Jonghoon Ahn is a filmmaker, media artist, and researcher whose work explores memory, human presence, and the boundary between physical and virtual experience. Moving between cinema and media art, he reconstructs people, places, and personal histories through digital and interactive forms. He was a finalist for the 2024 Sundance Ignite × Adobe Fellowship, and his feature screenplay was a 2025 Academy Nicholl Fellowships Entrant and was shortlisted for the CJ & TIFF K-Story Fund.
Currently pursuing a PhD in Media Arts and Technology at UC Santa Barbara, his research focuses on interactive digital humans and 4D human representation, particularly how memory, place, and presence can be carried across time and space.
Sabina Hyoju Ahn is an artist engaging with various media represented through auditory perception, tactile sense, visual elements and a mixture of digital and analog technology. Her research seeks to find hidden rules and patterns in natural elements and multi-layered relationships between human and non-human beings by translating imperceptible data in natural elements into different perceptual experiences. In her work, biological materials are often used, combined or connected to machines, and transformed. Her recent research focuses on the physical nature of the human perceptual system driven by a post-digital media concept and applying a contemporary scientific and artistic research method.
Alejandro Aponte-Lugo is a researcher born and raised on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. He earned his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. Alejandro’s undergraduate research spans instrumentation development, mechanism design, biomedical devices, assistive technology, digital fabrication, robotics, and user-centered design. As a graduate student, Alejandro focuses on the intersection of instrumentation development, system design, and digital fabrication, using computational methods to explore new multimodal interactions that bridge the gap between physical and virtual experiences. His work aims to leverage emerging XR and AI technologies to revolutionize hardware design for interaction and user-centered data collection, particularly in assisting users with complex physical tasks. Alejandro’s master’s research centered on system design, digital fabrication, interactive multimodal interfaces, and egocentric data collection, with publications at top HCI conferences, including CHI '23, UIST '23, and DIS '24. His master's final project explored user-centered hand mobility profiling, leading to the development of grasp-proximate user interfaces based on reachability and motion cost for user-specific fabrications. Now pursuing his PhD, Alejandro continues to explore instrumentation development and system design, utilizing digital fabrication and computational methods to create innovative physical interaction tools that uncover new ways to connect the physical and virtual realities with a focus on XR and AI physical task guidance applications.
Ana Maria Cardenas (She/Her/Ella) is a PhD student in the Media Arts and Technology Program in the Expressive Computation Lab. She received her M.S. in Information at the University of Michigan, her B.S. in Computer Science, and a B.A. in Design at Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia. She has worked with the Museum of Memory in Colombia to create AR exhibitions for narratives of the armed conflict in Colombia. She has also worked with companies like Snap and Adobe, exploring AR’s use for social connection, storytelling, and performance.
Ana Maria is interested in creating technologies that support storytelling and foster human connection through narrative. She has experience designing and developing Augmented Reality experiences and studying users’ interactions with them. In her research, she is particularly interested in supporting artists, institutions, communities, and organizations using Augmented and Virtual Reality to create narratives that help foster empathy and understanding of sensitive stories.
Pingkang Chen focuses on designing and developing immersive audio experiments, specifically on spatial hearing perception and evaluation. He has an in-depth background with all major spatial audio-related formats and off-the-shelf/custom equipment, enabling him to achieve immersive spatial audio interaction and user experience. He holds an MA in Audio Technology from American University, Washington, D.C. His work has been published by the Audio Engineering Society, where he received the Best Student Paper award at both the 157th (New York, 2024) and 159th (Long Beach, 2025) AES International Conventions. Outside of his work in immersive audio, Pingkang is a well-rounded musician with credits including national award-winning productions.
Hyun Cho is a Southern California– and Seoul–based media artist and researcher whose work bridges virtual reality, AI systems, and experimental game design. Her practice examines social dynamics and the politics of communication in digital environments, often using friction and intentional constraints as design strategies. Cho holds an MFA in Design Media Arts from UCLA and is currently pursuing the MS/PhD in Media Arts & Technology at UC Santa Barbara. Through playful narratives and interactive mechanics, her projects invite audiences to reflect on human–technology relationships and the evolving forms of sociality emerging in virtual spaces.
Jon is a multimedia artist and researcher investigating the philosophy, history and design of computational technologies. He has worked on several design projects in accessible technologies, interface design and speculative design. His previous work has cross fields of fabrication, tactility, haptics, way-finding, computer vision, and visual design. Previously, Jon has worked in videography, communication and marketing for almost two decades in entertainment and academia.
Payton Croskey is a tech justice scholar designing liberatory tools for a more just world. She is a Ph.D. student in Jennifer Jacob’s Expressive Computation Lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), a 2025 recipient of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP), and a 2025 Processing Foundation Fellow. Her research sits at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Afrofuturism, where she develops theoretical frameworks and technical methodologies for ethically collecting, storing, and modeling Black cultural data in AI and AR. This is a continuation of her undergraduate research in Princeton University’s African American Studies and Computer Science departments, where she uncovered Black and Brown efforts to resist surveillance systems. Payton is also the former creative content director and lead researcher of Ruha Benjamin’s Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab, where she collaborated with grassroots organizations, led the lab’s inaugural international conference and developed a transformative digital repository of liberatory technologies housed on GitHub.
MSc student
ruoxi_du (at) mat.ucsb.edu
Ruoxi Du is a media artist and researcher whose work sits at the edges of sound, visuals, and interactive systems. She is interested in what happens when audio meets physical space, motion, and computation — immersive installations, generative music, machine learning. She is drawn to the moment when sound becomes something you can see or move through.
Ruoxi has a B.A. in Art of Recording and is currently in the M.S. program in Media Arts and Technology at UC Santa Barbara, where she is going deeper into music information retrieval and spatial audio. Her installation work won second prize at the Shaanxi Province College Students' Art Exhibition. Her research on machine learning for jazz composition is published in Applied and Computational Engineering. She has worked in live audio and post-production for film, documentary, game, and VR projects.
PhD student
lpfreiburg (at) mat.ucsb.edu
Luc Freiburg has a background in astrophysics but came to the MAT department to explore the art and soul of scientific thought. They are originally from Fort Collins, Colorado. Their education and work have brought them from NoCo to SoCal—from the University of Northern Colorado to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where they explore the intersection of art and science.
By night, they lead astronomy tours; by day, they work with the CREATE ensemble and create art that honors what came before while seeking to envision what is to come. Their work draws on interests in planetary science, the general theory of relativity, chaos, creative computing, and large language models. Outside of these pursuits, they can be found trail running and hiking through the natural wonders of Southern California and beyond.
Devon (they/them) is an artist, coder, and dancer. They are researching digital fabrication and creativity support in the Expressive Computation Lab.
Xue Gao is a PhD student in the Media Arts and Technology Program at UC Santa Barbara. Her research lies at the intersection of immersive media, serious games, and more than human perspectives in HCI. She explores how playful and game based interactions can make ecological processes, nonhuman agencies, and climate resilience challenges more tangible and emotionally resonant, especially within urban environments. Xue is particularly interested in how playful design can move communities from momentary engagement toward deeper understanding, agency, and action in the face of environmental change.
Xue holds an MLA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Professionally, she has designed climate resilient public spaces for NYCHA and created interactive tools that help residents visualize extreme rainfall and environmental risk. Her work and the projects she has contributed to have been exhibited internationally in Britain, India, South Korea, and China, and recognized with honors such as the ASLA NY Merit Award and the International Busan Design Award.
Yuehao Gao’s academic focus spans across music composition, media technology, cognitive neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. As an international student, Yuehao was originally trained with both Western and Chinese classical music. He then pursued his undergraduate degree at Northeastern University (Boston) with a combined major between computer science and music technologies, where he started his studies in music composition, analysis, audio signal processing, computer algorithms, and software engineering, and designed a machine-learning-base chord and harmony recommendation software for his graduate project.
Currently, Yuehao focuses on the aesthetic value of music and its impact on human emotion, creativity, and cross-cultural understanding. He utilizes artificial intelligence, neuroscience experimental data, and mathematical models to explore how music is perceived and understood, and how music brings genuine pleasant experiences for listeners, eventually boosting the harmonicity of societies. His journey reflects on his interdisciplinary approach to deepen our understanding of music’s role in human experiences.
Amanda Gregory is a multimedia researcher and sound artist pursuing a PhD in Media Arts and Technology at UCSB with an emphasis in Cognitive Science. Her research focuses on the development of immersive audiovisual systems for investigating consciousness phenomena, interspecies communication, and multi-scale pattern emergence through empirically-validated experiential paradigms.
She holds a Master of Music in Opera from Manhattan School of Music, currently serves as a research affiliate with META Lab at UCSB, is a remote resident at the Santa Barbara Center for Arts, Science and Technology (SBCAST), and is an alumna of the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute and the Design Science Studio. Gregory's work has been featured at venues and events such as BrainMind, DWeb, Neurotherapy Conference, NeuroLeadership Institute, Science of Consciousness Conference, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Google I/O Conference, Obscura Digital, Global Energy Conference, Sivananda Ashram, Museum of Art Santa Barbara, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, Museum of Sensory and Movement Experiences, Synesthesia Festival in Portugal, the Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute, Zunya, and the 4DSOUND Institute.
Gregory's research integrates neurobiology, psychophysiology, consciousness studies, environmental science, and quantum physics. Her sound experiences synthesize vibrational resonance theory, live voice-generated psychoacoustics, environmental frequencies, neural oscillation patterns, biorhythm sonification, electromagnetic field frequencies, and multi-scale vibrational coherence. Previous implementations have incorporated motion capture systems, projection mapping, and extended reality interfaces. Her current research focuses on integrating data sonification and micro sound particalization with 4D acoustic spatialization across the full spectral range (sub-20 Hz to >20 kHz), investigating self-similar geometric morphologies and logarithmic spiral invariances that manifest across multiple orders of magnitude in natural systems—from quantum phenomena to cosmological structures.
Gregory's research initiatives include computational audiovisualizations of the Nested Observer Window Theory of Consciousness (Schooler & Riddle) and the Three Dimensions of Time Theory (Schooler), examining their hierarchical organizational patterns across dimensional scales. This work extends to the sonification and visualization of multi-scale temporal dynamics, with particular focus on comparative chronobiology and species-specific temporal perception. In collaboration with organizations utilizing AI to decode biocommunication, she is developing species-specific compositions tailored to the hearing ranges and vibrational sensitivities of diverse life forms—from marine mammals and laboratory mice to old-grove trees in forests and brain organoids within UCSB's molecular biology lab.
Her research pipeline extends from prototyping in UCSB's AlloSphere and TransLab facilities to large-scale venues like the MSG Sphere, while maintaining parallel development of accessible versions that translate full-spectrum acoustic therapies and theoretical consciousness and nature of reality exploration paradigms to standard stereo and display configuration.
Ultimately, Gregory's research aims to advance understanding of the interconnections between human consciousness, hyperdimensional environmental dynamics, and multi-scale emergent networks through empirically-grounded methodologies that bridge theoretical frameworks with phenomenological understanding.
PhD student
zhifanguo (at) ucsb.edu
Zhifan Guo is a product designer and HCI researcher whose work explores digital fabrication, embodied interaction, and material-driven design. Her research investigates how computational tools and physical making practices can support creativity, expression, and meaningful everyday experiences. She also holds broad interests in user experience design, tangible interfaces, and experimental material practices. Before joining the University of California, Santa Barbara Media Arts and Technology program, she studied industrial design at Georgia Institute of Technology and Beijing Institute of Technology.
Tzulun Huang is a researcher and creative technologist based in Southern California and Taiwan. Her practice operates at the intersection of immersive experience, computer vision, and human–computer interaction. Currently a Ph.D. student in Media Arts & Technology at UC Santa Barbara, she holds a B.S. in Information Management and Finance from National Chiao Tung University, and later a M.S. in Fiction and Entertainment from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where she expanded her practice into computer vision and real-time 3D graphics.
In parallel with her undergraduate studies, Tzulun applied her quantitative training to urban-scale architectural models through Solar Decathlon Europe 21/22. She developed financial affordability models and urban strategy frameworks for Team TDIS, where the project received 1st Place in Architectural Design and 3rd Place in Innovation Design.
Bridging computational structure and a lifelong practice of drawing, animation, and music, her work draws on visual rhythm, form, and temporal structure. This foundation shifted her research toward system-building, real-time interaction and non-command human-computer interaction.
Fiona Irving-Beck is a multimedia artist with research experience in applied mathematics. They are particularly interested in using interactive media to explore the boundary between the digital and physical worlds. Fiona holds BA degrees in mathematics and studio art from Scripps College.
Yeonsuk Jung (정연석, b. 1998) is a Korean-born composer whose work explores harmonies and hybridity through the intersection of analog and digital processes. Spanning chamber and electronic music, his compositions reflect a continual negotiation between his Korean heritage and Western musical training. Drawing inspiration from urban planning concepts and intercultural dialogue, he melds eclectic acoustic and digital sounds into innovative structures to create immersive auditory experiences.
His works have been recognized internationally, most notably receiving a Barlow Endowment Commission, alongside the 30x30x30 SOLI Chamber Ensemble Call for Scores (Winner, 2024), the Clements Prize for Composers (Finalist, 2023), and the Klingler Electro Acoustic Residency (Winner, 2023–24). His music has been presented at venues such as the Conway Hall Sunday Concert Series (London), the International Young Composers’ Academy (Ticino), and the ICEBERG New Music Institute (Vienna).
As a collaborator, Yeonsuk has worked with renowned contemporary ensembles including Trio Immersio, Trio Fidelio, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Duo Duoro, and Camerata San Antonio. Beyond traditional concert composition, he explores experimental musical outlets through his outside project, Squab Dad, merging dance music and internet culture into genre-defying creations.
Deeply involved in the technical aspects of music production, Yeonsuk is also an experienced audio engineer and music technologist proficient in Max/MSP, Ableton, and multimedia production. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Music Composition and an M.S. in Media Arts and Technology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he continues to develop his voice through collaboration and technological experimentation, seeking new ways to reconcile identity, memory, and the shifting landscapes of sound.
MSc / Phd student
gevher (at) mat.ucsb.edu
Gevher E. Karboga is a musician, sound designer, and voice actor with research experience in psycholinguistics and AR/VR-based learning. She graduated from the University of Rochester with a BSc in Brain & Cognitive Sciences and a BA in Digital Media Studies, with a focus on audio for visual media. She is currently pursuing an MS/PhD in Media Arts and Technology and is interested in exploring how human perception and sound shape immersive storytelling.
PhD student
vkarthikeyan (at) mat.ucsb.edu
MSc student
sumyeelee (at) mat.ucsb.edu
Nefeli Manoudaki is an architect-engineer, media artist, and Ph.D. student in Media Arts and Technology at UC Santa Barbara, working under Prof. Marcos Novak. Her practice explores the intersection of nature, sensory experience, and design through immersive environments and installations that combine emerging technologies with computational design. Her research engages AI, immersive systems, and bio-inspired architectural forms across tangible and digital media, including XR and AI. Guided by morphological and cognitive principles, she develops experiences that reorient audiences toward the natural world through multisensory and spatial means. Her work has been exhibited at ISEA, ACM SIGGRAPH, IEEE VISAP, Ars Electronica, Currents New Media (Upcoming), and other international venues. She is Co–Art Director, with Iason Paterakis, of Brave New Work, and co-founder of metaesthetica.xyz, a research-driven design collective.
Ryan is a composer, programmer, and multimedia artist based in Santa Barbara, California.
His work extends an ancient lineage of musical tradition, informed by contemporary models of computation and inspired by the forms and dynamics of the natural world.
Ryan holds a BA in Computer Science and Electronic Music from UC Santa Cruz and an MSc in Media Arts & Technology from UC Santa Barbara, where he is currently a PhD student and researcher.
MSc/PhD student
mondrian (at) mat.ucsb.edu
Erik Alessandro Mondrian (he/they) is a writer, visual artist, vocalist, musician, filmmaker, scholar, and longtime explorer of virtual worlds. He holds a BA in French, with a minor in Spanish, from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; an MA in Communication, with a specialization in Mass Communication and Media Studies, from San Diego State University; and an Interschool MFA in VoiceArts & Creative Writing, with a concentration in Integrated Media, from the California Institute of the Arts. He is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Media Arts and Technology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Erik's video art was featured in the Supernova Digital Animation Festival three years in a row (prior to its rebranding as the Digerati Emergent Media Festival). Erik and his MFA thesis film have also been mentioned in The Guardian, appearing in an article about Second Life and its continued relevance to discussions around the so-called metaverse.
Erik was a Spotlight presenter at the 16th annual Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference in March 2023, with a talk called Perspective and Place in Virtual Spaces — inspired by a video essay he had made of the same name. More recently, some of Erik's SL-based images were selected for inclusion in the 2023-24 "Imagining California" exhibition at UCSB's Platform Gallery, curated by the university's Interdisciplinary Humanities Center.
Iason N. Paterakis is a California-based architect-engineer, media artist, and Ph.D. student in Media Arts & Technology at UC Santa Barbara’s transLAB, under Prof. Marcos Novak. His work focuses on biodata-driven art and design, including brain organoid activity, AI-mediated immersive environments, and large-scale projection mapping. Working across installation, computation, and spatial media, he develops projects that connect biological signals, artificial intelligence, and immersive computational design. His work has been presented at ACM SIGGRAPH, ISEA, and Ars Electronica, with projects shown across Asia, Europe, North America, and Antarctica. He has also published in venues including the International Astronautical Congress and the International Journal of Architectural Computing (IJAC). He is Co–Art Director, with Nefeli Manoudaki, of Brave New Work, and co-founder of metaesthetica.xyz, a research-driven design collective.
PhD student
raswan (at) mat.ucsb.edu
Eric Rennie is a creative technologist with a background that spans media, including video and audio production, physical computing, and computer science. He joined MAT with an interest in visualizing data in unconventional ways, especially by using information from the physical world to shape these visualizations and explore new modes of human–computer interaction. His goal is to eventually collaborate with architects and engineers to design large-scale immersive environments—public, corporate, and cultural spaces that move beyond four walls and respond to environmental or contextual data, transforming the media elements that surround the observer.
Jazer Sibley-Schwartz is an audio/visual composer and maker. His work has been presented at SEAMUS, Max Expo, Five College New Music Festival, numerous New York venues, as well as internationally in Berlin, London, and Spain. He has collaborated extensively with Barbie Diewald Choreography with performances at Jacob’s Pillow, Performance Project Festival, and Ponderosa Dance Festival. He has Bachelor of Art degrees in Music and Physics from Skidmore College and Master of Music in Composition from the University of Massachusetts. His current research focuses on generative video and audio. When not making he can be found teaching, riding or fixing bicycles, and playing accordion.
With a background in 3D design, computer science, and digital media, Summer is a creative technologist working across design, technology, and storytelling, exploring spatial, interactive, and computational practices. She received her B.A. in Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis, with a second major in Computer Science and Mathematics, and later earned an M.S. in Fiction and Entertainment from SCI-Arc, where she expanded her practice through cinematic worldbuilding and real-time tools such as Unreal Engine.
Drawing from her interests in digital fabrication, speculative environments, human-computer interaction, and AI-assisted creative systems, Summer explores computational worldbuilding and human–AI collaboration. As a longtime jazz and blues enthusiast, she is particularly interested in bringing the spontaneity, improvisation, and generative qualities of music into her work.
MSc student
noahthompson (at) mat.ucsb.edu
Shashank S is a creative technologist exploring the intersection of tangible media, sensor-based media, and data visualization. With a background in Electrical & Computer Engineering, he builds custom imaging systems and interactive tools that blend hardware, software, and visual expression. His work combines engineering and computational film practices on how technology can open new aesthetic and narrative possibilities.
Shaw Yiran Xiao is a multidisciplinary media artist and researcher based in Southern California, working at the intersection of art, technology, and human experience. Her research explores how digital systems shape human perception and society, with a focus on data visualization, generative art, and machine learning. Through her visualizations, Shaw reveals the hidden operations of technology, uncovering the aesthetic dimensions embedded within data and algorithms. Her work encourages critical reflection on how digital infrastructures influence autonomy, cultural values, and individual identity.
MSc student
kai_yan (at) mat.ucsb.edu
Jintong Yang is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher working at the intersection of HCI and visual art, with a focus on creativity support tools. She explores how computational systems can support more intuitive, exploratory, and expressive creative practices. Drawing on a background in motion design and interactive media, she is interested in bridging digital and physical processes to extend creative workflows, from high-level ideation and storytelling to low-level authoring, across animation, motion graphics, live performance, and VR/AR. She holds an MFA in Computer Arts from the School of Visual Arts, New York, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Media Arts and Technology at UC Santa Barbara.
Anna Borou Yu is a new media artist, interdisciplinary researcher, and dancer. She is the Cofounder and Creative Director of MYStudio, an experimental design group in Boston, integrating humanity, art, performance and technology. She is also a Collaborative Artist at MIT Music and Theater Arts, XR Track Member at NEW INC, Ambassador of Arte Laguna Prize, Judge of 2024 MIT AI for Filmmaking Hackathon, Judge of 2024 MIT Reality Hack, Reviewer of 2024 IEEE AIART Workshop, selected as AACYF Top 30 under 30 in 2023. She also teaches at Tsinghua University, China Academy of Art and Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Anna engages in contemporary interpretation of cultural heritage, embodied exhibition and cognitive performance in extended reality, and translation between media from artistic expression to science research. Her works have been featured at Arte Laguna Prize, Hermes Creative Awards, MIT AI Hackathon Best Film, etc. She has worked as Fellow and Project Lead at Harvard FAS CAMLab, and graduated from Tsinghua and Yale School of Architecture.
MSc student
felix_yuan (at) mat.ucsb.edu
Introduction: Zoe Zhang is a designer and emerging media artist from Tianjin, China. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Media Arts & Technology (MAT) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she explores the intersection of spatial design, computation, and interactive systems.
Zoe received her Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), studying across its Hong Kong, Savannah, and Atlanta campuses. This multicultural academic experience shaped her global design perspective and deepened her understanding of how culture influences spatial experience.
During her time at SCAD Hong Kong, she volunteered at a university-organized career fair, gaining insight into professional systems and industry structure. In Atlanta, her hand-drawn works were exhibited at the CIDA Interior Design Exhibition, reflecting her strong foundation in spatial thinking and visual communication.
Her work now extends beyond physical interiors into computational space. Combining architectural sensibility with generative media, she explores themes such as memory, perception, time, and emotional resonance through interactive installations, shader-based systems, and AI-assisted workflows.
Zoe is proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator, Revit, SketchUp, and creative coding environments such as p5.js and GLSL. She believes that space is not static — it is experiential, responsive, and deeply tied to human memory.
MSc student
lilianzhao (at) mat.ucsb.edu