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About

Jacqueline Nadel is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of developmental psychology, social robotics, and autism rehabilitation, whose work has fundamentally shaped our understanding of imitation, communication, and human-robot interaction. Best known for her contributions to the landmark Robota project — a series of humanoid robots designed to support behavioral therapy in low-functioning children with autism, accumulating over 230 citations — Nadel has consistently bridged cognitive science with cutting-edge technology to address real-world clinical challenges. Her research explores how imitation serves dual functions as both a learning mechanism and a communicative tool, insights she has applied to both autonomous robot design and developmental psychology. Her investigations into emotional perception reveal that the human brain processes affect even in non-humanoid robots, a finding with profound implications for assistive technology design. Nadel has also contributed remarkable discoveries about newborn cognition, demonstrating that human infants can match tongue protrusion from robotic stimuli, challenging assumptions about early social perception. Across more than a decade of interdisciplinary work, Nadel's research has informed therapeutic approaches for autism spectrum disorder, attachment dynamics in human-robot relationships, and sensorimotor learning models, cementing her reputation as a foundational voice in social and developmental robotics.