Associate Professor Jordy Kaufman

Biography

Dr Jordy Kaufman is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Swinburne University of Technology. His research focuses on the intersection of child development and technology, exploring how children interact with and learn from various technologies such as virtual reality, touchscreens, video chat, and robots.

Dr Kaufman's studies, which employ a range of methods, including behavioural studies, event-related high-density EEG, neuroimaging, and surveys, provide a nuanced understanding of children's engagement with technology. This research contributes to our understanding of child development in the digital age and informs educational practices and policy.

In addition to his academic research, Dr. Kaufman has led multiple projects for the Australian Department of Education and Training, focusing on enhancing children's learning experiences through technology. These projects exemplify the integration of academic research with real-world applications, a hallmark of Swinburne's approach to education.

Dr. Kaufman's work, while rooted in the field of psychology, extends beyond traditional boundaries to engage with technology and education. This interdisciplinary approach reflects Swinburne's commitment to innovation and its vision for the future of education in a tech-led world.

Background I earned my BSc in Cognitive Science at Carnegie Mellon University and my PhD in Psychology at Duke University with Prof. Amy Needham. From there, I took a postdoctoral position with Prof. Mark Johnson at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at the University of London, studying infant brain development. In 2007, I moved to Swinburne University of Technology, where my group established Australia's first infant cognitive neuroscience laboratory. 

Keywords: developmental-psychology; child-psychology; human-computer-interaction; virtual-reality, child-robot-interaction, cognitive-neuroscience