About

Interests

I am working towards my Ph.D. with Dr. Edith Law, at the University of Waterloo. My research interests lie in cognitive science and human-computer interaction. By increasing our understanding of cognition I would like to develop innovative, intuitive interactions. To this end, my research currently focuses on curiosity-driven teaching and learning and its applications to education.

Education

Ph.D. Computer Science: Human-Computer Interaction, University of Waterloo, Canada (2017-2021)

M.Sc. Human-Machine Communication cum laude, University of Groningen, the Netherlands (2014-2016)

The program focuses on Cognitive Science and its applications. It provides insights into human cognition and teaches how to use this knowledge in applied settings, such as tutoring systems, speech technology and human-computer interaction.

Honours Master ‘High Tech Systems and Materials’, University of Groningen, the Netherlands (2014-2016)

1.5 year program, organized by UGroningen in cooperation with Philips and other major industry partners, worth 20 ECTS and followed in addition to the standard master’s

B.Sc. Cognitive Systems: Cognition and Brain, University of British Columbia, Canada (2009-2014)

A multi-disciplinary undergraduate program involving four departments: Computer Science, Linguistics, Philosophy, and Psychology
The program provides students with a grounding in the principles and techniques used by intelligent systems both natural and artificial. It emphasizes the study of existing systems (e.g., perception; linguistics), the design of new ones (e.g., machine vision; machine intelligence), and the design of interfaces between different forms of intelligent agents (e.g., human-computer interfaces)

Academic Contributions

Başkent, D., Luckmann, A., Ceha, J., Gaudrain, E., & Tamati, T. N. (2018). The discrimination of voice cues in simulations of bimodal electro-acoustic cochlear-implant hearing. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 143(4), EL292-EL297.
Ceha, J., Chibberr, N., Law, E., Kulic, D., Goh, J., Oudeyer, P.-Y., and McDonald, C. (2018). Expression of curiosity in social robots: Design, perception, and effects on behaviour. (In submission: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)
Law, E., Ceha, J., Kulic, D., Oudeyer P.-Y., and Roy, D. (2018). Participatory design for identifying the roles of robots in learning activities. (In submission: CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)
Ceha, J. M. (2016). Investigation into the Enhancement of Voice Perception: with simulations of cochlear implants and bimodal hearing. (Master’s thesis) pdf
Theta-band phase locking after attentional blink training. Ceha, J., Buwalda, T., Taatgen, N., Borst, J., & van Vugt, M. Poster presentation at the 15th NVP Winter Conference on Cognition, Brain, and Behaviour. Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands. December 2015

Current Projects

Curious Robot Peers

School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo Human-Computer Interaction Lab - Dr. Edith Law, Inria Bordeaux FLOWERS Lab - Dr. Pierre-Yves Oudeyer

Co-designing Educational Robots with Teachers

School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo Human-Computer Interaction Lab - Dr. Edith Law

Neural Correlates of Curiosity

School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo Human-Computer Interaction Lab - Dr. Edith Law, Inria Bordeaux POTIOC - Dr. Fabien Lotte

Previous Projects

Psychoacoustic Experiment on Voice Perception

Department of Otorhinolaryngology (Audiology), University Medical Centre Groningen, Speech Perception Lab - Dr. Deniz Baskent (co-supervisor: Dr. Marieke van Vugt)

Psychoacoustic experiment on voice perception with cochlear implant (CI) and hearing aid simulations. Results show a bimodal hearing benefit which is limited to fundamental frequency perception.

EEG-based Neurofeedback System (Brain-Computer Interface)

Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Groningen, Belief, Perception, and Cognition Lab - Dr. Jacob Jolij (co-supervisors: Dr. Deniz Baskent & Dr. Marieke van Vugt)

Developed and pilot tested an electroencephalography (EEG) based neurofeedback system for improving speech perception in CI users. Results indicate a necessity for further research on event-related potentials, specifically the P300 waveform, elicited by non-word, vocoded speech stimuli.

EEG study on Theta Oscillation Phase-Locking

Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Engineering, University of Groningen, Cognitive Modelling Group - Dr. Marieke van Vugt

EEG study on theta oscillation phase-locking after attentional blink (AB) training. After training away the AB, no significant increase found in theta oscillation phase-locking.

Jessy Ceha