internship with a financial consulting boutique in Rome, and after graduation, he worked as a financial analyst at Toyota Financial Services.

Both Luisa and Anthony have recently started their M.Sc. in Data Science at the University of Trento.

You recently participated in this year’s Conference on Social Robotics +AI and presented your paper on psychometrics. Tell us about this experience and your research process.
Luisa: In my last semester at JCU, I asked Professor Keijsers if I could plan an independent study in order to gain more advanced skills in statistics, statistical programming, and data analysis. That’s when she proposed a very ambitious project that ultimately led us to attend ICSR in Odense.

When I first started, we only had an idea, which seemed very complex and difficult to develop, and we also had some doubts about whether the results of the research would support our initial hypothesis. But as the months went by, our research took multiple (and sometimes unexpected) turns. This made me realize how the research process is never linear, never smooth, and that is probably what I like the most about it.

Thanks to the invaluable support from both JCU and Professor Keijsers, attending the conference has been a life-changing experience. I had the opportunity to meet seasoned researchers with different backgrounds, while also witnessing great presentations on social robotics from internationally acclaimed experts in the field.

Anthony: It all began during my last semester at JCU when my curiosity about research and academia drove me to explore these areas further. After discussing it with Professor Keijsers, we designed an independent study course focused on conducting original research. We developed an experiment, crafted a feasible study design, and built an end-to-end data analysis pipeline. By the semester’s end, we had promising results and decided to continue refining the project even after my graduation.

Together, we wrote an academic paper summarizing our findings, and in June, Professor Keijsers submitted it to the ICSR. When the paper was accepted, I was thrilled at the opportunity to present it at such a prestigious conference. This experience offered invaluable insight into the world of academic research, solidifying my interest in the field.

Looking back, I acknowledge that all this would have never been possible without the set of tools and skills that I acquired at JCU. And, last but not least, a key factor that made all this possible is the unwavering support provided by the University, both its administration and faculty, who always ensure that alumni remain an integral part of the JCU community.

What are your plans for the future? 
Luisa: I don’t know what the future holds, but for now I will try to get the most out of my M.Sc. in Data Science, thanks to which I’m developing more skills in data analysis and research methodologies. My interest in forensic psychology and criminology is still very important to me, so in the future, I would like to find a way to combine both of these worlds.

Anthony: Currently, I’m in my first year of the MSc program in Data Science. My focus right now is on honing technical skills in statistical modeling, machine learning, and AI, and I aim to merge them with my background in Economics and Psychology to tackle complex, interdisciplinary research questions. In the long term, I aspire to develop innovative methods to address challenges in these fields, and I plan to pursue a Ph.D. to deepen my expertise. For now, my priority is to build a strong foundation that bridges technical rigor with impactful research.