Welcome to the new Assistant Directors for IMMERSE
IMMERSE has just welcomed three new Assistant Directors in the leadership team. They join our executive director, Alice Delage, to complete the executive team. Come by the NCSA 4102 office pod to introduce yourself!
| Jake Metz is the Assistant Director of Infrastructure at IMMERSE, bringing over a decade of experience in infrastructure design for multimedia production and immersive computing at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As the founding Technology Specialist of the Library Media Commons, Jake led the creation of emerging technology spaces like the Spatial Computing and Immersive Media (SCIM) Lab, supporting XR development, spatial audio, and virtual production. His work has contributed to campus-wide initiatives such as VR @ Illinois and the GenAI Solutions Hub. Beyond the University, Jake is the founder of the local Immersion Festival and has served as technical director for a range of arts and technology events, while also designing technology-enhanced infrastructures for studios and venues. At IMMERSE, Jake aims to leverage and expand existing campus resources, while building new, state-of-the-art facilities. He is dedicated to fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and connecting the campus to cutting-edge immersive technologies across research, education, and the arts. |
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| James Planey is the Assistant Director of Research and was previously science & education design lead at the Molecule Maker Lab Institute. James holds a PhD from the College of Education in the use of immersive technologies for learning with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His advisor was Robb Lindgren, IMMERSE Contextual Factors Theme lead. His past research investigated how immersive technologies such as VR and AR can be meaningfully integrated into science classroom instruction to support student learning and collaboration. His research interests are shaped by his previous experience as a high school science teacher, NGSS curriculum designer, and informal educator. James looks forward to creating new cross-campus research collaborations, connecting existing immersive researchers in new contexts and making the groundbreaking research conducted on campus visible to a wider immersive community. |
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| Bryan Wang is the Assistant Director of Education at IMMERSE, bringing a wealth of experience in educationalprogram coordination and design. Prior to joining IMMERSE, he spent seven years in the Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he played a key role in coordinating interdisciplinary educational initiatives for graduate and undergraduate students across diverse fields of study. With expertise in learning experience design, Bryan will work with faculty across the campus to advance the integration of XR technologies into the classroom. Additionally, he will contribute to the development of a unique interdisciplinary Master’s program that brings together immersive technologies, applications, and human experience, fostering innovative learning environments to build the next generation workforce required to enable a new era of immersive computing. |
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