Pablo Alejandro Figueroa Forero

Pablo Alejandro Figueroa Forero is an Associate Professor in the Department of Systems and Computer Engineering at the School of Information Technology, University of the Andes, Colombia. With over 15 years of continuous service at the university (promoted to Associate Professor in 2009), he maintains a strong research and teaching profile in virtual reality and video game development. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta (2004), an M.Sc. from Universidad de los Andes (1994), and a B.Sc. from Universidad Nacional de Colombia (1992).

Professor Figueroa's research spans multiple domains of virtual and augmented reality applications. His work focuses on practical implementations including healthcare training systems, emotional well-being assessment tools, educational environments, and cultural preservation projects. He leads the IMAGINE-Visual Computing research group and serves as Technical Director of the Colivri laboratory (http://colivri.uniandes.edu.co), which provides infrastructure for VR development and serves as a hub for student projects.

His recent publication record (2022-2025) shows remarkable productivity with multiple articles per year in reputable venues including IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics and Frontiers in Education. These works demonstrate a consistent focus on practical VR applications across healthcare, education, and cultural domains, with increasing attention to metaverse environments and advanced interaction techniques like gaze tracking and haptic feedback.

• Best article: 'A Scalable, Learning Based, VR Simulation of Machine Tools,' IADIS International Conference (2010)
• IBM Faculty Innovation Awards (2007)
• iCORE Graduate Student Award, Alberta Informatics Circle of Research Excellence (2000)
• Walter H Johns Graduate Fellowship, University Of Alberta (1999, 2000)
• NSERC Scholarship, Canada (1999)

Professor Figueroa supervises numerous graduate and undergraduate students, with recent thesis topics covering VR applications for facial paralysis rehabilitation, public speaking training, memory assessment, and cultural preservation. His teaching responsibilities include Video Game Development, Interactive Visual Computing, and Introduction to Computational Thinking, with 50% of his time dedicated to instruction. He has established the IGDA (International Game Developers Association) student chapter at University of the Andes to foster student interest in game development.