Team

Meet our researchers and designers!

core team

Dr. Ir. Rens Brankaert

Co-director ECDT

Rens Brankaert Fellow at Industrial Design in the cluster TR&D, Lecturer Fontys University of Applied Sciences and Professor by special appointment Tilburg University. He works on designs for people with dementia by means of participatory methods and living labs. In this work he wants to bridge the gap between a design-oriented approach and current care practices with a specific focus on dementia.

Publications

Prof. Dr. Wijnand IJsselsteijn

Co-director ECDT

Prof.dr. Wijnand IJsselsteijn has a background in artificial intelligence and cognitive neuropsychology. He received his PhD in 2004 on the subject of telepresence. Since 2012, he has been professor of Cognition and Affect in Human-Technology Interaction at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). He has an active research program on the impact of media technology on human psychology and the use of psychology to improve technology design.

Publications

Ir. Ans Tummers

Support & PhD candidate

Ans Tummers has a rich history in administrative work in relation to dementia and the public domain. She is a board member of the Alzheimer Research Initiative Düsseldorf and a former member of the board of directors of the “International Alzheimer Research Foundation”. She is currently a PhD candidate at Human and Technology Interaction, on mediated touch for people with dementia.

Publications

Dr. Maarten Houben

Researcher

Maarten Houben is a Postdoc at TU/e at the Industrial Design faculty. His PhD research focused on the effects of everyday sounds and soundscapes in technologies for people with dementia. Maarten has a master's degree in engineering sciences: architecture and gained research experience in interactive media architecture at the Research[x]Design group at KU Leuven. He is interested in designing and researching ambient multisensory technologies for vulnerable user groups.

Publications

Karlijn van Rijen MSc.

PhD Candidate

Karlijn van Rijen MSc. has a background in Industrial Design and Human-Technology Interaction. During her masters, she conducted various studies in the field of dementia and brain injury and has been applying this knowledge as a project manager for Luckt BV since 2022. In this capacity, she also works as a project manager for the ECDT. In addition, Karlijn has been working on a PhD since 2024, in which she conducts research into the implementation of technology for elderly care and the collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs and healthcare.

Prof. Dr. Henk Herman Nap

Researcher

Henk Herman Nap has a background in psychonomics and cognitive ergonomics and obtained his PhD in 2008 on the subject of HCI for seniors. In addition to his part-time position at TU/e, he is an expert on the theme of digital care at Vilans. Henk Herman is on the board of the International Society of Gerontechnology and his research program focuses on value-driven innovations in care & support; how to make the (added) value of technology transparent for different stakeholders and also which ethical and social values play a role in acceptance and use.

Publications

Renata Vis

Secretariat

Since October 2017, Renata has been working as a management/office assistant IE&IS for the Human-Technology Interaction research group at TU/e. She will also support the ECDT as secretary in mid-2021.

Dana Starmans

Student assistant

Dana Starmans has been a student assistant at ECDT since November 2022. She is currently working on her master's graduation project in Industrial Design at TU/e, in which she collaborates with various organizations in Eindhoven that organize activities to connect local residents.

Research team

Dr. Giulia Perugia

Researcher

Dr. Giulia Perugia, an expert in the field of ethical and inclusive HRI (Human-Robot Interaction) and Social Psychology. For the ECDT, she is interested in exploring how we can promote co-design of AI for people with dementia, how we can ensure these technologies are ethical and safe, and how we can use these technologies to engage marginalized people with dementia .

Dr. Minha Lee

Researcher

Dr. Minha Lee completed her Ph.D. in interactional morality (Eindhoven University of Technology), has an MSc. in Information Science (University of Amsterdam), a BFA in digital art (Pratt Institute), and a BA in philosophy (University of Minnesota – Twin Cities). She has been an assistant professor at the Industrial Design faculty of TU/e since 2020. Her research area is conversational user interfaces, moral emotions such as compassion or gratitude and integrating technology to explore socio-moral growth.

Publications

Dr. Linghan Zhang

Researcher

With a background in computer science and research experience in mobile and wearable sensors/computing, she uses sensors, sensor data processing and modeling, and artificial intelligence to enable personalized and precise human-computer interactions. Specifically, her research interests are in the areas of mobile/wearable sensors, affective computing and assistive technology.

Sanne Beijer MSc.

PhD Candidate

Sanne Beijer has a background in Industrial Design and obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees at Eindhoven University of Technology. She is currently a PhD candidate in Industrial Design, with her project aimed at studying the implementation gap that arises after the introduction of technologies in dementia care.

Rucha Khot MSc.

PhD Candidate

Rucha Khot is a designer and engineer. She has an MSc. in Integrated Product Design (specialization Medisign) from TU Delft and a BE in Electronics Engineering from Mumbai University. She is currently a PhD candidate researching interactive and responsible products for dementia care using Warm technology.

Yvon Ruitenburg MSc.

PhD Candidate

Yvon Ruitenburg has a background in Industrial Design and obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees at Delft University of Technology. She is currently a PhD candidate in Industrial Design Engineering, with her project aimed at improving communication for people with dementia.

Alicia Valencia MSc.

PhD Candidate

Alicia Valencia is an object designer and researcher specialized in healthcare environments suitable for all ages. She holds a Masters in Design (MDes) from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Masters of Science (MSc) in Human-Environmental Relations from Cornell University. She also holds a Bachelor of Science (ScB) in Psychology from Brown University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. As a PhD candidate, Alicia is currently contributing to the HOMEDEM project, which explores warm technology opportunities and home experiences for people with dementia.

Teis Arets MSc.

PhD Candidate

Teis Arets has a background in Human-Technology Interaction and obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees from Eindhoven University of Technology. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) research group at Eindhoven University of Technology. He has joined the QoLEAD project and is investigating how artificial intelligence can enrich social contacts for a better quality of life for people with dementia.

Fan Wang MSc.

PhD Candidate

Fan Wang has a background in Industrial Design and received her master's and bachelor's degrees from Peking University and Northwestern Polytechnic University. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) group, where she focuses on deception problems in human-robot interaction for people with dementia.

Ellis Bartholomeus MSa.

PhD Candidate

Ellis Bartholomeus graduated from the Piet Zwart Institute in the direction of People & Information. As an information designer, she immersed herself in games and became serious about playing. She did her Master Education in arts at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam, with a strong focus on autonomy and hierarchy avoidance. Now as a PhD candidate, she will delve into co-creation and participatory design with people with dementia and AI.

Adhityan Raja MSc.

EngD Candidate

Adhityan Raja is an industrial designer and engineer. He holds an MSc in Integrated Product Design from Delft University of Technology and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University. He is currently an EngD candidate investigating the role of conversational AI agents in dementia care, with a focus on cultural contexts.

Janna Alberts MSc.

PhD Candidate

Janna Alberts has a background in Medesign and focuses as a designer and researcher on connecting technology and end users in (elderly) care. After her studies, she has been involved in various (European) research projects focused on innovations in care. She is currently doing her PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology in Human-Technology Interaction, where her research focuses on the opportunities of technology in tackling malnutrition. The emphasis is on a co-design approach, with attention to the needs of end users and the broader care network.

Chantal Huisman MSc.

PhD Candidate

Chantal Huisman has a Master's degree in Innovation in Care and Welfare. Chantal is affiliated with the lectorate Technology for Care Innovations of Hogeschool Utrecht and for her PhD she is affiliated with the Building Performance group of the TU/e. The PhD research focuses on supporting people with dementia living at home in sleeping at home, by using non-pharmacological aids (such as technology). An important point of attention here is the burden on informal care (informal caregiver). Rens Brankaert is involved in this as co-promoter.