Byron Lahey is a PhD student in the Arts, Media and Engineering (AME) program at Arizona State University.

Byron's research activities in the Arts Media and Engineering program build on his background in sculpture (M.F.A. 1997).  The interdisciplinary nature of the AME program allows him to engage in an intellectual dialog that includes artistic, conceptual and aesthetic concerns as well as electronics, programming and other engineering topics.

Byron specializes in human-computer and human-robot interactions.  He is working with a team to create motivational and educational technologies using tangible interfaces and robots to facilitate active learning experiences.  The goal of these systems is to get students involved in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning as a form of play, capitalizing on their curiosity, creativity and competitiveness.  He's also working with a group that is creating playful physical-digital interfaces that are used in the production of artistic performances and installations.

Byron's research has recently evolved to focus on haptic and force feedback systems, with a specific interest in facilitating tactile interactions with digital information.