Ashraf Gaffar

Ashraf Gaffar is an assistant professor in the Ira Fulton Schools of Engineering in the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decisions System Engineering at Arizona State University. He received his doctorate in computer science with a focus on software engineering/HCI from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

Gaffar comes with rich industrial experience in software and industrial design. After receiving his bachelor's degree in engineering, he worked in Germany and Canada as a professional industrial- and computer engineer before going back to academia for his doctorate. After completing his doctoral degree, he worked at SAP as a senior design expert for seven years, where he helped design and build complex software products. He was also instrumental in developing new design guidelines, methods and tools for SAP mobile applications. Prior to SAP, he worked at other multinational companies including IBM and Johnson & Johnson.

His research focuses on artificial intelligence and machine learning, cognitive computing, human cognitive abilities, human centered design, and usability engineering. He is interested in developing intelligent systems, new design methods to reduce complexity throughout the software lifecycle, as well as in developing innovative ways of teaching software engineering.

Gaffar is currently building AI systems in both medical domain (for Mayo Clinic) and for the automotive domain. He also works on building a social robot.

Gaffar has been a certified and practicing project manager (PMP) for more 10 years, and he combines project management principles and tools with human centered design methods to plan, manage, and deliver software successfully.