Muhammad Umair

I am a PhD candidate in Computer Science with a focus on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) at Tufts University. My research interests include Spoken Dialogue Systems (SDS), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Conversational AI, and Human-Robot Interaction. I am part of the Human Interaction Lab and am advised by Dr. J.P de Ruiter and Dr. Liping Liu. Prior to this, I earned my BS in Computer Science with a minor in Cognitive and Brain Sciences (CBS) from Tufts University.

Inspired by Conversation Analysis (CA), my research focuses on understanding the mechanics of turn-taking in human interaction to enable dialogue systems to achieve natural, unscripted interactions. My major projects include GailBot, an automatic transcription system that annotates paralinguistic features of conversation, as well as various projects investigating opportunities for speaking, known as Transition Relevance Places (TRPs).

Outside of work, I love to travel and explore various cuisines—my family maintains a food blog. I am also passionate about rock climbing and skydiving.

Feel free to explore my website to learn more about my projects and research interests. If you find my work interesting, please reach out — I am always open to collaborating!