Johan F. Hoorn

PolyU Scholars Hub

Professor (Joint with COMP)

Deputy Programme Leader, MSc in Innovative Multimedia Entertainment

V602i
+852 2766 4509
johan.f.hoorn@polyu.edu.hk
Expertise: Social Robotics, Computational Creativity, AI and Design, Emotion Simulation, Epistemics, Data Analysis

PolyU Scholars Hub

ORCID ID

Biography

Johan F. Hoorn holds two PhD degrees, one in General Literature and one in Computer Science from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His unconventional career path reflects his ambitions to do pioneering research. Current research interests focus on the theory of emotion, creativity, reality perception, and moral reasoning, implemented in artificial agents and social robots. Johan’s in-depth knowledge of the workings of fictional characters is now put to use in the study and development of social and communicative robots. He combines user studies with the design of artificial intelligence systems (AI). Respecting the largely different academic standards and publication cultures, he has been successful in pursuing original research ideas, publish them in high-impact academic journals (e.g., IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing), and present them at many international conferences. Published papers (200+) range from author identification, virtual reality, genre rules, and metaphor to user studies, requirements engineering, software architecture, AI, and robotics. His work is known worldwide for the documentary Alice Cares.

Johan is honoured as a Distinguished Scholar of PolyU for his impactful innovations, significantly benefiting industries and communities in Hong Kong, the nation, and globally. Click here for details.

Education and Academic Qualifications

Degrees:

Ph.D (D. Sc.), VU University Amsterdam

Ph.D (D. Litt.), VU University Amsterdam

MA, University of Amsterdam

BA, University of Amsterdam

Present Position:

Interfaculty Full Professor, School of Design and Dept. of Computing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Positions Held:

Senior Associate Professor	VU University, Dept. of Communication Science (2007-2021)
Senior Associate Professor/ Managing Director	VU University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Center for Advanced Media Research Amsterdam (CAMeRA) (2007-2012)
Assistant Professor	VU University, Athena Institute for Research on Innovation and Communication in Health and Life Sciences (2006-2007)
Assistant Professor	VU University, Information Management and Software Engineering (2006-2007)
Postdoctoral Fellow	VU University, Information Management and Software Engineering (2001-2006)
Postdoctoral Fellow	VU University, Dept. General and Comparative Literature (1997-2001)
Adjunct Lecturer	Tilburg University, Dept. of Discourse Processes (1999)

Guest/ Visiting Positions Held:

Adjunct Associate Professor

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, School of Design (2013-2015)

Teaching Area

Social Robotics
AI in Design
Human-Computer Interaction
Psychology of Design

Research Outputs

Hoorn, J. F., & Ho, J. K. W. (2019). Robot affect: the amygdala as Bloch sphere. arXiv:cs, 1911.12128, 1-29.

Learn more

Hoorn, J. F., Baier, T., Van Maanen, J. A. N., & Wester, J. (2021). Silicon Coppélia and the formalization of the affective process. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, x(x), 1-24. doi: 10.1109/TAFFC.2020.3048587

Learn more

Hoorn, J. F., Konijn, E. A., & Pontier, M. A. (2018). Dating a synthetic character is like dating a man. International Journal of Social Robotics, 1-19. doi: 10.1007/s12369-018-0496-1.

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Van Vugt, H. C., Hoorn, J. F., & Konijn, E. A. (2009). Interactive engagement with embodied agents: An empirically validated framework. Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds, 20, 195-204. doi:10.1002/cav.312

Konijn, E. A., & Hoorn, J. F. (2005). Some like it bad. Testing a model for perceiving and experiencing fictional characters. Media Psychology, 7(2), 107-144.

Projects

2009 [M€4.6] Services of Electro-mechanical Care Agencies (SELEMCA). Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science, The Netherlands: Creative Industries Scientific Programme.

2021 [HK$3,000,000] Negative-mood reduction among HK youth with robot PAL (Personal Avatar for Life). Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (Project Code: RP2-3), Innovation and Technology Fund, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Awards

2021 Winner Pilot Science Appreciated award, national award for unceasing science communication (Royal Dutch Academy of Science KNAW)
2020 Winner Huibregtsen Prize, national award for innovative science with societal impact (Royal Dutch Academy of Science KNAW)
2015 Eureka Award for scientific outreach (i.e. for the documentary Alice Cares). The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and Royal Dutch Academy of Science (KNAW)
2010 - 2011 Lorentz Fellowship at Royal Dutch Academy of Science (KNAW) / NIAS, developing a unified theory of creativity: meaning, mechanisms, models
2001 Burgen Scholarship of the Academia Europaea, Cambridge, London, UK, for “excellent academic achievement”

Hoorn, J. F. (2014). Creative confluence. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.

Hoorn, J. F. (Ed.) (2013). Organic creativity and the physics within. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.

Hoorn, J. F. (2012). Epistemics of the virtual. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.