Hi, I am Isabella.

Psychologist by training and a computing scientist by trade, I have  completed my PhD in the Human-Centered Computing group at the Department of Information and Computing Sciences at Utrecht University, and I'm now exploring what's next. My interests lie at the intersection of human behavior and technology, and spans multiple aspects of it. 

My PhD focused on using AI to support groups of students working together: I researched ways to improve group wellbeing among students using AI, focusing on detecting issues as soon as they arise, empowering teachers to support them, and ensuring students feel continually supported throughout their projects. I'm interested in how education is changing, and will keep changing, with AI technologies, and what this means for educators and leaners.

But technology does not only affect education. How do our social and emotional lives change when machines become our daily conversation partners, brainstorming sparring mates, and co-workers? Are we learning to count on them also for social and emotional support? It's essential to ask oneself the right questions, because asking the right questions means knowing what to use technology for. 

Alongside this aspects, I am also interested in what makes people change their behavior, and what technology can do for us in that regard. Psychology shows us that positive behavior change is, sometimes, more complex than it looks: technology can help fill in the gaps. By mixing insights from positive psychology and computer science, we can make technology work with and for us via designing tools and systems that can empower people and improve wellbeing.

When I’m not asking overcomplicated questions, you can usually find me writing, reading a good book, practicing a Chopin Nocturne, or losing myself in contemporary dance.