Dr. Setor Zilevu becomes the world’s youngest Ghanaian to receive a User Experience Ph.D.
BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - A recent Virginia Tech grad has become the youngest Ghanaian to receive a user experience (UX) Ph.D
He received his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in February. At 26, Dr. Zilevu became the youngest Ghanian User Experience Ph.D., replacing the previous world record owner who was 27, Dr. Gloria Opoku-Boateng Osardu.
His educational journey was inspired by seeing his dad survive a stroke. Dr. Zilevu has been able to explore his passion for user experience (UX) research during his time at Virginia Tech, including an opportunity to design user-friendly interfaces for stroke survivors completing in-home therapy.
He says this achievement is unexpected, but he’s always been encouraged by his family to go as far as he can in education. He has a long list of achievements including receiving Virginia Tech’s William Preston Outstanding Thesis of the Year award in 2019. Read more here.
DR. RICHARD E. NANCE GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENT
Kobla Setor Zilevu is the first recipient of the Dr. Richard E. Nance Graduate Fellowship in Computer Science, funded by computer science alumnus Greg Lavender.
Kobla Setor Zilevu, the first recipient of the Dr. Richard E. Nance Graduate Fellowship in Computer Science, has been able to explore his passion for user experience (UX) research during his time at Virginia Tech, including an opportunity to design user-friendly interfaces for stroke survivors completing in-home therapy.
Zilevu decided on Virginia Tech, with a determined focus to combine his passions for UX, health care, and stroke rehabilitation. Near the end of his undergraduate career, Zilevu’s professor Margaret Ellis told him he should meet one of her colleagues, Aisling Kelliher, who has served as co-director of the Interactive Neurorehabilitation Lab at Virginia Tech since 2015. “It was a beautiful process,” said Zilevu, who still has the notebook from their first meeting. While pursuing his master's of computer science, Zilevu joined Kelliher’s team as a UX researcher.
“Working with different stakeholders, whether that be the patient, therapist, or even our own internal stakeholders, is truly exciting and rewarding to me,” said Zilevu. “I love understanding why people do what they do, especially within the realm of stroke and implementing how we can make it better.”
The fellowship has enabled Zilevu to travel and work with colleagues at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago to advance his research at Virginia Tech. Zilevu said his heart dropped when he first visited the lab in Chicago, realizing it is the No. 1 ranked rehabilitation hospital in America. Zilevu was able to see the real-world application of the program he and his teammates developed at Virginia Tech to be used by real-world stroke survivors. "It was rewarding to see the work that we do is valued," he said.
OUTSTANDING THESIS OF THE YEAR AWARD IN S.T.E.M.
Zilevu was honored with the William Preston Society Master's Thesis Award in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The award was established in 1999 to recognize graduate students whose thesis presents the best original research with the potential to benefit all people. His dissertation, Interactive Interfaces for Capturing and Annotating Videos of Human Movement Performance, was selected by a faculty review committee based on the originality of its research and potential for high impact, as well as the contribution made to the scientific community.
Thank you to everyone at the Interactive Neurorehabilitation Lab for all your support! This award would not have been won without each and every single one of you.
LIVING HIS BEST GRAD LIFE: KOBLA SETOR ZILEVU
As a first-year Ph.D. computer science student, Kobla Setor Zilevu has some guiding words to offer fellow incoming graduate students. "The best piece of advice I can offer entering graduate students is to enjoy the process and love what you are researching."
And the love of his research is evident in the many areas he is exploring, which include healthcare, human-computer interaction, user experience design, and user interface design.
This summer, Zilevu will be interning with Facebook as a user experience researcher and returning to Blacksburg in the fall to continue his Ph.D. research in human-computer interaction. He admits that he is very interested and torn between pursuing an avenue to becoming a professor or working in the industry as a research scientist.
NSF GRANT UNITES DIVERSE VIRGINIA TECH TEAM TO IMPROVE IN-HOME PHYSICAL THERAPY
Scientists at the VTC Smart Rehab Lab are developing breakthrough, affordable technology and methods to connect stroke survivors to physical therapy at home through tele-rehabilitation.
The lab was awarded $1.1 million by the National Science Foundation to continue the development of its Semi-Automated Rehabilitation At Home (SARAH) project. The system will include a fused knowledge base of human and machine learning to assess patient performance during training and daily activities at the home and provide feedback to the patient and summaries of progress to the remote therapist – a major innovation that can be expanded to a range of therapy needs.
TAPIA CONFERENCE: SECURE YOUR BAG(S) AND DEGREE(S): GRADUATE SCHOOL EDITION
During the Fall of 2020, I had the opportunity to co-host a workshop for the tips, tricks, and tools to secure your graduate degree and get paid for it. Learn about the GEM Fellowship, what it entails, and hear from current graduate students on both the MS and Ph.D. route, who have had their graduate education FULLY funded and secured internships at some of the top tech companies along the way including Intel, NerdWallet, Facebook, Amazon, Hulu and more.