ComArtSci researchers and students are exploring the possibilities of extended reality (XR) technologies — including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) — finding innovative ways to use these developments for teaching, research and application development across the communication arts and sciences.
Join us on this journey: get inspired, advance your research goals, and betboom dacha dubaiuncover new ways to use communication for the common good.
Browse our current projects and get a feel for how you might collaborate, then contact a faculty researcher with your proposal.
Not sure where to start? Contact Jeff Searl in our Office for Research to answer any questions you might have about partnering with ComArtSci.
Our labs are home to the cutting edge tools and tech needed to create and study in XR environments.
The Center for Avatar Research and Immersive Social Media Applications (CARISMA) Lab is dedicated to the study of human experience in virtual and augmented realities. The lab specializes in using advanced XR equipment to map bodily motion onto virtual characters using markers and cameras — advancing the field of social science and laying the scientific groundwork for evidence-based, human-centered designs of future XR applications.
XR is built using existing game technology, and the Games for Entertainment and Learning (GEL) Lab specializes in developing 3D video that can work in real-time for XR. Led by our expert game design faculty and supported by our highly skilled graduate and undergraduate students, the lab focuses on externally funded research and development work — designing innovative prototypes, techniques, complete games and apps.
The Social and Psychological Approaches to Research on Technology-Interaction Effects (SPARTIE) Lab conducts research on the effects of human-technology interaction, examining how the use of media technologies influences meaningful outcomes. The lab is known for work in areas like teaching in VR, the Proteus effect, virtual meeting support, human-agent interaction and mixed reality effects.
In the Developmental Speech Lab (DSL), scientists, speech-language pathologists, and students work together to understand how stuttering develops in young children — with the goal of improving diagnostic and treatment approaches for children who stutter. This pediatric lab is currently conducting studies using VR scenarios the researchers co-developed to explore how different simulated communication situations induce changes in speech and autonomic nervous system activity.
Our interdisciplinary researchers are open to collaboration on XR projects — across campus and around the world.
Andrew is an artist, designer and co-founder at Adventure Club Games, a contract and grant development studio in East Lansing Michigan.
Dr. Allison Eden (Ph.D. Michigan State University) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication.
Dr. Rabindra (Robby) Ratan runs MSU's Social and Psychological Approaches to Research on Technology-Interaction Effects (SPARTIE) Lab: www.spartie.org. His research examines how media technologies like XR (e.g., VR, AR, MR), avatars, agents/AI, and video games influence meaningful outcomes (e.g., equity, well-being, and motivation) across societal contexts (e.g., education, health, business). His key interests include the Proteus effect, human-AI interaction, gender stereotypes in gaming, and virtual meetings. Since 2022, he has been teaching his classes in virtual reality, leveraging VR to provide immersive educational experiences, and has authored over 70 peer-reviewed articles, receiving significant grant funding from diverse sources. He is founder of the MSU XR Co-Op and the Meaningful XR conference: www.meaningfulxr.org
Ralf Schmälzle, Ph.D. (SHMAL-ts-lee, 拉尔夫·舍马尔兹勒) is an Associate Professor of Communication Science in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University. His research focuses on brain responses to real-life messages in the domains of health communication and entertainment media. He is cross-trained in communication and psychology, and integrates methods from cognitive neuroscience and AI.
Jeff Searl comes to the MSU Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders with a combination of clinical experience and research that can prepare students for the practice of speech and language pathology as well as research in clinical populations.
Dr. Bridget Walsh is a certified speech-language pathologist, Brandt-Endowed Associate Professor, and betboom dachaDirector of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders. Dr. Walsh directs the Developmental Speech Laboratory where she and her team research the development of stuttering and its adverse impact on children.
Brian M. Winn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Information and Director of the Games for Entertainment and Learning (GEL) Lab at Michigan State University. Winn designs, creates, and researches interactive media design, including game design, digital game-based learning and interactive health communication.
Opportunities to study and work with virtual, augmented, and mixed reality are available to ComArtSci students of all levels.
If XR interests you, we think you’ll enjoy these programs:
Browse articles featuring ComArtSci's work in the XR space.