Nick Graham is a Professor in the School of Computing at Queen's University, Canada. He holds a PhD from TU Berlin and teaches courses like Game Architecture and Digital Game Development. His research focuses on next-generation digital games, particularly exergames (combining exercise with play) and educational games. He directs the EQUIS Lab, which develops accessible gaming solutions for populations like children with cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury patients. Graham previously served as VP Research & Development at Namzak Labs and has held academic roles at York University and Queen's University. Education: PhD (Dr.-Ing.) in Engineering - TU Berlin (1995) MSc in Computer Science - Queen's University (1988) BSc in Computer Science - University of Toronto (1985) Research Interests: Exergames promoting physical activity through gaming Accessibility in game design for persons with disabilities Game networking and distributed algorithms Augmented reality tools for education Lab & Collaborations: The EQUIS Lab develops projects such as the Liberi exergame and conversion tools for existing games like Skyrim into exergames. Techniques like 'Partial Automation' enable gameplay accessibility. Professional Roles: Director, EQUIS Lab Member, IFIP Working Group 2.7 on User Interface Engineering VP Research & Development, Namzak Labs (2000–present)
Jesse Hoey is a Professor in the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo and leader of the Computational Health Informatics Lab (CHIL). He serves as a Faculty Affiliate at the Vector Institute and is Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing. His research spans affective computing, health informatics, and socially assistive robotics, with a particular focus on developing technologies for elderly care and cognitive assistive applications. Hoey's research interests center around affective intelligence, Bayesian affect control theory (BayesACT), and decision-theoretic planning in uncertain domains. His work integrates social psychology with artificial intelligence to create emotionally aware systems that can interact naturally with humans, particularly those with cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer's disease. He has developed models for social interaction, emotion recognition, and uncertainty management in human-robot collaboration. His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward medical applications of AI, particularly in ultrasound analysis and healthcare technology. Many of his papers focus on self-supervised learning techniques for medical imaging and the application of affective computing principles to assistive technologies for dementia care. His work bridges theoretical AI with practical healthcare applications, showing increasing emphasis on real-world implementation. Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing Hoey has supervised numerous PhD and Master's students through the Computational Health Informatics Lab, with research spanning socially assistive robotics, affective computing, and health informatics. His lab has received funding for projects related to AI for dementia care, smart home technologies, and emotion-aware systems. The CHIL lab collaborates with healthcare institutions including the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. The Computational Health Informatics Lab (CHIL) focuses on developing intelligent systems that understand and respond to human emotions and social contexts. Current projects include emotionally aligned social robots for dementia care, self-supervised learning for medical ultrasound, and models of social organization as uncertainty management. The lab combines theoretical work in Bayesian modeling with practical applications in healthcare technology.
Angela Book is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Brock University. She holds a Ph.D. from Queen’s University and specializes in Forensic Psychology, with a focus on psychopathy and its relationship to victim selection, emotion perception, and deceptive behavior. Her research explores how psychopathic traits influence vulnerability judgments and social manipulation. She is affiliated with Brock’s Psychology Department and has contributed extensively to forensic assessment methodologies and youth psychopathy research. Education: Ph.D. in Psychology, Queen’s University Research Interests: Forensic Psychology, psychopathy, emotion perception, victim selection, deception detection, vulnerability assessment. Grants & Advising: No specific grants or advisee records explicitly mentioned in the provided text. Labs/Teams: Not explicitly detailed in the text, though her work aligns with forensic and clinical psychology research groups at Brock.
Kevin Schut, a Teaching Professor at Trinity Western University's School of the Arts, Media + Culture, is a Game Studies scholar with expertise in video games, religion, ethics, and media ecology. He earned his PhD in Communication Studies (2004) and BA in Communication Arts & Sciences, History (1996), and has held leadership roles including Associate Dean and Chair of Media + Communication. His 2013 book Of Games & God explores Christian perspectives on gaming. PhD, Communication Studies, University of Iowa (2004) BA, Communication Arts & Sciences & History, Calvin College (1996) His research focuses on moral decision-making in games, media's cultural impact, and technology-religion intersections. Recent projects include analyzing procedural generation in No Man’s Sky and faith-based game design frameworks. Key awards include the 2013 Word Guild Best Book award and TWU's 2009 Provost’s Innovative Teaching Award. He teaches courses like Video Games and Culture and Media, Culture, and Criticism .
Gerald Voorhees is an Associate Professor and Chair of Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo. He holds a Ph.D. from The University of Iowa (2008) and a B.S. in Speech Communication from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a Senior Fellow in the Honors Program of the College of Communication. His research explores games and new media as platforms for identity and cultural construction, with a focus on public discourse around gaming and rhetorics of race and ethnicity. Dr. Voorhees has held significant academic roles, including Vice-President of the Canadian Game Studies Association and former membership on the Executive Board of the Digital Games Research Association. He previously taught at Oregon State University and developed the Game and Interactive Media Design track at High Point University. His teaching spans communication theory, media studies, and game design, with courses such as DAC 204 (Game Design) and COMMST 430 (Communication and Social Justice). His research integrates critical theory with digital media analysis, examining topics like gender representation in games, neoliberal masculinity in esports, and racial dynamics in gaming cultures. He has co-edited influential volumes such as Masculinities in Play (2018) and Feminisms in Play (2018), contributing to foundational discussions in game studies. His recent work addresses intersectional feminism in gaming and the cultural implications of shooter game genres. Dr. Voorhees actively engages with professional organizations and academic publishing, serving as co-editor of the Approaches to Game Studies book series (Bloomsbury) and managing editor of the Gender in Play trilogy (Palgrave Macmillan). His scholarship bridges theoretical frameworks with empirical analysis, shaping interdisciplinary dialogue on digital media's societal impact.
Jian Zhao is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo's School of Computer Science, specializing in Information Visualization (InfoVis), Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and Data Science. With a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (2016), his research emphasizes interactive visualization techniques, AI integration in design processes, and socio-technical systems. He explores how human-AI collaboration can enhance data analysis, presentation, and user experience in complex systems. Key research areas include: 1) AI-Driven Design (e.g., code generation via sketching, infographic creation), 2) Health Informatics (therapeutic AI tools for autism support), 3) Immersive Technologies (VR/AR interfaces for presentations and education), and 4) Social Computing (remote family communication, multi-modal emoticons). His work bridges technical innovation with human-centered design principles. His publications (2021–2025) reflect a focus on interactive visualization frameworks (e.g., iTrace for cross-view data analysis), AI-human collaboration (CoLadder for hierarchical code editing), and specialized applications like TherAIssist for art therapy and EMooly for autism support. Zhao frequently explores novel interaction modalities , including gesture-based VR interfaces and sketch-based programming tools. He leads projects in computational notebooks (EDAssistant, Slide4N), visual analytics (MissBin for bipartite networks), and neurofeedback training games (Eggly). His work often emphasizes systematic design considerations for missing data, cross-view analysis, and contextual visualization in spatial AR environments.
David Churchill is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Real-Time Strategy (RTS) Game AI. He holds a PhD from the University of Alberta and has been actively involved in AI research since 2009. His work focuses on AI for RTS games like StarCraft, emphasizing heuristic search, combat simulation, and build order optimization. He organizes the annual AIIDE StarCraft AI Competition and maintains open-source projects like UAlbertaBot and SparCraft. Education: BSc in Pure Mathematics and Computer Science (MUN) MSc in Computer Science (MUN, 2009) PhD in Computing Science (University of Alberta, 2016) Research Interests: AI in video games, heuristic search algorithms, RTS game strategies, multi-agent systems, and robotics. His work bridges theoretical AI with practical applications in competitive gaming and robotics. Publications & Awards: Notable contributions include Search Ordering for StarCraft Build Order Optimization (2024) and Hierarchical Portfolio Search in Prismata (2017, Best Student Paper Award). His research has advanced combat simulation (SparCraft) and build-order planning (BOSS) in RTS games. Awards: Best Student Paper Award (2017) Best Paper Award (2013, 2022) Advising & Labs: Supervised over 20 graduate and undergraduate theses at MUN. Leads the StarCraft AI Competition and contributes to open-source projects like UAlbertaBot and STARTcraft. Currently not accepting new graduate students due to funding constraints.
Ken Wong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computing Science at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Science. He also serves as Associate Chair within the same department. Holding a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Victoria (1999), his research focuses on software engineering challenges such as reverse engineering, program understanding, and software visualization. He emphasizes improving software evolution through tools like architecture recovery and root cause analysis, with applications in web/mobile platforms and diverse system understanding. Teaching highlights include developing Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) via Coursera, including the 'Software Product Management Specialization' and courses on Agile practices, client needs analysis, and software metrics. His recent publications (2023–2025) span AI-driven healthcare innovations (e.g., medical imaging, photoacoustic tomography) and advanced computer vision techniques (e.g., diffusion models, video inpainting). Notable collaborations include EVAREST studies on heart failure management and lung transplantation outcomes. His work bridges software engineering theory and practical applications in healthcare technology, with contributions to federated learning frameworks (e.g., FedLPPA) and AI-augmented clinical decision support systems. Research also extends to autonomous driving (DriveGPT4-V2) and 3D human avatar generation (DreamAvatar), showcasing interdisciplinary impact.
Brian Greenspan is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Carleton University, within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. His research focuses on digital humanities, utopian studies, and new narrative media, particularly exploring intersections between print narratives and emerging technologies like hypertext, video games, and augmented reality. Greenspan co-developed the StoryTrek locative media system, used for creating spatial storytelling projects that merge urban geography with fictional and historical narratives. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and has received multiple grants including SSHRC Partnership Grants (2015-18), a Leverhulme International Research Network Grant (2014-16), and a Teaching Achievement Award (2017). His work emphasizes speculative archives and the ethical implications of digital media in cultural preservation and future imaginaries. Greenspan collaborates extensively with institutions like Carleton’s Hyperlab and has delivered keynote lectures globally, including at the Digital Humanities Summer Institute and the Canadian Game Studies Association. His research integrates interdisciplinary approaches to spatial narratives, wearable media, and critical utopian theory. Current projects involve mapping fictional cityscapes onto real urban environments to explore alternate historical and speculative futures. As a supervisor, Greenspan guides doctoral students in areas like digital games, cultural mediations, and narrative transformation. His grants include collaborations on infrastructure development, animation archives, and the political economy of digital games.
Cristiano Politowski is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Ontario Tech University’s Faculty of Science. His research focuses on applying software engineering principles to video game development, with particular emphasis on software testing, artificial intelligence for software engineering (AI4SE), deep reinforcement learning, and empirical software engineering. Education includes a PhD in Computer Science and Software Engineering from Concordia University (2022), supervised by Professors Yann-Gaël Guéhéneuc and Fabio Petrillo. Prior to his current role, he held postdoctoral positions at Université de Montréal and École de Technologie Supérieure in Montréal, Canada. Research interests span game engine architecture analysis, automated testing methodologies for games, and bridging gaps between academic theory and industry practices in software engineering. His work often involves empirical studies on software quality, framework impacts, and event-driven systems. Publications reflect a focus on game development challenges, including studies on API compatibility, subsystem coupling visualization, and AI-driven game balance assessment. He actively contributes to the understanding of software processes in the video game industry through surveys and dataset curation initiatives like PlayMyData.
Robert Xiao is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC), affiliated with the Designing for People research cluster. He holds a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University and a BMath from the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on interactive technologies, including VR/AR interfaces, sensing systems, and cybersecurity. Notable contributions include Lumitrack (tracking system), TouchTools (touch interaction), and CVE-2023-37271 (Python sandbox exploit). Education: Ph.D., Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University; BMath, Computer Science & Combinatorics, University of Waterloo Affiliations: Core member of UBC's Designing for People cluster Research interests span novel input modalities, mixed-reality systems, and security challenges. He actively competes in DEF CON CTF (multiple 1st places) and publishes in top venues like CHI, UIST, and ISMAR. Recent work explores VR decision-making, low-latency tracking, and collaborative AR/VR environments. Awards: SIGCHI Outstanding Dissertation Award, CHI Honorable Mention, DIS Honourable Mention Teaching includes courses on computer systems (CPSC 213), human-computer interaction (CPSC 554X), and cybersecurity (CPSC 436S). His lab develops tools like SurfShare (surface sharing) and VirtualNexus (collaborative AR).
David Mould is a Professor in the School of Computer Science at Carleton University. His research focuses on computer graphics, procedural modeling of natural phenomena, non-photorealistic rendering, and computer games. He holds a PhD from the University of Toronto (2002), MSc from the University of Saskatchewan (1996), and BSc from the University of British Columbia (1994). PhD: University of Toronto (2002) MSc: University of Saskatchewan (1996) BSc: University of British Columbia (1994) Research interests include procedural modeling of trees, lightning, and terrain; image stylization techniques such as stained glass transformation and wax crayon simulation; and nonlinear storytelling in games. His work emphasizes algorithmic innovation and perceptual quality in graphics. Recent publications span topics like texture synthesis, real-time video stylization, and fluid animation techniques. He leads the Graphics, Imaging, and Games (GIGL) research group at Carleton. Teaching responsibilities include courses in game development (COMP 1501–4501), technical writing (COMP 3301), and graduate courses on game design and image processing.
Adam Dubé is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill University's Faculty of Education. He directs the Technology, Learning, & Cognition (TLC) Lab and holds a McGill Faculty of Education Distinguished Teacher award. His research focuses on how educational technologies like tablet computers and digital games enhance learning, particularly in mathematics and cognitive development. He has published extensively on educational app design, digital assistant impacts on children’s cognitive theories, and teacher adoption of educational technologies. Education: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Toronto PhD in Psychology, University of Regina MA in Psychology, University of Regina Research Interests: Educational Technology & Teaching Innovation Cognitive Development Child-Tablet Interaction Mathematical Cognition Educational App Evaluation Awards: McGill Distinguished Teacher Award (2021) Fellow, American Educational Research Association Fellow, Society for Research in Child Development Grants & Funding: SSHRC Insight Development Grants (2021-2022, 2020-2021) MITACS Accelerate Grant (2020-2021) Labs/Teams: Lead researcher at the TLC Lab, collaborating with Ubisoft Montreal on educational game curriculum guides.
Lorenzo DiTommaso serves as Professor in the Department of Religions and Cultures at Concordia University, Montreal, where he has progressed from Assistant Professor (2004) to full Professor (2013), including service as Department Chair. His academic home encompasses Jewish Studies and Christianity programs, with biennial teaching of the graduate religion and popular culture seminar. Ph.D. in Religious Studies, McMaster University (2002) Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale University Divinity School (2001-03) NEH Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Saint Louis University (2003-04) DiTommaso's research constitutes a comprehensive exploration of apocalyptic speculation across temporal and cultural boundaries, from ancient Near Eastern traditions to contemporary digital media. His work uniquely bridges textual scholarship on biblical apocrypha and medieval manuscripts with cutting-edge analysis of apocalyptic expression in video games, anime, and popular music. The intellectual scope spans apocalyptic historiography , manuscript studies , apocalyptic and millenarian movements , and religion in contemporary media , with distinctive expertise in Japanese cultural intersections. His methodological approach combines rigorous textual analysis with interdisciplinary cultural theory, particularly examining how apocalyptic frameworks shape human responses to crisis across historical periods. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a pronounced shift toward contemporary apocalyptic manifestations, with nearly half of his 2021-2024 output focusing on digital media, video games, and modern cultural phenomena. Simultaneously, he maintains deep engagement with medieval manuscript traditions and early Jewish-Christian apocalyptic literature, demonstrating remarkable versatility across historical periods. The thematic through-line remains apocalyptic determinism versus human agency , examined through diverse lenses from ancient prophecy to interactive gaming environments. Bibliographical Society of America - Pine Tree Foundation Fellowship in Hispanic Bibliography (2019) Nicky Carpenter Fellow in Manuscript Studies Marilyn Hollinshead Visiting Scholar (2023) Research Fellow at Herzog August Bibliothek (2024) DiTommaso has supervised over 20 graduate students since 2019 across diverse apocalyptic topics including disability studies in biblical interpretation, Satanism in virtual communities, and environmental apocalypse in radical movements. His research has been continuously supported by four major SSHRC grants (2004-07, 2007-11, 2011-16, 2018-24), supplemented by specialized fellowships at premier manuscript repositories including the Vatican Film Library, Herzog August Bibliothek, and special collections at Michigan State and Minnesota universities. He co-organizes the biennial 'Through a Glass Darkly' Symposium on Apocalyptic with Colin McAllister, now in its eighth year, rotating between Colorado Springs and Montreal. The 'Through a Glass Darkly' symposium serves as his primary collaborative platform, fostering international scholarly exchange on apocalyptic themes. He maintains active research partnerships with institutions including the Enoch Seminar and Azrieli Institute for Israel Studies, while leveraging special collections access at major libraries for manuscript-based projects. Current work on apocalyptic comic art involves collaboration with special collections at Michigan State and Minnesota universities, demonstrating his commitment to bridging traditional textual scholarship with contemporary cultural analysis.
Christopher Thomas Ryan is an Associate Professor in the Operations and Logistics Division at the UBC Sauder School of Business. He holds a PhD and BA from UBC in Management Science and Mathematics, respectively. His research spans optimization theory, game theory, theoretical economics, video game design, and pedagogy for business education. He has held positions at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and is affiliated with the Colibri Learning Foundation. Education: BA (Mathematics) and PhD (Management Science) from UBC; BA (Sociology and Economics) from University of Guelph. He has authored numerous textbooks and case studies, including works on research careers, operations management, and teaching methodologies. His work integrates human-centric approaches to operations and education systems. Research Interests include small business operations, education operations, theoretical economics, and the design of video games. He has published in top journals like Management Science, Econometrica, and Mathematical Programming. His grants include SSHRC and NSERC awards. Ryan advises students across multiple institutions and has mentored prominent faculty in marketing, operations, and MIS fields. Teaching focuses on core operations management for MBA programs and pedagogical innovation. He has developed cases on AI in education, early childhood development, and small business sustainability. Ryan’s work bridges academic research with practical applications in business and education sectors.
