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Sofia Thunberg is a leading researcher in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), whose work focuses on the social acceptance and real-world deployment of robots in public spaces and care settings. Her most cited study, "Are People Ready for Social Robots in Public Spaces?" (50 citations), used an ethnographic approach with the humanoid robot Pepper at a train station, revealing critical insights into public readiness for robotic services. Thunberg has made significant contributions to understanding how older adults perceive robots like Furhat and Pepper, with her 2022 paper on older adults’ perceptions (22 citations) and her Wizard of Oz approach to robotic therapy for depressive symptoms (19 citations) highlighting her impact on gerontechnology. She also explores the ethical and practical dimensions of HRI, as seen in "Don't Judge a Book by its Cover" (22 citations), which examines how robot appearance influences social acceptance. Her recent work on multimodal enjoyment detection using large language models (2024) and the lived experiences of Wizard of Oz operators (2025) demonstrates her forward-thinking approach. With over 170 total citations, Thunberg’s research is shaping the future of socially assistive robotics, particularly for vulnerable populations like older adults with dementia.