Hi, I'm Irene. I am originally from Norway, though I am half British and lived in Scotland for 8 years. Very recently I moved back to Stavanger, due to financial difficulties at the end of my PhD project. This is my story: For four years I did a BSc Hons in Computer Science at Heriot-Watt University. During this time I discovered that my main area of interest was creating useful yet funky applications that people could enjoy. This of course is a very broad interest, and within it lays both my BSc dissertation and my PhD project.

For my BSc dissertation I used speech recognition and created a virtual home in which objects could be controlled by speech. These objects included lights, stereo, TV, water taps, cooker and the toilet.

During the year of working on my dissertation with supervisor Dr. Christian Jones, I decided that if the opportunity arose I would continue to work with him, this time on a Ph.D. project.

It was also during this year of working with Dr. Christian Jones that I discovered that emotive computing intrigued me. Using biometrics to determine emotions intrigued me even more! And so here I am, having developed a game which uses input from biometrics in conjunction with gaming context to determine the gamer's affective (emotional) state and thereafter uses this information to change the game play to make the gamer more engaged. I'm currently in write-up phase, and am hoping to finish within the next 6 months.

When Dr. Jones moved to Australia a few years ago I got a new supervisor, Dr. Judy Robertson, my second supervisor was then Dr. Alison Cawsey. When Dr. Cawsey sadly passed away, she was replaced by Dr. Sandy Louchart. I think they're both doing a fab job with me, aiding my thought process through constructive criticism and discussions regarding the various aspects of my project. In addition, Judy is very good at reminding me that I will need to get a job after my Ph.D., and has given me lots to do in form of teaching/tutoring, transcription work and any other kind of work she thought could be beneficial to my future career. This regard for the future is something I appreciate a great deal, as it must surely increase my chances of having a satisfying career after my project.

I was just like to say thank you so much to everyone who has helped with my supervision. It is not easy having so much change around you during your project, but equally it must be very hard to start supervising someone who's half way (or more) through they're project. All my supers have done a fab job, so thanks!!