Isayas Berhe Adhanom

I am Isayas Berhe Adhanom, currently a President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the Illusioneering Lab at the University of Minnesota working with Dr. Evan Suma Rosenberg. My research aims to improve current Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) systems by understanding the technical and perceptual challenges that make them less usable to a large percentage of their users. My goal is to make these systems safe and comfortable for everyone by developing techniques that aim to address these usability challenges. My research broadly draws knowledge from the fields of Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Graphics, AI and Cognitive Neuroscience.

I received my Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Nevada-Reno, advised by Eelke Folmer and Paul MacNeilage. Previously, I completed my M.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering at UNR and my B.Sc. in Computer Engineering at Eritrea Institute of Technology. I have received several awards for my academic and research achievements, most notably the CSE Outstanding Dissertation Award and the Graduate Dean’s Fellowship at the University of Nevada, Reno, and the President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Minnesota.

I will join the Department of Computer Science at Texas State University as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Fall 2024. I am actively seeking undergraduate, masters and PhD students to join and establish my new lab. If you have similar research interests and are interested in joining my lab, please check "work with me" for more information.

latest updates

Dec 12, 2023	I will be co-organizing the Workshop on Immersive Sickness Prevention (WISP) at IEEE VR 2024.
Nov 27, 2023	I have been invited to give a Colloquium talk at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota.
Nov 16, 2023	I gave a guest lecture on VR sickness in Dr. Evan Suma Rosenberg’s CSCI 5619 - Virtual Reality and 3D Interaction class.
Oct 1, 2023	I have been invited to serve as a Program Committee member for IEEE VR 2024.
Sep 29, 2023	I was invited to be a panelist for a panel titled “How to Thrive as a PhD Student” for incoming Ph.D. students at the department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota.
Sep 22, 2023	I attended the PPFP annual Fall Meeting at Oakland, CA.
Aug 22, 2023	I have served as a mentor for the REU 2023 Summer program.
Mar 21, 2023	Our paper was presented at IEEE VR 2023.
Mar 20, 2023	I successfully co-organized and lead the IEEE VR WISP workshop.
Oct 19, 2022	I gave a guest lecture on the Applications of Eye Tracking in VR in Dr. Victoria Interrante’s CSCI 5619 - Virtual Reality and 3D Interaction class.
May 18, 2022	I have been awarded the Spring 2022 Outstanding Ph.D. dissertation award at the department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno.