Spartielab Student Spotlight with Ann Desrochers and George McNeill

We are excited to dedicate this episode to two students who have been working with the SPARTIE Lab for most of their time at Michigan State University. In this episode, they discuss some of their lab experiences and what they expect in their future careers.About this week’s guests:Ann Desrochers is a student and Alumni Distinguished Scholar at Michigan State University. She is currently majoring in Experience Architecture and Psychology. She is the President of the MSU Experience Architecture Club and is a Professorial Assistant for the College of Communication Arts & Sciences. She is also a researcher for the SPARTIE Lab!George McNeill is a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Michigan State University Eli Broad College of Business. He is the operations manager for the Impact 89FM Radio Station and a Graduate Research Assistant for the College of Communication Arts & Sciences. He is also the owner of Cool Duck Productions, a media production company based in West Michigan and a researcher for the SPARTIE Lab!About the SPARTIE Lab:The Social and Psychological Approaches to Research on Technology-Interaction Effects (SPARTIE) Lab performs research on the effects of human-technology interaction, examining how the use of media technologies (e.g., avatars, agents, automobiles) influences meaningful outcomes (e.g., education, health/safety, persuasion).The SPARTIE Lab is part of the greater academic community at the College of Communication Arts & Sciences at Michigan State University. More information on the lab's research projects, staff, and work can be found at the SPARTIE Lab website.About the host:Dr. Rabindra (Robby) Ratan, Ph. D., is an Associate Professor and AT&T Scholar at Michigan State University’s Department of Media and Information and is the Director of the SPARTIE Lab.He is also an affiliated faculty member of the MSU Department of Psychology, the MSU College of Education’s program in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology, and the MSU Center for Gender in a Global Context. Ratan received his Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, his M.A. in Communication from Stanford University, and his B.A. in Science, Technology and Society, also from Stanford University.Dr. Ratan conducts research on the effects of human-technology interaction, examining how media technologies (e.g., avatars, agents, automobiles) influence meaningful outcomes (e.g., persuasion, education, health/safety).  He is particularly interested in the Proteus effect, media-rich transportation contexts, perceptions of media as self-representations and/or social others, avatarification for health and education, and gender stereotypes in gaming contexts.Dr. Ratan lives near Lansing with his family. More information on his work can be found on his website.