Dr. Meg Kurdziolek

I lead User Experience for Intrinsic, an AI and Robotics group recently aquired by Google. My work is focused on the convergence of physical AI and industrial robotics—building the software foundation for a more flexible, human-centered era of automation. I specialize in taking frontier engineering—autonomous manipulation, real-time perception, and complex orchestration—and turning it into intuitive systems that empower, rather than replace, the humans who develop and operate autonomous systems.

My perspective is forged from a Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from Virginia Tech and a career spent on the "messy" edges of tech. From pioneering Voice UI at Conversant Labs to solving human-robot interaction at Bossa Nova and Explainable AI (XAI) at Google Cloud, I’ve made a career of bringing order to amorphous problems. I don't just advocate for the user; I build the frameworks that make complex technology legible, predictable, and trustworthy.

Beyond the research, I am an ultra-marathoner and trail runner currently training for a 2026 Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim crossing of the Grand Canyon. I view these pursuits as part of a purposeful, joy-filled "mid-life crisis"—a deliberate pivot from a decade of waiting to a decade of doing. Whether I’m navigating the "Dirty Dozen" hills of Pittsburgh, backpacking for the first time, or finally checking off items on my aspirational "Mid-life Crisis List," I am committed to stretching my limits. For me, endurance is a practice in resilience that mirrors the discipline of leadership: it's about moving past the "waiting trap" and finding growth in the stretch.