{"id":"0f2fd1d5-6d21-4ec9-8acb-6784ea00bc15","slug":"cindy-bethel","name":"Cindy L. Bethel","bioBrief":"Billie J. Ball Endowed Professor in Engineering in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Mississippi State University. Director of the Social, Therapeutic, and Robotic Systems (STaRS) Lab. Research focuses on human-robot interaction, therapeutic robotics, affective computing, and cognitive science. Named one of the World's 50 Most Renowned Women in Robotics (2020). Fulbright U.S. Senior Scholar (2018-2019) at University of Technology Sydney. Former NSF Computing Innovation Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University. Currently serving as NSF Program Director.","priorExits":null,"nationality":null,"verificationPosture":"reported","aliases":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.stars.msstate.edu/bethel.html","title":"Cindy L. Bethel role","sourceName":"MSU STaRS Lab"}],"reviewStatus":"reviewed","createdAt":"2026-08-21T19:22:04.478Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-23T15:14:15.378Z","educations":[],"companyRoles":[{"id":"73a42117-81bb-4db9-ae26-dfb132f0f12c","personId":"0f2fd1d5-6d21-4ec9-8acb-6784ea00bc15","companyId":"efb63c54-d0f7-4850-be58-522eceffef9b","role":"researcher","roleTitle":"Billie J. Ball Endowed Professor in Engineering & Director, STaRS Lab","startDate":null,"endDate":null,"currentRole":true,"roleBasis":"verified_secondary","createdAt":"2026-08-21T19:22:05.242Z","company":{"slug":"mississippi-state-university","name":"Mississippi State University"}}],"boardRoles":[],"investorRoles":[],"foundings":[]}