Organizers

Horst Orsolits is Head of the Competence Center for Industrial Product Lifecycle Technologies at the UAS Technikum Vienna, where he and his team deal with teaching as well as R&D topics related to digital twins, virtual product development and the integration of virtual technologies into industrial training/education. In 2021 he has been awarded with Ars Docendi - State Award for Excellent Teaching .

Sang Ho’s research focuses on enabling natural user interactions that overcome physical, mental, and social barriers. The research scope would be Human-Computer Interaction(HCI), enabling novel interactions for XR interfaces. 

John Liu is the Director and PI of the MIT Learning Engineering and Practice (LEAP) Group, which investigates the intersection of human-centered technologies and engineering workforce. He is a Principal Research Scientist in MIT's Mechanical Engineering department and leads education and workforce development for MIT's Initiative for New Manufacturing. His work has received recognition from ASEE, IEEE DEMOCon, and ACM CHI. He has co-authored dozens of publications and currently serves as an executive guest editor for Manufacturing Letters. His research is supported by the Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Schmidt Futures, National Science Foundation, NAMTECH, and industry partners. 

He directs the Symbiotic and Augmented Intelligence Lab (SAIL), where his research focuses on developing human-centered computational models, algorithms, and tools at the intersection of AI and spatial computing to enhance learning and creativity in various cognitive and psychomotor tasks within industrial settings. 

He is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Uppsala University, Sweden. His research lies at the intersection of XR, artificial intelligence, and industrial engineering, with a focus on human-centered manufacturing systems, operator support, and engineering education. He has contributed to research on XR-based training, machine monitoring, and intelligent industrial applications, and is actively involved in teaching XR at different levels. He is also the founder and director of the XRIA Lab at Uppsala University. His broader research interests include computational intelligence, simulation-based optimization, data analytics, and multimodal AI for industrial decision support. 

Huitaek Yun directs the Smart Manufacturing Systems (SMS) Lab, where they research on flexible and autonomous manufacturing systems with a focus on smart manufacturing.  In particular, he focuses on technologies such as learning the artificial intelligence of industrial robots through worker demonstrations during worker-robot collaboration, and digitizing the cognitive and judgmental abilities of skilled workers through sensor and artificial intelligence technology. 

Dr. Sara Scheffer is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Research Unit of Production and Maintenance Management at the Institute of Management Science, TU Wien. She holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Technology from the University of Twente, where she specialized in Asset Management and Maintenance Engineering. Her academic background includes an M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering & Management from the University of Groningen and a B.Sc. in Naval Architecture. Her research focuses on the intersection of Augmented Reality, fault detection, and human-computer interaction to develop intelligent, XR-enabled decision-support systems in industrial settings. She is particularly interested in how immersive technologies can enhance maintenance operations, knowledge management, and sustainable manufacturing. 

Dishita Turakhia is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Emory University, where she leads the IMMERS-Ed HCI group which focuses on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Learning Sciences research, especially designing intelligent immersive systems that support the learning of physical and embodied skills. She earned her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with a minor in Brain and Cognitive Science, and holds a dual master's degree in Computer Science and Architecture (SMArchS computation) from MIT, in addition to masters in Emergent Technology and Design (EmTech) from AA School of Architecture.