¡Bienvenidos!

I'm Olivia B. Newton, a Postdoctoral Research Asssociate and Lab Manager of the Cognitive Sciences Lab at the University of Central Florida.

I am a computational social scientist interested in promoting open collaboration, social good, and innovation in the development of technology and knowledge. My expertise is based on a robust theoretical foundation in the cognitive and social sciences blended with the skilled application of methods and approaches advanced in computer and network sciences.

To date, I have conducted research in the areas of instructional systems and artificial social intelligence to support teamwork, social behavior in online platforms, social cues and social signals in human-robot interaction, cognition and collaboration in space missions, the science of team science, and diversity in open source software development. My research has been accepted and published in journals, conferences, and workshops associated with leading organizations including IEEE, ACM, and HFES.

I was a McKnight Doctoral Fellow at the University of Central Florida where I earned a Ph.D. conferred by the College of Engineering and Computer Science. I previously earned a M.S. in Modeling and Simulation and a graduate certificate in Cognitive Science. My dissertation research examining the relationship beween diversity and corporatization in open source software projects was initially developed at the Santa Fe Institute and refined with guidance from an interdisciplinary group of mentors: Stephen M. Fiore, Gita Sukthankar, Kelly Blincoe, Ivan Garibay, and Carol Saunders. I received the 2022-23 University Award for Outstanding Dissertation from UCF which recognizes the quality, content, and exceptional contribution of my research.

In my free time, I am an amateur naturalist and gardener. I also enjoy reading science fiction, trying out new (to me) baking recipes, watching fútbol, and spending time with my family in México.