Virginia Tech’s first immersive environment specialist makes virtual reality accessible
Research activities in the Cube are led by the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, which recently hired Zach Duer, the university’s first immersive environment specialist.
Duer provides a range of support services for Virginia Tech faculty and students interested in conducting research in the Cube, from providing step-by-step guides for using the facility’s equipment to creating augmented and virtual reality environments from scratch.
“We created the immersive environment specialist position at ICAT to ensure we were providing users with a superior customer-service experience,” explains Ben Knapp, director of the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology. “I read a story about Apple CEO Steve Jobs emulating the customer service Ritz Carlton hotels provide its guests at his Apple retail stores. This really resonated with me and we brought Zach on board to support Virginia Tech researchers in every way, including anticipating what they might need for a project. He’s available to be their immersive environment expert.”
See the full story here: http://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2016/07/icat-immersiveenvironment.html