Active Projects

Enhancing collaboration and embodied learning in online virtual reality STEM laboratories through high-fidelity interactive avatars

Agency: NSF - Research on Innovative Technologies for Enhanced Learning (RITEL)

Amount: $600,000

Role: PI (50%)

Investigators: Kevin Desai, John Quarles

Timeline: 09/2025 - 08/2028

HCC: Medium: Adaptive Auditory Feedback to Improve Balance in Virtual Reality at Home

Agency: NSF - (CISE) Core Programs - Medium

Amount: $1,200,000

Role: Co-PI (33%)

Investigators: John Quarles, Kevin Desai, Alberto Cordova

Timeline: 10/2024 - 09/2027

HCC: Small: Making Virtual Reality Safe

Agency: NSF - (CISE) Core Programs - Small

Amount: $600,000

Role: Co-PI (50%)

Investigators: John Quarles, Kevin Desai

Timeline: 01/2024 - 12/2026

Collaborative Research: HCC: Medium: HCI in Motion -- Using EEG, Eye Tracking, and Body Sensing for Attention-Aware Mobile Mixed Reality

Agency: NSF - (CISE) Core Programs - Medium

Amount: $457,105

Role: Co-PI (50%) 

Investigators: John Quarles, Kevin Desai

Timeline: 09/2022 - 08/2026

CRII: HCC: 3D Hand & Full-Body Pose Estimation in Telehealth for Children with Autism

Agency: NSF - (CISE) Research Initiation Initiative (CRII) 2021

Amount: $174,368

Role: PI (100%) 

Investigators: Kevin Desai

Timeline: 06/2022 - 12/2025

Past Projects

Identifying Bias in STEM Workplaces Towards Persons with Disabilities

Agency: UTSA VPR Office - Special Research Award: Research Interest Groups (SRA RIG)

Amount: $20,000

Role: Co-PI (33%)
Investigators: John Quarles, Kathy Ewoldt, Kevin Desai

Timeline: 12/2024 - 07/2025

Exploring Online Learning in VR-Supported STEM Laboratories

Agency: UTSA VPR Office - UTSA-ITESM Seed Funding Program

Amount: $40,000

Role: PI (50%)

Investigators: Kevin Desai, John Quarles

Timeline: 06/2024 - 08/2025

LIGHT-SEAL: Hardware Trojan Aware Photonic Transformer for Secured Generative AI

Agency: UTSA SDS Collaborative Seed Funding Grant

Amount: $35,000

Role: Co-PI (50%)

Investigators: Dharnidhar Dang, Kevin Desai

Timeline: 07/2024 - 12/2024

Towards Personalized Virtual Reality Interventions for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities

Agency: UTSA VPR Office - MAC-UTSA Seed Funding Program

Amount: $25,000

Role: Co-PI (33%) 

Investigators: John Quarles, Kevin Desai, Alberto Cordova

Timeline: 10/2023 - 06/2024

Electronic Health Record Big Data and Radiomic Analytics for Precision Medicine Approach to Long-COVID

Agency: San Antonio Partnership for Precision Therapeutics (SAPPT)

Amount: $50,000

Role: Co-PI (25%)

Investigators: Dhireesha Kudithipudi, Kevin Desai, Anandi Dutta

Timeline: 08/2022 - 02/2024

A step towards smart and connected health in behavior analysis

Agency: UTSA VPR Office - GREAT 2021

Amount: $20,000

Role: Co-PI (25%)

Investigators: Leslie Neely, Peyman Najafirad, Qian Chen, Kevin Desai

Status: Awarded (10/2021 - 07/2022)

Under Review

CAREER: Musculoskeletal Human Pose Estimation for Personalized In-Home AR Rehabilitation Exergames

Agency: NSF - CAREER

Amount: $650,000

Role: PI (100%)

Investigators: Kevin Desai

Timeline: 06/2026 - 05/2031

Unveiling Paleobiological Dynamics through Deep Learning in the Mesozoic Era

Agency: NSF - Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology (SGP)

Amount: $800,000

Role: Co-PI (45%)

Investigators: Alexis Godet, Kevin Desai

Timeline: 09/2025 - 08/2028