Ryan Kelly

Ryan Kelly is an Associate Professor in the School of Computing Technologies at RMIT University. He is a researcher in the field of Human-Computer Interaction with interests in social computing, digital health and mixed reality.

Ryan’s research aims to shape the future of technology-enabled social connection and wellbeing. His work has explored the design of communication technologies for conveying effort and care in close relationships, the use of communication systems to alleviate homesickness during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the use of video calling systems to mediate intergenerational connections. Currently, Ryan examines how emerging AI systems are transforming interpersonal interactions and social connectedness.

Ryan has collaborated on the interaction design component of several digital health initiatives. This includes the Music-Attuned Care via eHealth (MATCH) project, which focused on developing technology to support music therapy training for caregivers of people with dementia. Ryan has collaborated with Swinburne's Centre for Mental Health to create and evaluate a groundbreaking VR application for mindfulness meditation. This application is now freely available to over 200,000 Australians in need of mental health support. During his time at the Open University UK, Ryan evaluated a novel handheld ‘Painpad’ device for enabling self-logging of pain by hospital inpatients. Painpad has since been in active use within the UK's National Health Service for over six years.

Ryan has established strong industry collaborations with organizations including PHORIA, Google, Netflix and the Worldwide Fund for Nature. His recent research has focused on enhancing communication technologies for older adults, particularly on the use of video calling in aged care during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work led to partnerships with Dossy.co, Ageing with Grace, and Uniting AgeWell to develop a simplified video calling system supporting connections between older adults and volunteers, with funding from Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia.

Ryan’s research has garnered significant media coverage. His work has been featured in print, online, radio and televised media, broadcast in over 20 countries and reaching more than 200 million people globally. He has appeared as a guest speaker in documentaries and on television, including Al-Jazeera's "All Hail the Algorithm" documentary. 

Ryan regularly provides service to the international HCI community as an expert reviewer and committee member. Ryan has held significant roles including program committee membership for ACM's flagship CHI conference (since 2020) and the ACM CSCW conference (since 2018). He served as an Editor for CSCW 2025 and as awards co-chair for CSCW 2023. Additionally, he has been long papers co-chair for OzCHI, Australia's premier HCI conference.

Ryan is currently seeking PhD candidates for projects focused on human-centered AI for social connection and supporting online safety for older adults.