ACI2018 Keynotes
Fifth International Conference on Animal-Computer Interaction
2-4 December 2018, Atlanta, Georgia
​
OPENING KEYNOTE - Denise Herzing
Dr. Denise Herzing, Founder and Research Director of the Wild Dolphin Project, has completed over 32 years of her long-term study of the Atlantic spotted dolphins inhabiting Bahamian waters. She received her B.S. in Marine Zoology; her M.A. in Behavioral Biology; and her Ph.D. in Behavioral Biology/Environmental Studies. She is an Affiliate Assistant Professor in Biological Sciences at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida. Dr. Herzing is a 2008 Guggenheim Fellow, a fellow with the Explorers Club, a scientific advisor for the Lifeboat Foundation and the American Cetacean Society, and on the board of Schoolyard Films. In addition to many scientific articles, she is the co-editor of Dolphin Communication and Cognition, author of “Dolphin Diaries: My 25 years with Spotted Dolphins in the Bahamas” and “The Wild Dolphin Project (2002)”. Coverage of her work with the spotted dolphins has appeared in National Geographic Magazine 1992 and 2015, BBC Wildlife, Ocean Realm and Sonar magazines and featured on Nature, Discovery, PBS, ABC, BBC, NHK and TED2013 (This link will take you to an external web site. We are not responsible for their content.). Dr. Herzing has spoken at the Society for Marine Mammalogy, European Cetacean Society, International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Explorers Club, TED2013, Boston Museum of Science, American Cetacean Society and others.
​
CLOSING KEYNOTE - Con Slobodchikoff
Dr. Con Slobodchikoff is the author of "Chasing Dr. Doolittle: Learning the Language of Animals". He is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Northern Arizona University. He is also Director of the Animal Language Institute, and President and CEO of Animal Communications, Ltd. His scientific work involves studying the communication and social behavior of prairie dogs, who have a complex and extensive "language". They have different alarm calls for humans, coyotes, domestic dogs, and red-tailed hawks. In addition, the prairie dogs can describe the size and shape of an individual predator. This is the most sophisticated animal language that has been described to date. Dr. Slobodchikoff also consults on dog behavior and writes a Dog Behavior Blog which provides tips on solving behavior problems and short essays about some of the scientific research that is being done with dog behavior.