Holly Ann Yanco is an American roboticist and computer scientist who works as Distinguished University Professor of computer science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and the director of the New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation (NERVE) center.[1] She is known for her research in human–robot interaction,[2] and has applied robotics as a way to broaden interest in computer science by schoolchildren, in assistive technology, in manufacturing, and for rescue robots.[3]