design.nexus

dr. Fran Burger

Fran

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Focus

  • Advanced products, interfaces, and technologies
  • User-centered design
  • ePrototyping
  • (Mental) health and well-being
  • Design for vulnerable users

Short CV

Fran(ziska) Burger is a postdoctoral researcher in the design.nexus and imec-mict research groups. She has obtained a Bachelor’s degree in 2013 in Cognitive Science (Universität Tübingen) and her Master’s degree in 2016 in Artificial Intelligence (Radboud University Nijmegen).

Her research interest lies in improving the quality of life of vulnerable individuals through technology. She discovered this during an internship at MBRDNA in Silicon Valley in 2014, where she worked on keeping drivers safe while using the in-vehicle infotainment system. In her Master's thesis, she went on to develop a self-disclosure module for a NAO-robot to strengthen the bond between the robot and children with Type I diabetes as part of the Horizon 2020 PAL project.

Fran successfully defended her doctoral dissertation titled “Supporting Electronic Mental Health with Artificial Intelligence: Thought Record Analysis and Guidance” in December of 2022. Since her PhD, she completed two part-time postdocs at TU Delft (2022/23) and TU Eindhoven respectively (2022-2024).