Hanan Salam

Dr Hanan Salam is a researcher, professor, and entrepreneur with expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, cognitive and affective computing, human-computer interaction, psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, and education. She is the co-founder of Women in AI (WAI), a global organisation focused on increasing female representation and participation in the field of AI. At WAI, she leads education and research initiatives, promoting workshops, content, and events to bridge the gender gap in technology.

Currently, Dr Salam serves as an Assistant Professor and Director of the SMART Lab at New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi. Her research focuses on developing socially and emotionally intelligent machines capable of natural human interaction. This involves analysing and modelling social and emotional signals using computer vision, machine learning, and signal processing to understand human behaviour and predict emotional and mental states. Applications of her research extend to education, healthcare, and support for individuals with autism, Alzheimer’s, and other cognitive challenges.

Previously, Dr Salam worked as a Research and Development Engineer at A.I.Mergence, a robotics start-up, contributing to the creation of autonomous domestic security robots. She has also held academic positions at institutions including emlyon business school and Université Paris-Sorbonne, where she advanced her research in human-robot interaction and affective computing.

Dr Salam earned a PhD in AI from CentraleSupélec, a Master’s degree in Control, Robotics, Image and Signal Processing from Centrale Nantes, and an engineering diploma in Telecommunications and Computer Science from the Lebanese University. She has published extensively, contributing to topics such as facial expression recognition, engagement detection, and emotion analysis in human-robot interactions.