David Schwartz

David I. Schwartz, Ph.D. (he/him/his), is the Director of the School of Interactive Games and Media (IGM) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), within the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. He holds a BS, MS, and Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo. Since 2001, he has been a pioneer in game design and development education, founding Cornell University's Game Design Initiative and later establishing IGM at RIT in 2011. His research focuses on cybersecurity gamification, critical infrastructure resilience, geospatial games (geogames), and physically-based animation.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Engineering, University at Buffalo
• MS in Engineering, University at Buffalo
• BS in Engineering, University at Buffalo

Research Interests:

• Design of educational games for STEM fields
• Integration of geospatial technology with serious games
• Cybersecurity education through gamified platforms
• VR/AR applications in collaborative learning
• Ethical considerations in game development

His work bridges academia and real-world challenges, such as disaster preparedness through spatial games (Project Lily Pad) and digital forensics training for undergraduates.

Recent Contributions: Recent work emphasizes spatial computing, metaverse frameworks, and the ethical implications of location-based games like Pokémon GO. He frequently presents at conferences on topics such as geogames for critical infrastructure resilience and VR-based historical education.

Advising & Grants:** While no specific students are listed, his research involves interdisciplinary teams working on projects like digital twins and geospatial visualization systems. He has secured grants including a 2020 NSF award for a digital media forensics platform.

Labs & Initiatives:** Leads the IGM lab focused on game design education and collaborates with industry partners on projects integrating geospatial technology with game engines.