Anthony Estey: As an Assistant Teaching Professor in Computer Science at the University of Victoria, I am interested in how altered reality technologies can help me provide more immersive learning environments that better promote active learning. I employ a hybrid learning style in my courses where students watch introductory videos before class so lecture time can be spent working through activities together. My current approach, screen-sharing while annotating with a tablet seems like a band-aid solution forced by the pandemic; I am eager to discuss and explore other ways to provide an immersive and effective learning experience for all types of online and distance learners.

Derek Jacoby: After a decade at Microsoft where I led teams in Windows system administration tools, and in Microsoft Research where I worked on speech recognition, I returned to academia to complete my PhD at the University of Victoria. I thrive at the intersections between disciplines. My core background is in computation and managing software projects, but I maintain deep interests in science, particularly biology and I founded Canada's first community biology lab at the Victoria Makerspace. I prefer flat organizations and agile development environments where experience is respected but all voices are fully heard. I value diverse teams and shared long-term goals. I'm happiest when I'm building something that helps the world.

Yvonne Coady: As a Professor in Computer Science at UVic, a visiting Professor in the Koury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University in Vancouver, and an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Digital Media (CDM), I feel extremely fortunate to work with great students from a variety of different backgrounds. My lab's research focus is on the development of systems infrastructure software that enables everyday users to access the kind of computing power, data and high-speed networks that is required to run today's demanding applications. These include petabyte-scale systems for earth observation in extended reality environments.

Rachel Ralph: I am a career expert in learning and development with a focus on digital media project and production pipelines and team leadership/agile/curriculum. I am very passionate about digital media and its growth and value. Currently I am supervising graduate student teams as a faculty member at the Centre for Digital Media in project management using agile methods, production pipelines, account/client management, strategist ideas, etc. while they work on a variety digital media projects (i.e., websites, mobile apps, games, XR -AR/VR/MR, etc.).

Mirjana Prpa: As a product manager for AR portfolio, I am envisioning the future where physical and digital worlds intertwine while enabling teams and individuals to do what they love, and do it successfully. As an HCI researcher, I bring an interdisciplinary perspective to solving complex problems, focusing on users first. As an advocate for diversity, equity, and equality I practice active listening and supporting young talent.

Patrick Parra Pennefather: Dr. Pennefather is an award-winning composer, designer of asynchronous, synchronous, blended and hybrid instruction, teacher, author, researcher and disruptor. He has mentored multi-disciplinary teams co-constructing scalable digital prototypes with over 50 companies and organizations in games, mobile dev, Mixed Reality, VR, AR, education and the arts. Patrick has facilitated human-centred work-shops in-person and as a virtual cat for EA, Riot, Microsoft Games, and many others in the xR space. He’s published multisyllabic words in the fields of 3D, Sound Design, xR, VR, MR, Bio-Medical Visualization and Agile application development. He’s an Assistant Prof at UBC Theatre and Film, and a founding faculty member of the Master of Digital Media (MDM) Program. Current SSHRC research is focused on building and investigating a remote multi-player escape room. He will soon publish two books with Springer Nature on the subject of mentoring emerging technology projects in post-secondary environments.

Marc-Antoine Drouin: I am a Senior Research Officer in the Computer Vision and Graphics Team at the National Research Council (NRC). My responsibilities include leading and managing R&D projects with institutional and industrial partners. My current research and/or projects include (1) design of imaging systems: performance prediction, calibration, characterization, laser triangulation, passive stereo, photogrammetry, and structured-light imaging; (2) image processing and understanding: mobile systems data processing and sensor fusion; and (3) simulation: data-driven visual and physical simulation.

Frank Maurer: Dr. Frank Maurer is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Calgary (Canada). His research has covered a broad spectrum of areas including artificial intelligence, software engineering, agile methods, human computer interaction and immersive technologies. He is widely published and has served on a substantial number of program committees in these fields. The current focus of his team is on immersive analytics applications, combining data science and machine learning approaches with augmented & virtual reality. He has served in leadership roles at the University of Calgary, including department head, associate dean innovation and associate vice president research. He is a co-founder and CTO of VizworX, an award winning custom solutions company in Calgary. For further information, he can be reached at frank.maurer@ucalgary.ca.