Nadine Richard

Ph.D. in Computer Science (ENST)

Main Research Interests

• Pedagogy: pedagogy for ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and ICT applied to pedagogy.
• Human-machine interfaces: affective computing, context-adaptation, human-agent/robot interaction, ambient computing, virtual reality, graphical interfaces, visual programming, ergonomy.
• Artificial intelligence: interface/user agents, multi-agent systems, animats, artificial life.
• Computer systems: robotics and embedded systems, reactive systems, distributed systems, mobile agents.
• Programming languages, educational software, video games.

Academic and Research Experience

• Nov. 2007-Aug. 2008: full-time lecturer at Pierre-Mendès France University (Grenoble, France)
  
  
• Sep. 2005-Oct. 2007: invited researcher at NII (National Institute of Informatics, Tokyo, Japan)
  TamaCoach: the effect of an expressive interface agent on the motivation of the user, in the context of an adaptive reminding system for calendar items.
  
  
• Nov. 2004-Jun. 2005: ICT teacher at LFIB (French International School of Bangkok, Thailand)
  Computer science courses for kids (14 classes from 3 to 11 years old), technical assistance to teachers, video/audio processing with pupils...
  
  
• Apr.-July 2004: part-time lecturer at EPITA (private Engineering School, Kremlin-Bicêtre, France)
  Created a full course about Virtual Worlds and AI for games.
  
  
• Jul.-Aug. 2003: invited researcher at NII (National Institute of Informatics, Tokyo, Japan)
  Implemented a graphical user interface for controlling a Sony AIBO robot.
  
  
• Jan. 2002-Jun. 2003: post-doctoral position at ENST (French ``Grande École'' of Telecommunications, Paris), on the European Ambience project
  
  • Applied the results of my Ph.D. thesis by developing high-level behaviours (collision avoidance, path planning) for the mobile robots built by ENST; these robots are used as mobile routers, which dynamically extend a wireless network (Bluetooth and WiFi).
  • Ambience workgroups were involved in different aspects of pervasive computing: wireless networks, context-awareness, robotics, multi-modal interfaces, multimedia retrieval, etc.
  
  
• Jan. 2003: obtained the competitive French qualification of Assistant Professor
  (required to apply for an academic job at the university)
  
  
• Dec. 1997-Jun. 2003: part-time lecturer (ENST and University of Paris 6)
  
  • Prepared and taught courses (VRML and Java3D, object-oriented, reactive and constraint programming, autonomous agents, action selection in robotics, CGI).
  • Supervised many practical courses, projects and training periods.
  
  
• Dec. 1997-Oct. 2001: Ph.D. student at ENST
  
  • Thesis entitled "Describing the behaviours of autonomous virtual agents", supervised by Pr. Codognet at INRIA (French National Institute for Research in Computer Science) and University of Paris 6, and by Pr. Grumbach at ENST.
  • Proposed a model of autonomous virtual agents and avatars, developped a multi-agent platform, designed and implemented a dedicated programming language.
  • My results have been used in the domain of video-game design for two projects involving the Universities of Paris 6 and Paris 7, and private companies (2002-2003).

Education

• 2001: Ph.D. in Computer Science
  ENST, Paris
  
  
• 1997: one-year post-graduate degree (M.Sc.) in Software Engineering
  University of Paris 6, First Class Honours
  Master thesis prepared at INRIA: developped a constraint solver to be used with VRML
  
  
• 1996: two-year university degree (M.A.) in Computer Science, Systems and Networks
  University of Paris 6, First Class Honours
  
  
• 1994: one-year university degree in Electrical Engineering
  University of Grenoble 1, Upper Second Class Honours
  
  
• 1993: two-year university degree in Computer Science
  University of Lyon 1, Second Class Honours

Organisation Skills

• involved in the writing of both technical and financial documents of successful proposals for research founding: two French projects (RNTL, RIAM), one ITEA European project (2000-2004)
• Member of the Program Committee and the Organisation Committee for the French-speaking Research Symposium (Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 2007)
• Member of the Program Committee for the workshop Virtual Storytelling (Toulouse, France, Nov. 2003)
• Member of the Program Committee and the Organisation Committee for the French-speaking conference Autour du Libre (Paris, France, May 2003)
• Member of the Organisation Committee for the French-speaking workshop Réalité Virtuelle et Cognition (Paris, France, Dec. 1999)

Technical Skills

• Programming languages:
  • Functional languages: Caml-Light, Scheme, Scol
  • Procedural/object-oriented languages: Java, Objective-Caml, Smalltalk, Python, Ada95, C/C++, JavaScript, Pascal
  • Logic programming (Prolog) and logic programming with constraints (GNU-Prolog)
  • Description languages (HTML, VRML/X3D, XML), synchronous languages (Esterel), database query languages (SQL, OQL), assembler (68000)
  
  
• Networks and computer systems:
  • Theory and practice of operating systems (processes/threads management, inter-process communication, etc.)
  • Theory and practice of distributed systems (protocols and tools for the Internet, client-server architectures, distributed objects)
  • Relational, object-oriented and distributed databases
  • Computer architectures
  
  
• Design methods: object-oriented design methods (UML, HOOD, OMT), industrial methods for software engineering and information system design (Merise, SA-RT, SADT), automatism (Grafcet, Gemma), knowledge engineering (KADS).

Miscellaneous

• French: native-speaker
• English: fluent, technical vocabulary
• German: understood, read
• Japanese: beginner
• Thai: notions
  
  
• Active member of the Sciencescope association (Japan, 2006-2007)
• Co-animator of the Club of Musical Improvisation (ENST, 2002-2003)
• Vice-president of the Association of Ph.D. Students (ENST, 1998-2000)