POLIS
Technology, Research, and Training to Build Public Trust and Safety
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Our Technology Team
Leon Pryor
Chief Software Engineer
Leon Pryor spent 14 years at Microsoft working on game products as a developer, project manager, and an account manager. Leon participated in the launch of the Xbox and Xbox 360 game consoles and managed the commercial release of many software titles including Mass Effect, Vanguard, and Asheron’s Call. As an account manager in the Xbox group, Leon managed strategic and technical partnerships with companies such as Electronic Arts, Lucas film, Walt Disney, and Valve software. Through these partnerships, over 50 titles were released to consumers worldwide.
After Microsoft, Leon worked for Soar Technology in Ann Arbor. At Soar Technology, Leon focused on the design and development of training simulations that integrated artificial intelligence technologies such as dynamic tailoring and intelligent tutoring.
Leon received a B.S in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1997.
Dr. Vivian Ta
Chief Data Scientist
Dr. Vivian Ta holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington and is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, IL. She is the director of the Technology, Relationships, and Language Lab which focuses on using natural language processing and text analysis to examine psychological processes.
Her work has been published in journals such as Psychological Science, Journal of Language and Social Psychology, and Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, and has been funded by agencies such as the National Science Foundation, Andrew C. Mellon Foundation, and American Psychological Association.