👋Hello, MXR world!👋

Welcome to Meaningful XR, a conference exploring how virtual, augmented, and mixed reality can support meaningful human experiences and positive social impact. MXR brings together researchers, educators, practitioners, creators, and students who are excited about using XR to enhance experiences, strengthen connections, and tackle real-world challenges.

Since launching at Stanford University in 2024, MXR has grown into a community of 400+ past presenters, co-authors, and attendees spanning research on presence, education, accessibility, wellbeing, AI, and emerging XR technologies. But we’re deliberately keeping the conference intimate—roughly 100 people in person—so there’s actually time to meet people, have long conversations, and discover ideas outside your usual circles. And because it wouldn’t be Meaningful XR without some XR, our hybrid conference extends into a bespoke VRChat world, connecting virtual and physical attendees throughout the event.

Whether you’re looking to share your work, find collaborators, learn something unexpected, or just spend a few days with people who care about making XR more meaningful, this is the place to be!

Future Conference Locations 

• 2027 - Syracuse University

• 2028 - TBD 

Past Conference Locations 

• 2026 - Portland, Oregon (Lead Organizer: Maxwell Foxman)

• 2025 - UC Davis (Lead Organizer: Jorge Pena)

• 2024 - Stanford, California (Lead Organizer: Rabindra Ratan)

Meaningful XR Organizing Team

Meaningful XR is made possible by a growing community of organizers who have helped shape the conference since its founding in 2024.

Ongoing Leadership 

• Rabindra (Robby) Ratan, Michigan State University — Director

• Maxwell Foxman, University of Oregon — Community Chair

• Alex Leith, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville — Hybrid Participation Chair

• David Beyea, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater — Organizing Committee

• Brian Klebig, Bethany Lutheran College — Organizing Committee

Conference Leadership & Organizers 

MXR 2024 — Stanford University

• Conference Chair: Rabindra (Robby) Ratan, Michigan State University

• Organizers: Maxwell Foxman, University of Oregon; David Beyea, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater; Alex Leith, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; Brian Klebig, Bethany Lutheran College; David Jeong, Santa Clara University; Jih-Hsuan Tammy Lin, National Chengchi University; Shay Yao, Georgia State University; Joomi Lee, University of Arkansas; Swati Pandita; Vivian Chen

• Executive Committee: Jeremy Bailenson, Stanford University; Nicholas Bowman, Syracuse University; Magy Seif El-Nasr, University of California, Santa Cruz; Katherine Isbister, University of California, Santa Cruz; Jorge Peña, University of California, Davis

• Partner Special Issue Lead Guest Editor: David Beyea

MXR 2025 — UC Davis

• Conference Chair: Jorge Peña, University of California, Davis

• Organizing Team: Rabindra Ratan, Michigan State University; Maxwell Foxman, University of Oregon; Brian Klebig, Bethany Lutheran College; David Beyea, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater; Alex Leith, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

• Partner Special Issue Lead Guest Editor: David Beyea

MXR 2026 — Portland

• Conference Chair: Maxwell Foxman, University of Oregon

• Organizers: Rabindra Ratan, Donna Davis, Danny Pimentel, Jakki Bailey, David Jeong, Alex Leith, and David Beyea

Thanks to Our Sponsors 

Across MXR 2024–2026, the conference has been made possible through the generous support of our host institutions, university departments and labs, industry partners, journals, and funding organizations.

• Stanford University Department of Communication • Michigan State University Department of Media & Information • SPARTIE Lab • University of California, Davis • University of Oregon School of Journalism & Communication • Journal of Media Psychology • National Science Foundation • Snap (Spectacles) • Oregon Reality Lab • Tokyo Dome Corporation • University of Miami • University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications • Annenberg Virtual Reality ColLABorative / Annenberg School XR Lab • FATCAT Lab at Nanyang Technological University • Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making at USC Marshall • Oxford Medical Simulation • University of Arkansas Department of Communication • Georgia State University Department of Communication • Oberon Technologies