Ryan P. McMahan

Dr. Ryan P. McMahan is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Learning Sciences at the University of Central Florida (UCF), leading the eXtended Reality & Training (XRT) Lab. He holds a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech (2011) and has expertise in leveraging XR/VR technologies for training and education. His work emphasizes enhancing learning outcomes through immersive systems, with over $3.4M in secured funding. He is an NSF CAREER Award recipient and authored the textbook 3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice (2nd Ed.).

Education

• Ph.D. Computer Science, Virginia Tech (2011)
• M.S. Computer Science, Virginia Tech (2007)
• B.S. Computer Science, Virginia Tech (2004)

Research Interests focus on XR/VR applications in education, human-computer interaction, and training systems. Key areas include interaction fidelity, personalized learning, and embodied cognition in virtual environments.

Awards include the NSF CAREER Award and teaching accolades such as UCF’s 2023 Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award. His research has generated 5,000+ citations with a h-index of 26.

Professional Engagement includes roles as IEEE TVCG Associate Editor and organizer of ICAT-EGVE 2020. He mentors students in UCF’s Mixed Reality Engineering Graduate Certificate program and advises initiatives like Girls Who Code.