Rabindra (Robby) Ratan
Rabindra (Robby) Ratan (PhD, University of Southern California; MA/BA, Stanford University) is Associate Professor and Director of the SPARTIE Lab at Michigan State University (CV). Dr. Ratan conducts social and psychological research on the effects of human-technology interaction, focusing on how media technologies (e.g., avatars, video games, agents/AI, VR) influence meaningful outcomes (e.g., equity, well-being, motivation) across societal contexts (e.g., education, health, industry). He is particularly interested in the Proteus effect (i.e., avatar characteristics influencing user behaviors), gender stereotypes in gaming, and virtual meetings. Dr. Ratan has also received multiple teaching awards and presently teaches his classes in virtual reality.