WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering
Education
- 2015, Doctoral Degree, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania
- 2013, Master's Degree, Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania
- 2010, Bachelor's Degree, Mechanical Engineering, University of Nevada - Reno
Biography
Heather Culbertson is a Gabilan Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on the design and control of haptic devices and rendering systems, human-robot interaction, and virtual reality. Particularly she is interested in creating haptic interactions that are natural and realistically mimic the touch sensations experienced during interactions with the physical world. Previously, she was a research scientist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University where she worked in the Collaborative Haptics and Robotics in Medicine (CHARM) Lab. She received her PhD in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM) at the University of Pennsylvania in 2015 working in the Haptics Group, part of the General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Laboratory. She completed a Masters in MEAM at the University of Pennsylvania in 2013, and earned a BS degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2010. She is currently serving as General Co-Chair for IEEE Haptics Symposium. Her awards include the NSF CAREER Award, IEEE Technical Committee on Haptics Early Career Award, MassRobotics Rising Star in Robotics Award, Ershaghi Faculty Mentorship Award, citation for meritorious service as a reviewer for the IEEE Transactions on Haptics, Best Paper at UIST, and the Best Hands-On Demonstration Award at IEEE World Haptics.
Research Summary
Dr. Culbertson's research investigates how we use our sense of touch to communicate with the physical world and uses this knowledge to design haptic devices and rendering algorithms. The goal of her research is to leverage our knowledge of the human sense of touch to create haptic interactions that are natural and realistically mimic their physical counterparts. She is interested in applying these haptic devices to applications in virtual reality, medicine, human-robot interaction, and HCI.
Awards
- 2021 IEEE TCH Early Career Award
- 2021 NSF NSF CAREER Award
- 2017 Best Paper, ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST)
- 2016 Citation for Meritorious Service as a Reviewer, IEEE Transactions on Haptics
- 2013 Best Hands-On Demonstration, IEEE World Haptics Conference
- 2011 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
