Michal A. Lewkowicz

About

Michal A. Lewkowicz is a researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction, social robotics, and assistive technologies. Their work primarily explores how robots can influence team dynamics, support neurodiverse populations, and facilitate bidirectional learning. A key contribution is their study on robot verbal support within human teams, which revealed that a robot’s simple affirmations can encourage contributions from outgroup members while inadvertently suppressing ingroup supportive behavior—a finding with 25 citations that reshapes how we design collaborative robots for mixed teams. Lewkowicz also addresses real-world challenges for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), developing a social robot that improves interruption tolerance and employability (14 citations), directly tackling a critical barrier to workplace integration. Their forward-looking perspective is evident in a 2021 paper advocating for robots that both teach and learn, proposing a methodology for skill transfer between humans and machines. Additionally, they contributed to swarm robotics with a distributed algorithm for selecting leaders in supervisory control systems. Through these diverse yet interconnected projects, Lewkowicz demonstrates a commitment to creating socially aware, adaptive robots that enhance human capabilities and inclusion.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   The Influence of Robot Verbal Support on Human Team Members: Encouraging Outgroup Contributions and Suppressing Ingroup Supportive Behavior

   25 citations · 2020
2. 2
   A Social Robot for Improving Interruptions Tolerance and Employability in Adults with ASD

   14 citations · 2022
3. 3
   Why We Should Build Robots That Both Teach and Learn

   7 citations · 2021
4. 4
   Distributed Algorithm for Selecting Leaders for Supervisory Robotic Swarm Control

   6 citations · 2019

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links