New NSF award: translating the science of learning into virtual reality

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The lab is part of a new NSF I-USE collaborative award: Improving Conceptual Understanding of Invisible Physics by Translating the Science of Learning into Virtual Reality Environments ($750,000, 2025–2028), with Dr. Ortega serving as co-PI.

The project asks how virtual reality can make invisible physics — the forces, fields, and waves students can’t see — graspable, by translating what we know about how people learn into the design of immersive environments. It connects directly to the lab’s XR Training & Education work.

Ortega receives NSF CAREER award for multimodal interaction research

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The National Science Foundation has awarded Dr. Francisco R. Ortega a CAREER grant to advance the science of multimodal and microgesture interaction. The five-year project investigates how small, low-effort hand movements — combined with speech and gaze — can drive augmented and virtual reality interfaces that feel natural and stay accessible.

CAREER awards are among NSF’s most competitive, recognizing early-career faculty who integrate outstanding research with education. A core thread of the project is undergraduate research: students from across Colorado State University will help design and run the interaction studies.

Funding on NUILab — Natural User Interaction Laboratory · An XR & Human-Centered AI Lab

New NSF award: translating the science of learning into virtual reality

Ortega receives NSF CAREER award for multimodal interaction research