Sarah A. Koch

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About

Dr. Sarah A. Koch is a pioneering researcher in human-robot interaction, with a particular focus on emotionally expressive robotics and assistive technologies. Her most-cited work, "A Feasibility Study Evaluating the Emotionally Expressive Robot SAM" (2017), has garnered 24 citations and laid critical groundwork for understanding how robots can communicate affective states to enhance user engagement and trust. This study demonstrated that even simple emotional expressions in robots can significantly improve human-robot rapport, a finding that has influenced subsequent designs in therapeutic and social robotics. Beyond this flagship paper, Dr. Koch’s broader contributions include developing frameworks for evaluating robot emotional expressiveness in real-world settings, such as elder care and autism intervention. Her research bridges engineering, psychology, and design, offering practical insights for creating more intuitive and empathetic machines. By quantifying the impact of subtle emotional cues, she has helped shift the field from purely functional robotics toward socially aware systems. Dr. Koch’s work continues to inspire new generations of researchers to explore how robots can become not just tools, but companions.