Speakers

Welcome to CHCI@VT's Inaugural Alumni Day!

Join us for a dynamic kickoff to CHCI@VT’s inaugural Alumni Day as we reconnect and reflect on the Center’s growth, impact, and evolving vision. This introduction will trace CHCI@VT’s history, highlight its current research and community achievements, share what’s ahead, and explore how we all—alumni, faculty, and students—play a role in shaping its future.

About Ryan P. McMahan

Ryan P. McMahan received all three of his degrees (B.S. in 2004, M.S. in 2007, and Ph.D. in 2011) in Computer Science from Virginia Tech. He served as an Assistant Professor and Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) from 2012 to 2019 and an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Central Florida (UCF) from 2019 to 2024. In 2024, he returned to Virginia Tech as a Professor of Computer Science and the Deputy Director of CHCI@VT. In August 2025, he became the Director of CHCI@VT. His research currently focuses on the intersection of extended reality and artificial intelligence. 

CHCI & Me: From PIM Research to Gmail

A casual chat with Manas Tungare (Ph.D., 2009) on his roots at CHCI & Virginia Tech to his current role on the Gmail team at Google.

About Manas Tungare

Manas is a CHCI Alumnus who worked in the area of Personal Information Management while at VT. In the years since then, he has worked on several teams at Google, including Google Instant Search, Google Assistant (“Hey Google, do this for me!”) & Google TV. He currently serves as Uber Tech Lead for the Gmail Productivity team, building engineering solutions for Gmail’s billions of users.

Advancing Agentic AI and Cyber Operations Research for the Future Force

As emerging artificial intelligence capabilities transform the character of conflict, the Army Cyber Institute (ACI) is driving a research portfolio that integrates operational realism, human–machine teaming, and next generation agentic AI to support Commander decision making, cyber defense, and AI governance at scale. In this talk, LTC Matthew Corbett presents an overview of his prior work in security and privacy,  human–machine decision support, and applied machine learning at Virginia Tech and the CHCI, followed by current ACI research initiatives that collectively shape the Army’s future cyber posture.

The talk will review LTC Corbett’s work at Virginia Tech, focusing on using human eye gaze to provide situational context to solve security and privacy problems in augmented reality (AR). LTC Corbett will also introduce some ACI projects that form a coherent research agenda focused on building trustworthy, auditable, operationally grounded AI capabilities for the Army to enable both cyberspace operators and other warfighters. The talk concludes with a discussion of how agentic AI, governance architectures, and human AI teaming can shape future doctrine, training, and capability development.

About Matthew Corbett

Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Corbett was a member of the Virginia Tech HCI community from 2021 to 2024. During that time, his research focused on security and privacy issues in augmented reality.  He is currently a research team leader at the U.S. Army Cyber Institute (ACI) at West Point, NY and has recently focused on integrating human biofeedback into battlefield command systems and AI-integrated cybersecurity projects including explained agentic cyber defense systems. Matthew leads a diverse group of military and civilian researchers, with projects ranging from human factors in cybersecurity, cyber simulation and governance, and tactical decision support systems. Before his time at the CHCI, Matthew served as an Army Intelligence officer, with multiple combat tours, including serving as an intelligence advisor to the U.S./Taliban communications and negotiations team in Doha, Qatar.

From Training to Independence: Reflections on Building a Research Program and Career After Graduate School

This talk reflects on Dr. Wang's transition from graduate training to independent research leadership. She will first highlight key milestones achieved prior to entering a tenure-track faculty role, followed by lessons learned while establishing a research program. Drawing from her first semester as a faculty member, she will share both accomplishments and challenges—ranging from research planning and teaching to time management and institutional navigation. Based on these experiences, Dr. Wang will share practical tips for early-career professionals navigating similar transitions. She will conclude with a brief overview of her current research lab, ongoing projects, and future research plans.

About Manhua Wang

Manhua Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Prior to this appointment, she was a Postdoctoral Associate with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). She received her BS in Psychology from Zhejiang University (2018), M.S. in Information Science from UNC-Chapel Hill (2020), and PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Virginia Tech (2024).

Dr. Wang’s research focuses on human-AI/Robot interaction and collaboration, with a specific focus on transportation safety and the future workplace. Leveraging a mixed methods approach, her research strives to understand the cognitive, affective, psychophysiological, and behavioral dynamics during those interactions and to advance technology design to facilitate interactions and promote safety and well-being.

Still Human-Centered? Wearable Technology in the Age of AI

Wearable and augmented systems increasingly incorporate AI to interpret context, prioritize information, and guide user behavior in real time. While these capabilities are often framed as advances in intelligence or automation, they fundamentally reshape how information is integrated, attended to, and acted upon by human users. In this talk, I draw on my research in cognitive engineering and human-centered system design to examine how AI-enabled wearable interfaces interact with human information processing in dynamic, safety-relevant contexts. Using empirical examples from wearable and augmented reality systems, I argue that keeping wearable systems human-centered in the age of AI requires accounting for human perceptual and cognitive constraints, rather than treating AI as a standalone improvement. I conclude by outlining design implications and research directions for the HCI community focused on building wearable systems that support effective human-AI coordination under real-world contextual demands.

About Missie Smith

Missie Smith was a member of the Virginia Tech HCI community from 2013 to 2018. During that time, her research focused on human factors, cognitive engineering, and how immersive technologies influence human information processing. She earned her PhD in Industrial and Systems Engineering, with work that examined user perception and performance when using emerging interfaces. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Auburn University, where she directs the Cognitive Engineering and Context (CEC) Lab. Her research lies at the intersection of engineering, design, and public policy, with applications to the safe use of augmented reality technologies in domains such as automotive, aviation, and consumer goods. She was recently named a Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Science Policy Fellow, underscoring her efforts to connect technical research with broader regulatory and societal considerations. Before joining Auburn, she worked as a Research Scientist at Meta Reality Labs, where she developed AR/VR safety guidelines to inform design standards across hardware and software development. Dr. Smith also serves in leadership roles across the immersive-technology research community, including IEEE ISMAR, IEEE VR, and HFES. A dedicated mentor, she has guided more than 150 early career researchers whose contributions now span academia, industry, and government.

Interactive Realities: Evolving XR Interactions and Impactful Applications

Over the past 15 years since graduating from Virginia Tech CHCI, Dr. Kopper's work has been driven by a sustained curiosity about how humans interact with immersive systems and a commitment to applying those systems in contexts that matter. In this talk, he will provide an overview of his research during this period, including investigations into the design and extension of interaction techniques, the role of virtual humans in medical education, and studies on how design choices affect user experience in immersive systems. He will discuss how these foundations have evolved into rich, simulation-based research that leverages XR for training and decision support in complex, real-world scenarios. His research portfolio now spans transdisciplinary applications, from public safety and first-responder training using modular XR interfaces to health-related immersive tools such as virtual colonoscopy viewers and remote surgical guidance aimed at increasing equitable access to care. Throughout this journey, he has sought to balance rigorous design and evaluation with a commitment to collaboration, domain relevance, and pushing the boundaries of how extended reality can amplify human capability and understanding in highly impactful applications.

About Regis Kopper

Dr. Regis Kopper is an assistant professor of Computer Science at Iowa State University. He researches extended reality (XR) interfaces and user experience (UX) for immersive interactive systems, with a focus on interaction design, simulation, and training, particularly in the design and evaluation of highly effective 3D user interfaces and their application in critical areas such as public safety and healthcare. His work has been recognized with awards such as the Best Paper Award at the IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces and the IEEE Virtual Reality’s 3D User Interfaces Grand Prize. More recently, Dr. Kopper has expanded his research to investigate the potential of immersive technology for delivering equitable, sustainable, and accessible healthcare, reflecting his dedication to creating innovative solutions with global impact. His research has been funded by prestigious organizations, including the DoD, NSF, NIH, and NIST. Before joining Iowa State, Dr. Kopper held faculty appointments at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Florida. He holds a B.A. and M.S. in Computer Science from PUCRS, Brazil, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech.

How does a blind person use a computer?

How does a blind person use a computer—and read a picture book to their child? Stacy will share how this program launched a career of service in human-computer interaction, including a new electronic book reader I’m building with a blind PhD student, and I’ll leave you with a practical, eye-opening answer. 

About Stacy Branham

Stacy Branham was a member of the Virginia Tech HCI community from 2007 to 2014. During that time, her research focused on interpersonal communication technologies, but her service was devoted to ensuring that women felt belonging in computing. When her postdoctoral studies introduced her to digital accessibility needs of blind individuals, she pivoted to Accessible Computing research. Today, she is an Associate Professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine. In her research and service, she creates technologies with disabled people that enable them to thrive in computing and in higher education, so they can lead the way to a more inclusive digital future. Branham is Co-PI of NSF AccessComputing, a national initiative to teach digital accessibility to the next generation of technologists. She is also a member of the Computing Research Association’s Education board, where she leads a national effort to assess digital accessibility of college computing classrooms. She is Technical Program Chair for the 2026 ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility and an Associate Editor of the ACM TOCHI journal. She lives with her husband, also a CHCI alum, and their two children in Southern California––where she occasionally misses the snow, but always the people in Southwest Virginia.

Immersive AI and Human-Centered Innovation: Interdisciplinary Case Studies Transforming Education, Language, Health, and Construction

This collection of interdisciplinary case studies demonstrates how immersive technologies and artificial intelligence can be leveraged to foster innovation in education, research, and professional practice. Drawing from fields such as pharmacy education, computational linguistics, speech-language pathology, and building science, these cases provide collaborative frameworks that integrate technical development, ethical reasoning, domain expertise, and human-centered design. By integrating virtual reality (VR), cross-lingual natural language processing, and AI-driven clinical tools, these cases demonstrate how collaborative teams can design transformative learning experiences grounded in empathy, inclusion, and real-world problem solving.

About Cheryl Seals

Dr. Cheryl D. Seals, the Charles E. Barkley Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Auburn University, is a distinguished researcher, educator, and leader with over 25 years of experience, including 21 years as Auburn faculty and five years in industry at Bellcore/Telcordia and IBM. An alumna of Grambling State University, North Carolina A&T State University, and Virginia Tech (PhD), Dr. Seals has contributed significantly to her academic community through leadership roles, program committees, advisory boards, and service as faculty advisor to multiple student organizations. Her research program focuses on Advanced Learning Technologies, emphasizing user-centered design, participatory evaluation, and immersive experiences. With nearly $20M in collaborative funding and over 130 publications, her work spans eLearning, teacher education, computational linguistics, and mixed-reality applications. Projects have supported disciplines such as pharmacy, civil engineering, building science, communication disorders, and medicine through VR and AR innovations. Dr. Seals has mentored over 200 graduate and undergraduate students, graduating 23 Ph.D. and 78 master’s students. She has also co-led NSF-funded initiatives including IAAMCS and STARS, both aimed at supporting computing availability for all, fostering mentorship, leadership, outreach, and research training across diverse communities.

How Non-Traditional Can You Be?

Dr. Miller's story and accomplishments play a different tune than what is generally heard or expected by Computer Science PhDs. In his talk, he delves into a story of opportunities and avenues that are outside of what is generally considered traditional for a researcher. A tenure-track position was not his focus, neither was academia at first. However, with his background and keen research interest, he ended up becoming a successful and influential researcher within the University Libraries at Virginia Tech. Come hear how non-traditional research opportunities are possible and available, especially within an academic library. 

About Chreston Miller

Dr. Chreston Miller is an associate professor and the Data and Informatics Consultant for Engineering within Data Services at the University Libraries at Virginia Tech. He received his PhD from Virginia Tech in 2013. Since then, he has been collaborating with researchers across Virginia Tech as a Data Consultant in many capacities. Most notably as a co-PI on the recently awarded largest National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant Virginia Tech has ever received, entitled: Dangerous Harbor: Finding Escaped Unfree Laborers in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake. His consulting work has led him to specialize in Natural Language Processing (NLP). He has worked on multiple Optical Character Recognition (OCR) projects ranging from text extraction from phone images to challenging historical documents. He recently has delved into the application of Large Language Models (LLMs) to perform OCR. He has co-authored several articles on NLP in the areas of using LLMs for OCR of historical documents, text sentiment analysis and topic modeling for understanding aspects of the fashion world, and the discovery of new descriptive terms for cataloging historical costume collections. His work has been spotlighted in local news and Virginia Tech news outlets. His research interests include Applied Machine Learning, NLP, OCR using LLMs, and Human-Centered Computing.

Becoming an HCI Researcher: Reflections on Growth, Mentorship, and Research Identity Since CHCI

This talk reflects on Dr. Li's intellectual and professional trajectory since graduating from VT. Beginning her PhD with limited research exposure, she relied heavily on mentorship, iterative feedback, and immersion in CHCI’s research culture to learn how to think critically and interpret empirical work. She will share how these formative experiences influenced the development of her research agenda and shaped her transition into an independent faculty role.

About Tianyi Li

Tianyi Li is an Assistant Professor in the School of Applied & Creative Computing at Purdue University, where she leads the Co-Intelligence Lab. Her research focuses on AI-augmented learnersourcing, community-driven human–AI interaction design, and AI-assisted user-centered design. She studies how end users can actively shape and collaborate with intelligent systems, applying crowdsourcing and human-centered design methods to develop new workflows and intelligent user interfaces in real-world contexts.

Tianyi received her PhD in Computer Science from Virginia Tech, where she was advised by Dr. Chris North and Dr. Kurt Luther. Since graduating from Virginia Tech, Tianyi has pursued research that builds on her expertise in crowdsourcing and sensemaking, with applications spanning programming education, home heating system interaction, and highway traffic data analytics, as well as the design and evaluation of empirical interactive systems in those application contexts. Her work has appeared in leading venues including ACM TOCHI, IUI, TiiS, TORS, ITiCSE, and SIGCSE.