Nelson Zagalo is Full Professor of Digital Media at the University of Aveiro. His research focuses on the intersection of human experience and technology, with an increasing focus on meaning-making in Human-AI Interaction. He serves as the Scientific Coordinator of DigiMedia - Digital Media and Interaction Research Center.

He founded the Portuguese Society for Videogame Sciences and the Journal of Digital Media & Interaction. Over the years, he has worked as a scientific and technological consultant for companies, European and national funding programs, and higher education accreditation bodies.

He has coordinated and participated in more than twenty research projects with competitive national or European funding, and is the author of over two hundred peer-reviewed publications across journals, books, and international conferences.

Nelson is the author of Emoções interactivas, do cinema para os videojogos (2009), Videogames in Portugal: History, Technology and Art (2013), and Engagement Design. Designing for Interaction Motivations (2020). His most recent edited book is Artificial Media (2025).

He published the blog Virtual Illusion (2003–2023) and now writes at Narrativa X and Mirrors of Thought.