Director
Dr. Shane Saunderson
Assistant Professor, Information SystemsDr. Shane Saunderson is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems with the Degroote School of Business at McMaster University and the Director of the Research on Artificial Persons (RAP) Lab. He holds Associate Memberships at McMaster with the Department of Computing and Software, Biomedical Engineering, and the School of Computational Science and Engineering. Shane also lectures with the Schulich School of Business Executive Education Center at York University and advises several technology startups and non-profit organizations. Shane received a B.Eng. in mechanical engineering from McGill University, a MBA in technology and innovation from the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University, and a PhD in robotics with a specialization in psychology from the University of Toronto. He is a former Vanier scholar and Junior Fellow with Massey College. Shane’s research focuses on the social and organizational implications of humanlike technologies, such as robotics and AI, with particular interest in topics such as trust, persuasion, and anthropomorphism.
Previously, Shane has spent time in industry running his own startups and consulting for Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft Canada, Ford, Lululemon, Samsung, Eli Lilly, and many more. He was the VP of Technology with Idea Couture, a strategy & innovation consultancy; chaired the Microsoft Canada Artificial Intelligence Partner Advisory Board (aiPAB); and co-founded Babbly, an AI-powered infant tech start-up. He founded and operates Artificial Futures, a digital strategy and user experience firm for the age of automation.
Human Persons
Chinonso Anyaehie
PhD ResearcherChinonso is a doctoral student researching how technology design shapes human behavior and organizational systems. His scholarly work includes a Best Paper Award-nominated study at ICIS 2025 on quantum computing and a co-authored paper on compassionate health IT design at CHITA 2026. He holds a doctoral-level Design Science certification from VHB ProDok. Before academia, he built a strong technical foundation through industry certifications including MCSA, CompTIA A+, CCNA, MCTS, and MCP, before becoming a leading Web3 educator at Developer DAO, winning the Epic Hashnode Writeathon, and founding Decentrapress.com, one of Africa’s first Web3 education platforms. He later founded BusinessLeaders.ai to help executives make practical sense of AI. His research streams span design science, compassionate AI, and AI innovation dynamics — including the application of econometric methods to study how AI technologies emerge and diffuse across industries and ecosystems.
Raiyan Rubab
Master’s ResearcherRai is a recent graduate of the Integrated Science program at McMaster University and a current Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering. Her current research interests are interdisciplinary, focusing on the intersection of psychology, mental health, and technology. She is currently conducting a mixed-methods study on AI-powered doll therapy in older adult populations. She brings additional research experience in health equity and community engagement, which continues to inform her passion for innovative and inclusive approaches to mental health and wellness. Outside of work, she keeps a full schedule balancing her love for cooking, playing cozy video games, reading, and attending EDM events with friends.
Nam Nguyen
Research AssistantNam is an MBA student and Research Assistant at the RAP Lab, where he supports various robotics procurement initiatives for the Lab. Furthermore, he is currently collaborating with Shane and the Canadian Robotics Council to develop and expand a national library of robotics adoption cases, aimed at helping small and enterprise organizations adopt robotics technologies and de-risk implementation. Outside of work, Nam enjoys canicrossing (a dog-human running sport), competing in judo and experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen.
Narmeen Awan
Research AssistantNarmeen is a BHSc. student and a Research Assistant in the RAP Lab. She is currently supporting the “Leadership and Team Formation with Artificial Persons” project, having conducted a literature review on AI and robotic systems in leadership roles, team dynamics, and trust in human-AI collaboration. Narmeen is especially interested in how AI challenges traditional ideas of leadership and social connection, and how human-machine interactions might reshape the dynamics of influence and collaboration.
Diya Wadhwa
Research AssistantDiya is an Applied Psychology in Human Behaviour student and a Research Assistant in the RAP Lab. She is interested in how emerging AI systems and artificial agents influence trust, collaboration, and leadership dynamics within teams, and also interested in the psychological and neurophysiological aspects of human behaviour, especially how people think, interact, and respond within social and technological environments. Outside of academics, Diya enjoys singing and playing musical instruments like flute and piano, as well as going on walks as a way to decompress and think through ideas more clearly.
Nimrat Kalirai
Research AssistantBio coming soon
Artificial Persons
Dudley
Telepresence RobotDudley is a Temi v3; a video-oriented, semi-autonomous telepresence robot that can navigate environments, recognize and follow users, and serve as a smart assistant and interactive companion.
Stimpy
Humanoid RobotStimpy is a blue NAO V5; a programmable humanoid robot by Aldebaran featuring 25 degrees of freedom, dual HD cameras, multiple sensors, and support for human-robot interaction and education research.
Ren
Humanoid RobotRen is a red NAO V5; a programmable humanoid robot by Aldebaran featuring 25 degrees of freedom, dual HD cameras, multiple sensors, and support for human-robot interaction and education research.
Alumni
Tracy Gibbs
Research AssistantTracy is studying a PhD in social work and is an RA with the RAP lab focused on mixed methods research with telepresence robots. She is conducting a co-creative study that gives older adults the opportunity to experience and give feedback on mobile telepresence robots, attempting to understand them as potential social and mobility aides.