Margo Apostolos Bio

Margo is both a dancer and a roboticist (!). Seems like she will be a really interesting resource for trying to understand how we perceive and interpret gesture.

I found a neat article that she wrote about robots choreography: http://www.jstor.org/view/0024094x/ap050073/05a00110/0
Since the article is on JStor for which you need a subscription, you may need to be on campus to access the above link (USC provides free access).

Here's her bio from the USC website:

Dr. Apostolos has authored and presented numerous articles on her research and design in Robot Choreography. In addition to her doctoral and post-doctoral studies at Stanford University, she earned an M.A. in Dance from Northwestern University. She has served as visiting professor in the Department of Psychology at Princeton University and has taught in Chicago, San Francisco, at Stanford University, Southern Illinois University and California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. A recipient of the prestigious NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship, Dr. Apostolos worked for NASA at Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech as a research scientist in the area of space telerobotics. At the Annenberg Center for Communication, Dr. Apostolos conducted research on facial expressions and human-computer interactions. Her work in this area continues in collaboration with the USC neuroscience program. She was named a Southern California Studies Center faculty fellow, where she is surveying theatre and dance in the Southern California region. Currently, Stanford University is providing funding for Dr. Apostolos’ work in the area of “Dance for Sports” in collaboration with the Stanford Athletic Department. This work was presented to the International Olympic Committee in Sydney, Australia, for the 2000 Games and in preparation for the Salt Lake City Games in 2002. Dr. Apostolos developed the Dance Minor program in Theatre, directs the dance concert each semester, and coordinates the Open Gate Dance Program. In 2004, she presented at the Athens IOC meeting on Dance for Sports and at the World Congress of Dance. This past spring, she was instrumental in bringing internationally-renown director/choreographer Mark Morris to campus for a workshop that integrated motion capture technology and robotics with modern dance. Most recently, she co-founded the Cedars-Sinai/USC Dance Medicine Center, a specialized treatment center – the first of its kind in Los Angeles – offering preventive care and treatment specifically designed for professional and recreational dancers.