EMIL would like to thank all its members of the Independent Experts Panel (IEP) and the Expert Advisory Group (EAG). These international professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds and with expertise on all things XR – from medical, wearables, creative cultures, content production to cultural heritage, education, gaming, rehabilition, theatre and beyond – have spent countless hours evaluating the applications for funding from EMIL.
Each applicant’s proposal was evaluated by at least two IEP members and one EAG member based on the principles of relevance, transparency, equity, efficiency, quality and independence as well as the best practices laid out in the European Science Foundation Peer Review Guide. Non-Disclosure of application contents as well as avoidance of conflicts of interest were ensured and IEP members evaluated their assigned proposals completely independent of each other.
The IEP reviews based on the categories of Excellence & Relevance, Quality, Efficiency, Impact, Sustainability and Implementation provided the ranked list that EMIL’s Programme Committee (PC) and Expert Advisory Group (EAG) employed as basis for the final funding suggestions to the General Assembly (GA). Without the tireless efforts of all IEP members and the EAG, EMIL and its financial support to third parties could not have been possible and we are thankful for them being part of the EMIL community.
Find below a list of some of these IEP and EAG members and feel free to get into contact.
Ulysses Bernardet
Aston University
Ulysses Bernardet is a lecturer at Aston University, UK. He holds a doctorate in psychology from the University of Zurich and has a background in psychology, computer science and neurobiology. His research follows an interdisciplinary approach that brings together psychological and neurobiological models of behaviour regulation, motivation, and emotion with mixed and virtual reality. He is the main author of the large-scale neural systems simulator iqr, has developed models of insect cognition, and built a number of complex, real-time interactive systems.
Christopher Clarke
University of Bath
My research aims to push the boundaries of how users interact with computer interfaces by methodically researching interactive systems including novel interaction techniques, wearable technologies, and interaction in extended reality (AR/VR).
Sara Coppola-Nicholson
Disguise
At interception between art and technology, Sara is an enabler of creative-led, ground-breaking innovations in production technologies. Sara has worked within the Creative Industries for over twenty years at international level, across business, creative and technical roles. She has been key to the inception and delivery of new technologies and workflows, cross-sectors collaborations and R&D partnerships including the EU funded project “Dreamspace”, awarded "Excellence for technical and management achievements" by the European Commission. Over the past decade, Sara has unlocked substantial funding opportunities for the Industry and the Academia, both in the UK and the EU, and secured backing from a major Hollywood entity to finance two years of production technology innovation in the US.
Jeremy Dalton
PwC
Jeremy started PwC’s first dedicated VR and AR team globally. With over a decade of experience in the industry, he has written books on the topic and advised and built immersive solutions for organizations ranging from startups to the Fortune 500.
Rocío del Pilar Sosa-Fernández
University of Santiago de Compostela
Rocío del Pilar Sosa Fernández is an audiovisual communicator who is currently working on her doctoral thesis on the educational potential of immersive technologies in higher education at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
Dr. Robert Dörre
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Robert Dörre is a media cultural scholar and received his PhD within the framework of the DFG Research Training Group "Documentary Practises. Excess and Deprivation" at the Ruhr University Bochum. The dissertation, which deals with self-documentation in social media, was awarded the Young Talent Award of the Büchner-Verlag in 2020. He is currently a research assistant at the Chair for Theory, Aesthetics and Politics of Digital Media at the Ruhr University Bochum and an associate member of the collaborative research center "Virtual Life Worlds". His postdoc project deals with the aesthetics and rhetoric of cinematic and social VR.
Augusto Esteves
University of Lisbon
I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon, where I lead the HCI Lab, an interdisciplinary research group that designs, develops, and studies novel interaction techniques for Spatial Computing / eXtended-Reality (XR). He is the main author of the large-scale neural systems simulator iqr, has developed models of insect cognition, and built a number of complex, real-time interactive systems.
Mathieu Gayet
XRMust.com
Journalist for XRMust.com, an independent online media dedicated to innovative storytelling, and curator for the GIFF in Geneva / Immersity in Angouleme (France).
Timmy Ghiurau
Volvo Cars
With robust experience as an AR/VR maestro, I've championed transformative solutions across gaming, fashion, and the automotive landscape. As a forward-thinking investor, I've strategically funneled resources into both tech and fashion startups, always eyeing the next disruptive idea. He is the main author of the large-scale neural systems simulator iqr, has developed models of insect cognition, and built a number of complex, real-time interactive systems.
Carl Goodman
Kantar
Carl has worked in computer graphics since the 1980’s in commercial, technical, and creative roles across TV, games, web, and media consultancy. He is passionate about narrative and storytelling.
Jens Emil Grønbæk
The University of Melbourne & Aarhus University
Jens Emil Grønbæk is an assistant professor at Aarhus University and visiting researcher at The University of Melbourne. His research interests are Human-Computer Interaction related to Collaboration, Proxemics, and Mixed Reality.
Prof. Carla Heinzel
Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences
Carla Heinzel is professor of technical art for animation and game at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, where she teaches 3D art and technical art for games and animated movies. She began her career studying animation at Filmakademie Baden Württemberg and later worked for movies, such as 2012, The Ghost Writer, and Cloud Atlas. Being a 3D- and VFX-artist she has experience in almost every department of a 3D production, from modeling to simulation with a focus on character rigging. After some years working for the film industry, she discovered her passion for teaching and made the promotion of young talents her profession. He is the main author of the large-scale neural systems simulator iqr, has developed models of insect cognition, and built a number of complex, real-time interactive systems.
Paul Hine
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Project manager and technical lead at the Full-body Interaction Lab, a research and development unit within Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. My work focuses on developing prototypes to facilitate research on new interaction modalities for augmented and mixed-reality systems.
Petra Jeffery
Mohammed bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence
Innovation management professional with corporate and academic background,. Focus on digital service design and technology enabled value creation in digital ecosystems.
Henrik Keinonen
Business Helsinki
A leading Nordic networker, having built eXtended Reality (XR), Blockchain and Gaming ecosystems for local and regional governments. Many years of hands-on experience with startup firms (funding, sales, business development, GTM) with a deep understanding of how to make a firm scalable with high growth potential.
Samira Khodaei
IMA | WZL | RWTH Aachen University
Samira Khodaei has been a research assistant at the IMA since December 2019. Ms Khodaei successfully completed her Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Media Studies at the University of Bielefeld in late 2017 with the additional qualification in european studies. . Parallel to her studies, Ms Khodaei completed numerous of internships in the marketing department of science organisations (Fraunhofer, CHE, iTIME) and produced a number of audio-visual media formats, including 360° films, during her "Theatre and Media" bachelor at the University of Bayreuth. After her studies, Ms Khodaei worked in the IT industry, most recently as a business developer in the Munich Virtual Reality Start-up vr-on. Her research focus at the Cybernetics Lab is the development of a XR literacy framework. She works at the interface between prototype conception and development.
Marcus Korhonen
Aalto University
Marcus Korhonen is the Director of Aalto Studios. He has produced content from international sports to TV-drama series. He has consulted broadcasters on production and technology strategies. He serves on the board of Helsinki XR Centre.
Dr. Alexander Kreische
Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
Alexander Kreische received his Ph.D. with his thesis on the concept of presence in 2020. From 2012 to 2019 he worked as research assistant in Film Studies at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg. Since 2019 he has been working at Filmakademie's Animationsinstitut. His current positions are as project manager for media production as well as for the EU-funded project EMIL in the Research & Development department.
Marjo Mäenpää
Foundation for Cultural Policy Research
I am the director of the Foundation of Cultural Policy Research Cupore. My duties include e.g. management and development of the research of Cupore, development of research cooperation, acquisition of research funding, management of research projects, monitoring of general development in the field of national and international cultural policy, and own research activities.
Tiago Martins
University of Art and Design Linz
Tiago Martins is an interdisciplinary researcher, educator and technical artist. He has worked in innovation projects at the Ars Electronica Futurelab, Berlin University of the Arts and the German Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI).
Andrii Matviienko
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Andrii Matviienko is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science focused on Human-Computer Interaction at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. His research focuses on assisting technology in urban environments using mixed-reality interfaces that facilitate experiences beyond the living room using mixed methods. He has extensive experience conducting controlled and systematic experiments related to haptic and on-the-go experiences in mixed reality. He is internationally known for his previous research on interaction in extended reality in movement, e.g., while cycling and driving, collaborative extended reality, and haptic perception in extended reality.
Ilja Mirsky
Academy for Performing Arts Ludwigsburg
Ilja Mirsky (B.Sc. Cognitive Science, M.A. Performance Studies) is a dramaturg, programmer, and immersive media artist at Residenztheater Munich, Academy for Performing Arts Ludwigsburg, University of Tuebingen and Zurich University of the Arts.
Prof. Dr. Dieter Morgenroth
Hochschule Esslingen
Professor for media informatics, real-time computer graphics, and augmented reality.
Santtu Parikka
Serial entrepreneur, investor, dad, sailor, hockey goalie, home renovator... computer graphics pioneer with demoscene bg, now business development, AI,XR, B2B.
Ken Pfeuffer
Aarhus University
I am a Tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Ubiquitous Computing and Interaction group at the computer science department at Aarhus University, Denmark. I am leading the XI research group on topics of human-computer interaction, in particular AR/VR/XR, eye & hand interaction, UI design, and adaptive UI. Before, I have been at Florian Alt‘s Usable Security and Privacy group in Munich, at Lancaster University in the UK at Hans Gellersen‘s group, and interned at Microsoft and Google Research.
Anthony Steed
University College London
My research in human-computer interaction (HCI) investigates future interactive systems and brings interactivity to everyday objects. In particular, my work focuses on the design, development, and evaluation of novel interactive systems for smart everyday “things”, ranging from watches to garments, accessories, appliances, and furniture.
Turo Uskali
University of Jyväskylä
Uskali is an Associate Professor and the head of journalism studies program at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Currently he heads several research projects focusing on innovations in journalism.
Xing-Dong Yang
Simon Fraser University
My research in human-computer interaction (HCI) investigates future interactive systems and brings interactivity to everyday objects. In particular, my work focuses on the design, development, and evaluation of novel interactive systems for smart everyday “things”, ranging from watches to garments, accessories, appliances, and furniture.
Massimo Zancanaro
University of Trento & Fondazione Bruno Kessler
Massimo Zancanaro main research interests are in the field of Human-Computer Interaction and specifically on the topic of Intelligent Interfaces.
