The Grainger College of Engineering
IMMERSE: Center for Immersive Computing

Program

IMMERSE Symposium - Program

April 29 & 30, 2025

 

Unlocking the Potential of Immersive Computing: What Will it Take?

 

The event will be held at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1205 W Clark Street, Urbana, IL 61801). 

Agenda 

All times in CST

DAY 1 - APRIL 29
8:00 - 8:15
Welcome
Susan Martinis, Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation
Rashid Bashir, Dean, Grainger College of Engineering
Nancy Amato, Director, Siebel School of Computing and Data Science
Bill Gropp, Director, National Center for Supercomputing Applications 
8:15 - 8:35
Overview of IMMERSE
Sarita Adve, Computer Science, Illinois
8:35 - 9:35
Highlights From the Last Year
  • Breaking the low latency wireless barrier for distributed XR
  • A human experience driven science of design for XR systems and content
  • XR as a driver for the semiconductor industry roadmap
  • XR+AI for empathy training for first responders
    •  Caroline Cao, Engineering Innovation and Medical Simulation, Illinois
  • Breakthroughs and challenges for XR as a medium for cultural impact
  • Using generative AI for rich immersive experiences
  • Expanding our campus XR content ecosystem
    • Dan Cermak, School of Information Sciences, Illinois 
9:20
Discussion and Q&A
9:35- 10:00 Break
10:00- 12:20 Technologies
10:00
Keynote - The Immersive Future of Wearable, Human Centered Computing
Peter Capak, Senior Director of Extended Reality Systems, Meta Reality Labs
10:50
Industry perspectives panel: Where are we today and what will it take?
Moderator: Kris Hauser, Computer Science, Illinois 
David Chu, VP of Spatial Computing and XR, NVIDIA
Prashanth Hande, Senior Director of Technology, Qualcomm
Rob Shearer, Senior Director of Silicon, Meta
Chowdary Yanamadala, Senior Director of Technology Strategy, Arm
11:50 Q&A
12:20 - 1:20 Lunch
1:20 - 2:30 Applications
1:20
Invited Talk - The Future of XR use in Procedural/Surgical Training in Healthcare
Rishi Reddy, José José Alvarez Research Professor in Thoracic Surgery, University of Michigan
1:50
Lightning Talks
  • Making Extended Reality Education as Usual
    • Voicu Popescu, Purdue University
  • A Multimodal Framework for Interactive Learning Experience and Real-Time Analytics in XR Training
    • Jeeheon Ryu, Chonnam National University
  • From Transition to Integration: Bridging Existing Ecosystems in the XR Era
    • Fengyuan Zhu, University of Toronto
2:05 Discussion and Q&A
2:30 - 2:55 Break 
2:55 - 4:05 Human Experience
2:55 Invited Talk - Victoria Interrante, Professor, University of Minnesota
3:25
Lightning Talks
  • From System Signals to Felt Experience: Designing Human-Centered Mixed Reality
    • Yasra Chandio, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Immersive Technology for Assistive and Augmentative Listening
    • Ryan Corey, University of Illinois Chicago
  • Privacy and Security Battlegrounds in Immersive Computing
    • Zhisheng Yan, George Mason University
3:40 Discussion and Q&A
4:05 - 4:35 Education
4:05
Creating a new workforce: an interdisciplinary master’s degree integrating immersive technologies, applications, and human experience 
Lisa Bievenue, Informatics, Illinois 
4:20 Q&A
4:30 - 4:45 Remix
4:45 - 6:45 Posters & Demos
6:45 - 9:00 Dinner
 
DAY 2 - APRIL 30
8:00 - 8:50 Keynote - Dav Rauch
8:50 - 9:20
More lightning perspectives
  • Computing-Communication Trade-Offs in AR/VR Systems and Applications
    • Jacob Chakareski, NJIT
  • TVMC: Time-Varying 4D Mesh Compression
    • Mallesham Dasari, Northeastern University
  • A Case for Cross-Layer Networked Virtual Reality
    • Sonia Fahmy, Purdue University
  • Using Vision-Language Models to Evaluate and Secure Mixed Reality Experiences
    • Maria Gorlatova, Duke University
  • Challenges and opportunities in AI system design for AR/VR
    • Hyoukjun Kwon, University of California, Irvine
  • From XR to AI: Capturing Human Behavior to Train the Next Generation of Physical Intelligence
    • Aldo Petruzzelli, Omnia
9:20 - 9:30 Remix and breakout charge
9:30 - 9:50 Break
9:50 - 11:20 Breakout sessions: Each session will be a focused discussion, steered by a core group of leads, with a plan for a clear deliverable to produce over the next two months (e.g., a roadmap paper for wide dissemination). More details forthcoming.
 

 

Session 1

Experience-centered immersive technologies roadmap

Co-leads: 
Tarek Abdelzaher, Computer Science, Illinois 
Anthony Rowe, Carnegie Mellon University
 

Session 2

Designing a graduate curriculum for an interdisciplinary XR workforce

Co-leads: 
Lisa Bievenue, Informatics, Illinois
Bryan Wang, Computer Science, Illinois

Session 3

Integrating XR in healthcare procedures and workforce skills development

Co-leads: 
Mark Cohen, Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Illinois
Rishi Reddy, University of Michigan
11:20 - 11:35 Break
11:35 - 12:00 Report from breakouts, feedback, and next steps
11:35 Breakouts summary and next steps
11:50 Q&A
12:00 - 12:55
Panel: What did we get right? What did we miss?
Moderator: Sarita Adve, Computer Science, Illinois 
Amitabh Varshney, University of Maryland
Rob Shearer, Senior Director of Silicon, Meta
12:30 Discussion and Q&A
12:55 - 1:00 Closing Remarks
1:00 - 1:45 Boxed lunch
1:45 - 3:45
Advisory Board Meeting (closed meeting)
6:00 - 8:00
Dinner for external guests