Draft:Laura Buccanfuso

Laura Boccanfuso

Early Life and Education Laura Boccanfuso embarked on her journey in the field of computer science after dedicating eight years of her life to raising her three children [12]. She pursued her Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of South Carolina [5]. After earning her doctorate, she joined the Technology and Innovation Lab at the Yale Child Study Center as a Postdoctoral Associate. Her primary research focus was designing and developing socially assistive robots to improve therapeutic outcomes in young children with autism spectrum disorder [5].

Career Laura Boccanfuso’s Work on AI-Enabled Classroom Tutors In addressing the pain point of young children with cognitive issues having problems learning in a traditional way, Boccanfuso developed AI-enabled classroom tutors [4]. Her work in this area began during her Ph.D. studies and has continued throughout her career [9].

ABii: The Smart Robot Tutor One of the most notable outcomes of Laura’s work is ABii, a smart robot tutor designed for K-5 classrooms [9]. ABii is the first artificial intelligence tutor and was created based on a decade of research at the University of South Carolina and Yale University [7]. This robot tutor provides personalized math and reading lessons with fun social interactions, from fist bumps to dance parties [9]. ABii can adapt her interactions with each student based on sophisticated machine learning (ML) techniques [9].

ABii is more than just a classroom assistant. She provides her students with step-by-step math and reading instructions and can adapt to their individual learning habits [9]. She knows when a student isn’t paying attention and enjoys trading high fives for right answers [9]. ABii is already revolutionizing learning for children in kindergarten to fifth grade [9].

Classroom to Career: High School Robotics Program In addition to ABii, Laura Boccanfuso and Van Robotics have also launched a new high school robotics program, Classroom to Career [12]. This program aims to build strong ecosystems for STEM throughout K-12 [12].

Impact and Recognition Laura’s work has had a significant impact on education. ABii is used by thousands of children all around the world, including in over 30 states in the United States, England, Germany, Emirates, and Qatar [5]. In a 2018 efficacy study among Kansas, Alabama, New York, and Texas schools, Van Robotics reports that 67 percent of students that tested below proficient in mathematics improved by an average of 34 percent after just two to three sessions with ABii [5].

Laura’s innovative approach to learning has been recognized by several prestigious companies and organizations. She has been named one of the Top 10 Most Influential Women in Technology by Analytics Insight [12]. Her company, Van Robotics, was named Time Magazine’s Best Invention of 2020 [1].

ABii ABii is a smart robot tutor that was created by Laura Boccanfuso based on a decade of research at the University of South Carolina and Yale University [7]. The robot is designed to provide personalized learning experiences using artificial intelligence [8]. ABii is aimed at closing the math and reading proficiency gap for K-5 students [3].

Recognition Laura Boccanfuso has been recognized by several prestigious companies and organizations such as McKinsey & Company, TIME Best Inventions, SuperCharger Ventures, and Siemens Digital Industries Software [4]. In 2020, Van Robotics was named Time Magazine’s Best Invention of 2020 [3].

Shark Tank Appearance Laura Boccanfuso had the opportunity to appear on Shark Tank Season 11, where she pitched her innovative company, Van Robotics [3]. Van Robotics is essentially a robotic math tutor that uses AI to break down barriers and increase motivation in students who find math too challenging [3]. Despite her compelling pitch, she walked away without a deal [3].