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Doctoral Students

Dissertations Supervised as Chair
Carolyn Tennant (expected graduation 2021) “Meiko and the Grove: Documentary, Archives, and Emerging Media.”
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
Mara Dionisio (expected graduation 2020) “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

Ágnes Bakk (expected graduation 2021) “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 (expected graduation 2021) “Performing Memory for Land, Labor, and Hybrid Identities.”
Electronic Arts PhD Program, Dept. of the Arts
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY

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

Curriculum Development

Undergraduate Courses 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