HUVARFrancisco R. Ortega, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Colorado State University and Director of the Natural User Interaction Lab.
NUILAB’s vision addresses gaps in multimodal interaction techniques and generates foundational research on interactions within AR for Immersive Analytics using multiple inputs (gesture, microgestures, speech, XR pen, touch, and gaze).
A Concise Guide to Elicitation Methodology. Williams and Ortega. 2021.
Keita Funakawa is co-founder and COO of Nanome Inc., a technology company enabling scientists, students, and hobbyists to design and simulate molecules in Virtual Reality. Nanome is the next step in computational/medicinal chemistry, structural biology, and beyond. Nanome has helped researchers in the global fight against Covid-19 around the globe in the USA, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, China, and Australia.
Jeremy Nelson, Director of XR Initiatives at University of Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation, leads the effort to seed projects and experiments integrating XR across residential and online curricula, and to leverage industry partnerships to develop new educational tech. We learned from Jeremy’s experience developing a cohesive XR program at University of Michigan.
HUVAR hosted founder/artistic director of Luminarium Dance Company, interdisciplinary artist, choreographer, designer and lecturer Merli V. Guerra to discuss her work “The Time Traveler’s Lens,” a 360º XR site-specific dance piece that explores our historical connections to place.
(Image courtesy luminariumdance.org)
Fransisco R. Ortega: NUILAB & Gestural Analytics
Keita Funakawa: Nanome Inc. XR
Jeremy Nelson: XR Initiative @ U Michigan
Merli V. Guerra: The Time Traveler’s Lens
Rus Gant: Virtual Harvard
Adam Middleton: Virtual Harvard
Katherine Beatty: Virtual Harvard
Iulian Radu: Virtual Harvard
Randall Rode: Blended Reality @ Yale
Tim Menke: Quantum Physics in VR
Eva Wolfangel: Quantum Physics in VR
Ashley Coffey: Accessible Design in XR
Dr. Zach Lischer-Katz: 3D/XR Data Curation
John P. Bell: Teaching & Creating XR
Jeffrey Pomerantz: Learning in 3D
HUVAR was joined by a panel of diverse practitioners to learn more about Virtual Harvard! Where it’s been, where it’s going, and how to get inspired about the use of 360º and 3D data to support Teaching, Learning and Discovery across Harvard.
Participants:
Rus Gant, Harvard Visualization Research & Teaching Lab
Adam Middleton, Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East
Katherine Beaty, Harvard Library Weissman Preservation Center
Iulian Radu, GSE Learning, Innovation and Teaching Lab Makerspace
(Image courtesy Iulian Radu)
Ashley Coffey of XALTER, the XR Association, and President of Oklahoma Women in Tech brought us up to date on accessibility best practices while designing immersive experiences.
You can view Ashley’s slide presentation here.
(Image courtesy XRA)
HUVAR was joined by collaborators Eva Wolfangel and Tim Menke to share their Quantum Physics in VR project via VRChat which brought into being the concepts behind quantum mechanics and the implications of working together across the globe in VR.
Eva was the 2020 MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellow, and is a journalist exploring immersive culture.
Tim is a doctorate candidate at Harvard and MIT developing superconducting quantum processors.
(Image: Quantum Mechanics in VRChat)
HUVAR was visited by XR guru and project director of Yale University’s Blended Reality program, Randall Rode.
Randall shared insight into the process of experimentation, leveraging corporate sponsorship, and implementation of an XR framework in the educational context.
(Image courtesy Blended Reality)
Dr. Zach, Assistant Professor of Digital Curation & Preservation in the School of Information, University of Arizona dropped by HUVAR to share research and ongoing projects that develop structures and best practices for the creation, curation and preservation of 3D & XR data.
zacklischerkatz.com
(Image courtesy zachlischerkatz.com)