Doctoral Students
Dissertations Supervised as Chair
Carolyn Tennant (Graduated 2021) “The Expressive Archive: Defining a Genre."
Electronic Arts PhD Program, Dept. of the Arts
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Jason Coley (Graduated 2019) “The Body’s Acclimation to Virtual Environments: Understanding How We Enact Presence in Virtual Reality.”
Communication and Rhetoric PhD Program, Dept. of Communication and Media
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Eric Walsh (Graduated 2018) “Design Strategies for Encouraging Impact in Games for Change.”
Communication and Rhetoric PhD Program, Dept. of Communication and Media
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
PhD Committees
Ágnes Bakk (expected graduation 2022) “Magic in VR: New Frameworks for VR Experience Design Applying Insights from Performance Art, Video Games, and the Psychology of the Illusionary.”
Art and Design PhD Program
Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest, Hungary
Van Tran Nguyen (Graduated 2021) “Erie County Smile: On Exilic Media and Identity Construction.”
Electronic Arts PhD Program, Dept. of the Arts
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Mara Dionisio (Graduated 2021) “Leveraging Transmedia Education-Entertainment to Augment Tourists’ Awareness of Local Issues.”
Doctoral Program in Digital Media, Faculty of Science and Technology
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
Joshua A. Fisher (Graduated 2019) “Mixed Reality Technologies for Participatory Documentary and Interactive Performance.”
Digital Media PhD Program, School of Literature, Media and Communication
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA
Maria Cecilia Reyes (Graduated 2019) “Interactive Fiction in Cinematic Virtual Reality.”
Doctoral Program in Digital Humanities
University of Genoa, Italy
Matthew O’Hare (Graduated 2018) “Points of Contact: An Actor-Centered Approach for the Design of Interactive Environments for Theatre Performance.”
Electronic Arts PhD Program, Dept. of the Arts
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Diana Alvarez (Graduated 2018) “Bridge Artistx Innovate: Gatherings of Women, Non-Binary, and Genderqueer Artists of Color.”
Electronic Arts PhD Program, Dept. of the Arts
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Robb Conrad Lauzon (Graduated 2018) “Experiencing Memorial Space in ‘A Land of Refuge’”
Communication and Rhetoric PhD Program, Dept. of Communication and Media
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Britney Summit-Gil (Graduated 2017) “Making Men: Community Building and Masculinity Online.”
Communication and Rhetoric PhD Program, Dept. of Communication and Media
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Kirk Quinsland (Graduated 2014) “Interactive Performance and the Early Modern Stage.”
English PhD Program, Dept. of English
Fordham University, New York NY
External PhD Evaluation:
Torbjörn Svensson (50% seminar - 2018) “Exploring Engagement from Games to News: Developing Models of Interaction and Play for Youth with Local News.”
Informatics PhD Program, School of Informatics
University of Skövde, Sweden
Masters Thesis Advising:
Tom Yngvesson and Maria Levander (Graduated 2020) “Diversity and Inclusion in the Game Development Classroom: Creating a Game to Initiate Dialogue.” Media Arts, Aesthetics, and Narration Masters Degree, School of Informatics University of Skövde, Sweden
Undergraduate Advising:
Jimmy Brunnberg (Graduated 2020) “How Tools Shape the Game Authoring Process.”
Game Development Bachelor’s Degree, School of Informatics
University of Skövde, Sweden
Santino Cimino and Linus Persson Lundh (Graduated 2020) “On the Subject of Retroactive Characterization in Games.”
Game Development Bachelor’s Degree, School of Informatics
University of Skövde, Sweden
Advising 10-20 GSAS Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences undergraduates each year from 2013 - 2019
Carolyn Tennant (Graduated 2021) “The Expressive Archive: Defining a Genre."
Electronic Arts PhD Program, Dept. of the Arts
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Jason Coley (Graduated 2019) “The Body’s Acclimation to Virtual Environments: Understanding How We Enact Presence in Virtual Reality.”
Communication and Rhetoric PhD Program, Dept. of Communication and Media
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Eric Walsh (Graduated 2018) “Design Strategies for Encouraging Impact in Games for Change.”
Communication and Rhetoric PhD Program, Dept. of Communication and Media
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
PhD Committees
Ágnes Bakk (expected graduation 2022) “Magic in VR: New Frameworks for VR Experience Design Applying Insights from Performance Art, Video Games, and the Psychology of the Illusionary.”
Art and Design PhD Program
Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest, Hungary
Van Tran Nguyen (Graduated 2021) “Erie County Smile: On Exilic Media and Identity Construction.”
Electronic Arts PhD Program, Dept. of the Arts
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Mara Dionisio (Graduated 2021) “Leveraging Transmedia Education-Entertainment to Augment Tourists’ Awareness of Local Issues.”
Doctoral Program in Digital Media, Faculty of Science and Technology
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
Joshua A. Fisher (Graduated 2019) “Mixed Reality Technologies for Participatory Documentary and Interactive Performance.”
Digital Media PhD Program, School of Literature, Media and Communication
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA
Maria Cecilia Reyes (Graduated 2019) “Interactive Fiction in Cinematic Virtual Reality.”
Doctoral Program in Digital Humanities
University of Genoa, Italy
Matthew O’Hare (Graduated 2018) “Points of Contact: An Actor-Centered Approach for the Design of Interactive Environments for Theatre Performance.”
Electronic Arts PhD Program, Dept. of the Arts
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Diana Alvarez (Graduated 2018) “Bridge Artistx Innovate: Gatherings of Women, Non-Binary, and Genderqueer Artists of Color.”
Electronic Arts PhD Program, Dept. of the Arts
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Robb Conrad Lauzon (Graduated 2018) “Experiencing Memorial Space in ‘A Land of Refuge’”
Communication and Rhetoric PhD Program, Dept. of Communication and Media
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Britney Summit-Gil (Graduated 2017) “Making Men: Community Building and Masculinity Online.”
Communication and Rhetoric PhD Program, Dept. of Communication and Media
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
Kirk Quinsland (Graduated 2014) “Interactive Performance and the Early Modern Stage.”
English PhD Program, Dept. of English
Fordham University, New York NY
External PhD Evaluation:
Torbjörn Svensson (50% seminar - 2018) “Exploring Engagement from Games to News: Developing Models of Interaction and Play for Youth with Local News.”
Informatics PhD Program, School of Informatics
University of Skövde, Sweden
Masters Thesis Advising:
Tom Yngvesson and Maria Levander (Graduated 2020) “Diversity and Inclusion in the Game Development Classroom: Creating a Game to Initiate Dialogue.” Media Arts, Aesthetics, and Narration Masters Degree, School of Informatics University of Skövde, Sweden
Undergraduate Advising:
Jimmy Brunnberg (Graduated 2020) “How Tools Shape the Game Authoring Process.”
Game Development Bachelor’s Degree, School of Informatics
University of Skövde, Sweden
Santino Cimino and Linus Persson Lundh (Graduated 2020) “On the Subject of Retroactive Characterization in Games.”
Game Development Bachelor’s Degree, School of Informatics
University of Skövde, Sweden
Advising 10-20 GSAS Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences undergraduates each year from 2013 - 2019
Curriculum Development
Undergraduate Courses Designed
Graduate Courses Designed
Degree Programs Designed
- History and Culture of Games
- Introduction to Media Studies
- Playwrighting
- World’s Fairs: Technology, Design, and Society
- Interactive Performance Art and Games
Graduate Courses Designed
- Augmented Reality Design for Cultural Heritage
- Game Design: Theory and Praxis
- Topics in Games Research: Interactive Narrative and Play from Antiquity to Mixed Reality
- Advanced Game Design & UX Methods
- Mixed Reality Stage Design
- Prototyping Interactive Technology for Theatre
- Research and Development in GUX
- Advanced Topics in GUX
Degree Programs Designed
- Critical Game Design MS and PhD Programs