HCI, XR and Embodied AI

Building and studying embodied AI and immersive interaction.

I build interactive systems and study how people use them. My research connects human-computer interaction, XR, and embodied AI, from multimodal conversations with virtual agents to healthcare training, authentication, and social interaction in VR. I combine real-time system development in Unity/C# and Python with experimental design, mixed-methods user studies, and statistical analysis.

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Featured Research

All research
Embodied agent interactions: hand gestures, virtual touch, and environment actuation, illustrated with participants and VR screenshots.

Multimodal multi-agent interaction

Embodied Multi-Agent VR System

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VR authentication screenshot with a radial direction-entry interface.

VR security and interaction

Direction-Based Authentication in Virtual Reality

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Selected Projects

All projects

Peer-Reviewed Publications

  1. IEEE TVCG 2026

    T. Nie, V. Cantory, C. Hutton Pospick, D. Zhang, H. Tan, S. Adeniyi, F. Wu, D. Zielasko, I. B. Adhanom and E. S. Rosenberg, "Revenge of the Sick: A Meta-Analysis of Washout Periods in Cybersickness Research," IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 32, no. 9, pp. 8033–8052, 2026.

    Paper

  2. IEEE TVCG / ISMAR 2026

    T. Nie, Y. Huang, V. Cantory, D. Zhang and E. S. Rosenberg, "Effects of Field-of-View Restriction and Peripheral Teleportation on Path Integration during Virtual Locomotion," IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (Proc. IEEE ISMAR 2026).

    Paper

  3. IEEE TVCG 2025

    T. Nie, C. Hutton Pospick, V. Cantory, D. Zhang, J. J. DeGuzman, V. Interrante, I. B. Adhanom and E. S. Rosenberg, "Peripheral Teleportation: A Rest Frame Design to Mitigate Cybersickness During Virtual Locomotion," IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 2891-2900, 2025.

    Paper

  4. IEEE ISMAR 2024

    Y. Huang, D. Zhang and E. S. Rosenberg, "Direction-Based Authentication: Combining Symbolic Input and Contextual Cues for Virtual Reality Password Entry," 2024 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), Bellevue, WA, USA, 2024, pp. 681-689.

    Co-first author.

    Paper

  5. IEEE VRW 2023

    Y. Huang, D. Zhang and E. S. Rosenberg, "DBA: Direction-Based Authentication in Virtual Reality," 2023 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW), Shanghai, China, 2023, pp. 953-954.

    Equal contribution.

    Paper

  6. IEEE VRW 2021

    D. Zhang et al., "COVID-Vision: A Virtual Reality Experience to Encourage Mindfulness of Social Distancing in Public Spaces," 2021 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW), Lisbon, Portugal, 2021, pp. 697-698.

    Paper

Preprints

  1. Preprint 2026

    D. Zhang, C. Bradley, C. Kissell, C. Hutton Pospick, S. Yong, Q. Jin, T. Nie and E. S. Rosenberg, "Iterative Design and Evaluation of a VR Nursing Training System: Insights from Clinicians and Student Learners," arXiv:2610.19152, 2026.

    Under review at ACM Transactions on Computing for Healthcare.

    Preprint

Education

  • 2019 – Present

    Ph.D., Computer Science

    University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

  • 2017 – 2020

    M.S., Computer Science

    University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

  • 2013 – 2017

    B.S., Information and Computing Science

    Sun Yat-sen University

Professional Services

Peer Reviewer

  • 2026 ACM VRST, ACM SUI, IEEE VR
  • 2025 ACM CHI, ACM VRST, IEEE VR, IEEE ISMAR
  • 2024 ACM CHI, ACM VRST, ACM SUI, IEEE VR, IEEE ISMAR
  • 2023 UbiComp/ISWC - ISWC Notes and Briefs

Student Volunteer

  • 2024 IEEE ISMAR
  • 2024 IEEE VR
  • 2020 IEEE VR