Sooyeon Jeong, an assistant professor of computer science at Purdue University, is working to develop robots to improve human lives. She hopes to design AI and robots that have a positive, impact on human health and well-being. Her research focuses on creating robots that can interact socially and emotionally with people, aiming to make them helpful companions rather than intimidating machines. Jeong’s projects include social robots for hospitalized children, robots to assist stroke patients with speech recovery, and virtual avatars to support cancer patients.