Keynotes

Katherine Isbister, Ph.D., is a Human-Computer Interaction and Games researcher specializing in digital games and playful, computer-supported experiences. Her work focuses on emotion and social connection, exploring how design choices impact these qualities. Currently a full professor in Computational Media at UC Santa Cruz and director of the Center for Computational Experience, she previously held roles at NYU and globally, including research labs and startups. Author of Better Game Characters by Design and How Games Move Us, her work has been cited by Wired, Scientific American, and NPR. Recognized as a TR100 Innovator by MIT Technology Review, she continues shaping the future of technology.

Mark Roman Miller, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. His research focuses on virtual and augmented reality, exploring their implications for communication, security, and data science. With interdisciplinary roots from his Ph.D. in Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab under Jeremy Bailenson, Miller investigates how AR impacts person-to-person communication and privacy, including challenges like virtual pop-ups disrupting common ground. His work also explores the vast potential of VR/AR data for understanding nonverbal synchrony and emotion. His research has been published in leading venues such as IEEE VR, JCMC, and Scientific Reports.

Andrea Stevenson Won, PhD., co-director of this symposium, is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and a field faculty member within the Department of Information Science at Cornell University and the director of the Virtual Embodiment Lab. The lab’s research focuses on how mediated experiences change people’s perceptions, especially in immersive media. She has received funding from the Department of Defense, National Institute on Aging, and NSF to investigate the clinical applications of virtual reality and how nonverbal behavior as rendered in virtual environments affects collaboration and teamwork.