{"id":397062,"date":"2019-09-18T10:39:17","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T14:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=397062"},"modified":"2023-02-15T09:13:17","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T14:13:17","slug":"new-training-in-ar-vr-tech-gives-rochester-doctoral-students-an-edge-397062","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/new-training-in-ar-vr-tech-gives-rochester-doctoral-students-an-edge-397062\/","title":{"rendered":"New training in AR\/VR tech gives Rochester doctoral students an edge"},"content":{"rendered":"

A $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation will provide additional impetus to a University of Rochester<\/a> initiative applying augmented and virtual reality in health, education, product design, remote communication, entertainment, and other fields.<\/p>\n

The grant will enable 62 doctoral students to be trained in the skills needed to advance AR\/VR technologies and will also help them gain an appreciation for the broader cultural and societal implications of the technologies, says Mujdat Cetin<\/a>, the principal investigator behind the grant. Other Rochester faculty supporting this initiative are Jannick Rolland<\/a>, the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering; Michele Rucci<\/a>, professor of brain and cognitive sciences; and Zhen Bai<\/a>, assistant professor of computer science.<\/p>\n

The trainees\u2014chosen from multiple departments, including electrical and computer engineering, optics, biomedical engineering, brain and cognitive sciences, computer science, and neuroscience\u2014will also participate in industrial internships at companies such as Facebook, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Vuzix, which have provided letters of support for the program.<\/p>\n

The companies \u201cwill be eager to consider the trainees for permanent research positions after graduation,\u201d says Cetin, the interim director of the Goergen Institute for Data Science<\/a> and a professor of electrical and computer engineering.<\/p>\n

As many as 300 other STEM graduate students at the University will participate in aspects of the training and professional development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited,\u201d Cetin says. \u201cThis project builds very well on the AR\/VR initiative the University already has in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Typically, PhD students researching AR\/VR at Rochester and other universities \u201care educated only in the teaching practices of their own department or their faculty advisor,\u201d Cetin says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they never get perspectives on other aspects of AR\/VR.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, virtual reality systems are being used in physical therapy and neurological rehabilitation, but a computer science student trained in human-computer interfaces may not be able to make meaningful contributions to these systems due to insufficient exposure to the biomedical engineering and neuroscience aspects of the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis grant will provide that [exposure],\u201d Cetin says. \u201cIt will be unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the core of the program are three new courses.<\/p>\n