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About

Lisa Zahray is a researcher working at the intersection of human-robot interaction, robotic musicianship, and sound design. Her work focuses on how robots can communicate more effectively and expressively with humans through innovative use of audio, music, and sonification. Most notably, Zahray has pioneered the application of sonification in robotics — a field she argues has been significantly underutilized — demonstrating how translating robot movement data into sound can enhance user awareness and safety during interactions, earning 23 citations for her foundational 2020 paper on the topic. A recurring collaborator on Georgia Tech's celebrated Shimon robot project, Zahray has contributed to groundbreaking work in creative robotics, including real-time rap improvisation, robotic singing, and emotionally expressive musical performance. Her research on emotional musical prosody — using musicality to build trust between humans and robotic arms in industrial settings — reflects a sophisticated understanding of how sound shapes human perception and collaboration. She has also explored how personality traits like neuroticism and extraversion might inform emotionally intelligent robotic behavior. With work spanning technical mechatronics improvements and nuanced social dimensions of robot communication, Zahray's research offers valuable contributions to students and practitioners designing the next generation of expressive, trustworthy robotic systems.