Niall Williams

Niall Williams is a Faculty Fellow & Postdoctoral Researcher at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, part of the Immersive Computing Lab. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, College Park (expected April 2024), where he specialized in computational methods for natural walking in virtual reality under Professors Dinesh Manocha and Aniket Bera. His undergraduate studies at Davidson College focused on redirected walking thresholds, advised by Prof. Tabitha Peck.

Education:

• PhD in Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park (2024)
• B.S. in Computer Science, Davidson College (Honors, 2019)

Research Focus: His work bridges computer graphics, human perception, and virtual reality. Key areas include redirected walking algorithms, haptic guidance, and perceptual thresholds for VR locomotion. He explores how gaze, posture, and environmental compatibility influence user experience in immersive environments.

Awards:

• Best Paper Honorable Mention at IEEE VR (2021)
• Best Paper Honorable Mention at IEEE ISMAR (2021)
• Best Paper Honorable Mention at IEEE VR (2021)

Teaching & Service: Taught courses on Information Visualization and Programming at NYU, and served as a teaching assistant in advanced data structures and game programming at UMD. Active reviewer for IEEE TVCG, VR, ISMAR, and CHI.

Labs & Collaborations: Member of NYU's Immersive Computing Lab and UMD's GAMMA lab. Collaborates with industry partners like NVIDIA and Meta Reality Labs through internships.