EVL Faculty Professor, School of Design

Daria Tsoupikova

Three UIC faculty members, including Professor Daria Tsoupikova and Assistant Professor Fabio Miranda from UIC&rsquo;s Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), and the School of Design&rsquo;s Professor Sharon Oiga, can see their work on display nightly, as part of a larger-than-life public art installation downtown - <a href="https://artonthemart.com/chicago-design-through-the-decades/">Art on theMART</a>. 
The display referred to as Chicago Design Through the Decades is a journey through the last hundred years of the history of Chicago design and is based on the collection of the <a href="https://chicagodesignarchive.org/">Chicago Design Archive (CDA)</a>, a permanent online record of design in the city. The historical imagery is assembled using machine learning algorithms provided by Miranda, which is a tribute to Chicago as the home of neural networks. The final imagery is projected across the Chicago River onto the Merchandise Mart for a spectacular digital art experience. The display runs through December 30th nightly at 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. 
Stay tuned for the possibility of student collaboration on another Art on theMART display or similar public digital art project given the new undergraduate <a href="https://cs.uic.edu/undergraduate/cs-and-design/">CS + Design</a> major, which debuted Fall 2022. UIC is the only public university that currently offers this degree, and prospects are bright for students to participate in innovative digital art projects such as Chicago Design Through the Decades in the future. 
<a href="https://cs.uic.edu/news-stories/larger-than-life-cs-faculty-participate-in-public-art-project-in-downtown-chicago/">Read Andrea Poet&rsquo;s full article</a>.

UIC CS News Features &ldquo;Larger than life: CS faculty participate in public art project in downtown Chicago&rdquo;

&ldquo;Hummingbird&rdquo; is coming to the Chicago Children&rsquo;s Theater March 24-26th. Written by Jo Catell and developed by Daria Tsoupikova, Sai Priya Jyothula, Andrew Johnson, Arthur Nishimoto and Lance Long at EVL, this experience is described as collaborative Virtual Reality (VR) for tele-Immersive interactive theater. &ldquo;Hummingbird&rdquo; performances provide the opportunity for people to experience the show in two different ways: as a VR participant wearing a head-mounted display and interacting with the environment, or as an observer watching participants perform! 
A gutsy teen has to outsmart her mother&rsquo;s narcissistic boss and survive dangerous new technology in hummingbird: a live, immersive adventure that transforms theatrical storytelling utilizing cutting-edge, virtual reality technology1 
Free Performances: Fri 3/24 @ 6:30pm, Sat 3/25 @ 2:30pm & 4pm, Sun 3/26 @ 2:30pm & 4pm 
Recommended For Ages 10 & Up 
Run Time:50 minutes 
See the Chicago Children&rsquo;s Theater <a href="https://chicagochildrenstheatre.org/event/hummingbird/">web posting</a> for more information. 
&ldquo;Hummingbird&rdquo; performances are made possible with the support from the National Endowment for the Arts grant for art projects, Illinois Arts Council, Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), and the University of Illinois Presidential Initiative to Celebrate the Impact of the Arts. 
See <a href="https://hummingbirdvr.com/"> https://hummingbirdvr.com/</a>

&ldquo;Hummingbird&rdquo; Performances Scheduled at the Chicago Children&rsquo;s Theater

EVL alumna and Associate Professor in Interactive Systems at the Department of Informatics & Telecommunications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Maria Roussou presents her research in immersive eXtended Reality (XR): 
Wednesday, May 3, 2023, 1:30PM 
EVL Continuum Room 2068 ERF 
Dr. Roussou&rsquo;s talk entitled &ldquo:Extending the virtual: the museum as a hybrid experience&rdquo; will discuss the use of advanced digital technologies, such as Virtual Reality, in the GLAM sector (e.g., galleries, libraries, archives, museums, etc.) to create immersive experiences for visitors has come of age. However, to date, the emphasis has been on reconstructing the real to transgress the built environment's limitations. Nowadays, the focus turns to integrating the physical and the virtual. The physical space is highlighted, complemented, and expanded through close coupling with the digital. Tangible objects are integrated and play a leading role in the digital experiences of visitors, creating a hybrid reality. Drawing from a range of high-end immersive eXtended Reality (XR) applications but also lower-end mobile tours created for cultural or informal educational purposes, this talk will explore how the future’s hybrid nature is shifting immersive presentation from the mainly didactic walkthroughs to experiences that are playful, emotive, social and shared, meaningfully interactive, and, ultimately, relevant and resonant to those they are designed for. 
Specifically, Roussou will present aspects of the BRIDGES project, a multi-user, multisensory XR experience set in informal learning contexts, and the EMOTIVE project, which aims to leverage interactive, social, and participatory capabilities. Both combine historical accuracy in representation with dramatic storytelling to enhance knowledge about the past, historical empathy, and resonance. 
--- 
The <a href="https://www.bridges-horizon.eu">BRIDGES project</a> and the <a href="https://www.emotiveproject.eu/">EMOTIVE project</a> have received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. 
Bio: 
Maria Roussou is an Associate Professor in Interactive Systems at the Department of Informatics & Telecommunications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. In 2003 she founded and co-directed <a href="http://www.makebelieve.gr/mroussou
">makebelieve</a>, an experience design and consulting company. Previously, she established (in 1998) and directed (until 2003) the Virtual Reality Department at the Foundation of the Hellenic World, where she was responsible for setting up the immersive projection-based VR exhibits and managing the research, design and development of the VR programs and related visitor experiences. She holds a PhD in Computer Science (VR/HCI) from the University of London (UCL), a Master in Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Electronic Visualization from the School of Art and Design, University of Illinois at Chicago, a Master of Science (M.Sc) in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the same university, and an undergraduate degree in Applied Informatics from the Athens University of Economics and Business. Maria is a Senior Member of the ACM, and Vice-chair of the Greek ACM SIGCHI Chapter and the Greek ACM-W Chapter.

Extending the virtual: the museum as a hybrid experience

Written and programmed for EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2 by UIC Masters of Design student Quentin Bu, &ldquo;Elegy&rdquo; is a highly experimental virtual reality work, merging the artist&rsquo;s original poetry and audio composition, graphic design, 3D typography and physical computing activated through participant movement and gestures. Created as Bu&rsquo;s Masters thesis - Elegy uniquely combines performance art with virtual reality. 
To escape, to free, to grow, to part, to forget, to recall, is to reorganize and make choices about what to let go of and what to hold on to, and it is to physically leave a place and move far away without knowing if you&rsquo;ll find a way back. 
Writing is my emotional conduit, for the moments when strong emotions have nowhere else to flow: whether it&rsquo;s journaling, composing bad poetry, scribbling on an airplane sickness bag, jotting down stream of consciousness, or repeating phrases in my head while wandering around unfamiliar streets. The Elegy is my poetic, perhaps futile attempt to consolidate and immortalize the transitory states of life. 
My design methods include object-making, working with restrictions, experimenting with technology, and exploring metaphors. An Elegy for the Departed is a culmination of my creative endeavors with the media to realize them. 
The Elegy is also a technological experiment. It is a performance using wearable technology to track body movements, connecting the physical body with a virtual digital metaphor for a body. What does typography in virtual reality spaces look like? How can I best use the technology I&rsquo;ve developed to effectively tell a story?

Elegy in EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2

An Elegy for the Departed - an Interactive Virtual Reality+Physical Computing Typographic Performance

Master of Design graduate student Quentin Bu presents her virtual reality performance piece &ldquo;An Elegy for the Departed - an Interactive Virtual Reality+Physical Computing Typographic Performance&rdquo; in EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2. 
Friday, May 5, 2023 
11:15 - 11:45 AM 
Room 2036 ERF 
Elegy is a highly experimental virtual reality work, merging the artist&rsquo;s original poetry and audio composition, graphic design, 3D typography and physical computing activated through participant movement and gestures. In the artist&rsquo;s own words &ldquo;The Elegy is my poetic, perhaps futile attempt to consolidate and immortalize the transitory states of life.&rdquo;

MDES Thesis Presentation &ldquo;The Elegy&rdquo;

Oren Safdie&rsquo;s visionary play &ldquo;Façade&rdquo; will be performed in EVL&rsquo;s Continuum, Friday February 9th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm. The program will consist of the staged reading followed by a questions & answers session with Playwright Oren Safdie, EVL, and Lira Luis FRIBA FRSA NCARB
RA LEED AP. 
Safdie&rsquo;s provocative script explores contemporary architecture&rsquo;s high-stakes world, tackling themes of ambition, ego, and the clash between architectural vision and commercial reality. Visualized by architect Lira Luis, FRIBA, FRSA, NCARB, RA, LEED AP, the staged reading pushes the boundaries of storytelling with a unique blend of live actors, cutting-edge immersive technology, and a metaverse-inspired setting. 
Presented in Partnership with Chicago Architecture Biennial.

&ldquo;Façade&rdquo; Press Release

EVL Hosts &ldquo;Façade&rdquo; - A Metaverse Reading Experiment

A special screening of the Chicago Design Milestones 1920–2019 project will be exhibited on Monday, August 5 at 2pm at 150 Media Stream Chicago. The installation visualizes the evolution of Chicago design by its examination and presentation of historic characteristics of design works in the Chicago Design Archive (CDA) collection over the last 10 decades. 
Join us in congratulating EVL and Design professor Daria Tsoupikova and her colleagues on this seminal, creative work! 
August 5, 2024, 2pm 
150 N Riverside Plaza (lobby) 
Chicago, IL 60606 
Chicago Design Milestones was developed as a collaboration of CDA, the University of Illinois Chicago School of Design & Electronic Visualization Laboratory, and Columbia College Chicago. It is part of the ongoing research of this collaboration aiming to highlight the role of Chicago as a major national design center through the use of new technologies. 
150 Media Stream, the largest media screen (3,000+ sq ft) in Chicago, is comprised of 89 LED blades stretching 150 ft long and rising 22 ft high, located in the lobby of a downtown Chicago riverfront building. It is the only structure of its kind dedicated to showcasing Chicago artists, culture, and history alongside renowned and emerging artists from around the world. 
Links: 
<a href="https://150mediastream.com/about/">150MediaStream</a> 
<a href="https://chicagodesignarchive.org/essay/chicago-design-milestones">Chicago Design Milestones</a> 
<a href="https://150mediastream.com/archive/">MIlestones 150MediaStream Archive</a> 
Creators: 
Daria Tsoupikova (UIC), Sharon Oiga (UIC/CDA), Guy Villa Jr (CCC), Jack Weiss (CDA), Cheri Gearhart (CDA), Wayne Stuetzer (CDA), Krystofer Kim (NASA), Ali Khan (UIC) 
Grant funding support: 
Riverside/150 Media Stream, Columbia College Chicago, UIC College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts 
Curated by Yuge Zhou

Chicago Design Milestones 1920–2019 Showcased at 150 Media Stream

The first Creative Coding Community Workshop brought together a diverse group of Chicago public high school students ranging in age from 13 to 15 to introduce students to the basics of coding, interactive 3D, typography and game design. Hosted at the University of Illinois Chicago&rsquo;s (UIC), Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) and organized by professor Daria Tsoupikova, participating students productively conquered a steep learning curve to learn the basics of coding, - starting from ground zero to produce interactive Virtual Reality (VR) projects for a public exhibition – all within 2 weeks! Their projects investigated critical global concepts such as global warming, air and water pollution, migration, and mental health in immersive dimensions of Computer Science + Design. Several projects were featured in the CAVE2 Hybrid Reality Environment VR exhibition after the Workshop. The Workshop was a tremendous success and very well received by participants and organizers. 
Congratulations to all participants and good luck with your future pursuits in Computer Science and Design! 
Special thanks to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthur-nishimoto-55a61047/">Arthur Nishimoto</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/farah-kamleh-aa8b41248/">Farah Kamleh</a>. 
<a href="https://youtu.be/8YZdeWj8uA4">See a video documenting the Workshop.</a> 
This Workshop was made possible through support from EVL and UIC.

Participant in CAVE2 Hybrid Reality Environment

UIC&rsquo;s First Creative Coding Community Workshop a Tremendous Success!

September 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). EVL&rsquo;s introduction of the CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment in 1992, the first widely replicated, projection-based, walk-in, virtual-reality (VR) system in the world, put EVL at the forefront of collaborative, immersive data exploration and analytics. However, the journey did not begin then. Since its founding in 1973, EVL has been developing tools and techniques for real-time, interactive visualizations - pillars of VR. But EVL&rsquo;s culture is also relevant to its successes, as it has always been an interdisciplinary lab that fosters teamwork, where each person&rsquo;s expertise contributes to the development of the necessary tools, hardware, system software, applications, and human interface models to solve problems. Over the years, as multidisciplinary collaborations evolved and advanced scientific instruments and data resources were distributed globally, the need to access and share data and visualizations while working with colleagues, local and remote, synchronous and asynchronous, also became important fields of study. This paper is a retrospective of EVL&rsquo;s past 50 years that surveys the many networked, immersive, collaborative visualization and VR systems and applications it developed and deployed, as well as lessons learned and future plans. 
Article appears in the journal PRESENCE: Virtual and Augmented Reality, in the Special Issue on Immersive Visualization Laboratories - Past, Present and Future, edited by S. Su and W. Sherman, <a href="https://direct.mit.edu/pvar/issue/volume/33">https://direct.mit.edu/pvar/issue/volume/33</a>. 
Article copyrighted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 
DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/pres_a_00421">https://doi.org/10.1162/pres_a_00421</a>

EVL faculty, students, and collaborators 1975.

Electronic Visualization Laboratory&rsquo;s 50th Anniversary Retrospective: Look to the Future, Build on the Past

EVL faculty and UIC Design Professor Daria Tsoupikova is featured in the Fall 2024 College Engineering RISE magazine issue. The article covers Daria&rsquo; collaboration with the Chicago Design Archive and Columbia College Chicago.   The project entitled &ldquo;Chicago Design Milestones 1920-2019&rdquo; focuses on design milestones in the city of Chicago from 1920-2019.  The media design installation features 3,200 examples of design work done in the city, and premiered on the 150 Media Stream screens in the lobby of 150 North Riverside Plaza on the Chicago River July 1, 2019.

Daria Tsoupikova Featured in Fall 2024 RISE

EVL alumni Sai Priya Jyothula and Arthur Nishimoto presented their Virtual Reality (VR) research at the 17th International Symposium on Visual Information Communication and Interaction (VINCI'24) held December 11-13, 2024, in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The VR project &ldquo;Hummingbird: Collaborative Virtual Reality for Tele-Immersive Interactive Theater&rdquo; was developed by Daria Tsoupikova, Sai Priya Jyothula, Arthur Nishimoto, Jo Cattell, Andrew Johnson and Lance Long. Their publication documenting the &rsquo;adventure&rsquo; over the years of developing, demonstrating, and engaging audiences in an innovative theater experience is recognized as the &ldquo;Best Art Paper&rdquo; of the Conference. 
VINCI is the premier international forum for researchers and industrial practitioners to discuss the state of the art in visual communication theories, designs, and applications. Visual communication through graphical or sign languages has long been conducted among humans of different backgrounds or cultures and, in recent decades, between humans and machines. In today's digital world, visual information is typically encoded with various metaphors commonly used in daily life to facilitate rapid comprehension and easy analysis during the communication process. Visual information communication generally encompasses information visualization, graphical user interfaces, visual analytics, and visual languages. Visual information is increasingly used to facilitate human-human communication through the Internet and mobile devices.

EVLers Present &ldquo;Hummingbird: Live Theater Adventure Empowering Collaboration in Virtual Reality&rdquo; & Win Best Art Paper Award at VINCI 2024

Hummingbird is an innovative, award-winning performance engaging participants in active storytelling that bridges live theater and collaborative interaction through virtual reality (VR). Hummingbird&rsquo;s story celebrates courage and coming of age through the eyes of a gutsy teen who must outsmart her mother&rsquo;s egotistic boss and survive a dangerous new technology in a live, immersive adventure. Developed at the University of Illinois Chicago by faculty and over 30 students from the departments of Computer Science and Design in partnership with professional theater producers, directors, actors, videographers and composers, this project advanced interdisciplinary collaboration, provided a unique learning environment and broadened the research experience for several cohorts of students. Over 500 people attended Hummingbird’s performances at the Tony Award-winning Goodman Theatre&rsquo;s New Stages Festival, Chicago Children&rsquo;s Theater and SIGGRAPH 2022 in Vancouver, Canada, with over 200 active VR participants. In each performance, five VR participants actively collaborate with each other and a lead actor within the VR adventure, contributing problem-solving, collaboration and teamwork, while a greater audience simultaneously follows the virtual performance aspects on a large video wall in real-time. Discussion sessions and audience evaluations followed each performance, informed the Hummingbird team on script, design and interactivity to improve future performances. Through qualitative analysis of audience experiences and insights from our collaboration, we discuss key considerations and design recommendations for integrating VR with live theater. Hummingbird demonstrates how VR can revolutionize theatrical storytelling by enabling traditional theater to narrate epic stories that were once considered too ambitious for traditional stage by extending live theater and making VR accessible to a broader audience. This project profit theater and interdisciplinary research institutions to increase opportunities for cross-disciplinary student education. 
CCS CONCEPTS: Computing methodologies; Computer Graphics; Graphics systems and interfaces; Virtual reality; Applied computing; Arts and humanities; Performing arts 
KEYWORDS Virtual reality, Storytelling, Theater, Multi-user, Performance, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Design Process

VR participants interact in the Orchard scene while observers watch their interaction on the large screen.

Hummingbird: Live Theater Adventure Empowering Collaboration in Virtual Reality

September 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL). This paper summarizes EVL&rsquo;s efforts in Visual Data Science, with a focus on the many networked, immersive, collaborative visualization and virtual reality (VR) systems and applications the Lab has developed and deployed, as
well as lessons learned and future plans. 
Index terms: Visualization, Virtual Reality, Visual Data Science, Collaboration

An EVL CAD Rendering of the DOCC Space

Immersive Analytics at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory

Virtual Reality Exhibition in the CAVE2 
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) 
Friday, March 21 @3-5pm 
842 W Taylor Street, Room 2036 
Global challenges pose significant threats to humanity&rsquo;s future. However, design and virtual reality offer innovative strategies to address the United Nations&rsquo; 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This VR exhibition showcases immersive projects that explore the intersections of design, theater, creative coding, and VR to tackle complex global issues - from combating climate change and improving health to promoting equality and protecting our oceans and forests. 
This VR exhibition highlights immersive projects that explore the intersections of design, theater, creative coding, and VR to tackle complex global issues. Between 2021 and 2024, CS+DES student teams collaborated on inspiring VR projects focused on global challenges within a Creative Coding course, advancing these crucial objectives. These projects have the potential to contribute meaningfully to the Sustainable Development Goals, fostering innovative solutions and promoting positive global change. 
We hope you can join us! 
Daria Tsoupikova 
CS+DES Chair I Design 
Professor, School of Design

VR Design for Sustainable and Inclusive Futures

The The VR project &ldquo;Fulfillment: a field guide to the logistical city&rdquo; a multi-year research project developed at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) in collaboration with the Anthropology Department at the University of Chicago will be exhibited as part of the <a href="https://ht.acm.org/ht2025/">ACM Hypertext 2025 Conference</a> to be held in Chicago, September 15-18. 
Spearheaded by UIC School of Design and EVL Professor Daria Tsoupikova, &ldquo;Fulfillment&rdquo; was enabled through a unique collaboration between anthropologists, designers, and other social scientists from several research institutions spanning the U.S., Europe and Asia with support from the National Science Foundation. The project brings VR technology to the forefront of anthropological research to engage participants in guided first-hand observation of the hidden aspects of logistics and the behind-the-scenes effects of supply chain capitalism on ecology, labor and socio-economic well-being. This immersive experience unfolds the increasingly pervasive yet often obscured ways in which the infrastructural and operative dimensions of commercial logistics are reshaping the way we work, live, and relate to each other and to our environments.

CAVE2 Virtual Reality Exhibition: Project &ldquo;Fulfillment&rdquo;

Hypertext 2025 Virtual Reality Exhibition in the CAVE2 VR Environment 
Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) 
842 W Taylor St. Room 2036 
Chicago IL 60607 
September 16, 2025 @ 4.30pm 
Your VR Theater experience awaits! 
Plunge into the surrounds of our burning forests. Explore the ghostly seams of the logistical city. 
Immersive CAVE2 Virtual Reality Exhibition -- Hidden Costs of Logistics and the Disappearing Wild -- highlights immersive projects that explore the intersections of anthropology, design, theater, creative coding, typography, and hypertext interaction to tackle some of the world’s most complex problems. From disappearing ecosystems to the invisible machinery behind global supply chains, each project invites participants to observe and reflect on the environmental, social, and economic impacts shaping the American Midwest and our planetary well-being. 
Developed by multi-institutional teams of anthropologists, artists, and computer scientists from the University of Chicago, UIC, and Yale, and created by the Creative Coding participants in the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), these VR experiences confront pressing global challenges with ethnographic insight and design innovation. Participants will journey through digitally rendered 360 landscapes of deforestation and the unseen logistical labor behind everyday commodities. By merging art, technology, and interactive hypertext in storytelling, these projects advance critical conversations around climate change, social justice, and the hidden infrastructures that sustain -- and strain -- life on Earth. 
Supported and organized by the Hypertext2025 Conference, the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), the Department of Computer Science and the School of Design at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. 
Featured Projects: 
CAVE2 Virtual Reality Exhibition: Project Fulfillment 
by Daria Tsoupikova, Julie Y. Chu, Alexandria Schmidt, Harini Kumar, Shahira Bhasha, Gaeun Lee, Eunseo Ko, Kenzell Huggins, Darshan Shet and Farah Kamleh 
Interactive VR Exhibition: Why Must We Make It All Burn? 
by Alexandra Preuss 
ACM Hypertext 2025 Conference <a href="https://ht.acm.org/ht2025/">website</a>.

Why Must We Make It All Burn?

CAVE2 VR Exhibition: The Hidden Costs of Logistics and the Disappearing Wild

You Can Grow Here: A Therapeutic VR Journey for Anxiety Management is an immersive VR experience developed for the CAVE2&trade; environment, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health and Well-Being. In response to the mental health challenges intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project explores how interactive storytelling, ambient sound, and 3D typography can support emotional reflection and teach anxiety coping strategies. Built in Unity with custom assets from Blender and Maya, the experience differs from most clinical VR programs, allowing users to independently explore emotions, manage anxiety, and practice evidence-based calming techniques within a safe, narrative-driven space that builds emotional resilience. 
The project was developed by UIC CS+DES students Gaeun Lee, Hope Jo, Cindy Nakhammouane, and CS student Khin Yuupar Myat in the CS/DES 427/450 Creative Coding course, taught by Professors Daria Tsoupikova and Mike Papka with support from TA Hal Brynteson.

Participant interacting with &ldquo;You Can Grow Here&rdquo;

You Can Grow Here: A Therapeutic VR Journey for Anxiety Management

We are thrilled to announce that CS+DES students Gaeun Lee, Hope Jo, Cindy Nakhammouane, and CS student Khin Yuupar Myat presented their virtual reality project You Can Grow Here: A Therapeutic VR Journey for Anxiety Management at <a href="https://s2025.siggraph.org/">ACM SIGGRAPH 2025</a>, held in Vancouver, Canada August 10-14, 2025! 
This innovative project was developed in the CS/DES 427/450 Creative Coding course, taught by Professors Daria Tsoupikova and Mike Papka with support from TA Hal Brynteson. The work explores the intersection of technology, design, and mental health through a VR experience aimed at anxiety management. 
ACM SIGGRAPH is the world&rsquo;s premier international conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, known for its competitive selection process and global prestige. Having undergraduate students accepted to present at SIGGRAPH is a rare and outstanding achievement. 
Congratulations to our CS+DES students for this remarkable accomplishment and for showcasing the creativity and impact of the CS+DES program on an international stage!

CS+DES Students Presented &ldquo;You Can Grow Here: A Therapeutic VR Journey for Anxiety Management&rdquo; at ACM SIGGRAPH 2025

Anxiety is one of the most widespread mental health issues, affecting nearly 30% of U.S. adults. In 2024, 43% reported feeling more anxious than the year before.
Traditional treatments often require clinical settings, which can be costly, inaccessible, or intimidating. There&rsquo;s a growing need for self-guided, engaging
tools that support emotional regulation in everyday environments. 
VR is emerging as a powerful tool in clinical anxiety treatment. At Princeton House, VR sessions led to a 35% reduction in anxiety, and CUCARD uses VR
for exposure therapy in controlled environments like classrooms. However, these tools rely on professional oversight and offer limited user agency. &ldquo;You Can Grow Here&rdquo; builds on this research by offering a non-clinical, self-directed VR experience - making emotional support more personal, immersive, and accessible. 
Our project followed an iterative design process centered on user feedback and therapeutic impact. Through frequent testing, we refined key elements such as
lighting, sound balance, and interaction flow to enhance emotional engagement. Demonstrations leveraging improv theatre were used to prototype the user journey, ensuring each interaction supported our well-being goals. Weekly meetings and collaborative tools like Unity, Figma, and Discord enabled efficient teamwork. Continuous evaluation ensured alignment with our therapeutic objectives, fostering a meaningful and emotionally restorative experience.

Overview image of the island with key locations of scenes numbered.

You Can Grow Here A Theraputic VR Journey for Anxiety Management

&ldquo;You Can Grow Here&rdquo; is an immersive VR experience developed for the CAVE2&trade: environment, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health and Well-Being. In response to the mental health challenges intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project explores how interactive storytelling, ambient sound, and 3D typography can support emotional reflection and teach anxiety coping strategies. Built in Unity with custom assets from Blender and Maya, the experience differs from most clinical VR programs, allowing users to independently explore emotions, manage anxiety, and practice evidence-based calming techniques within a safe, narrative-driven space that builds emotional resilience. 
CCS Concepts: Human-centered computing - Interaction design process and methods; Interaction design theory, concepts, and paradigms.

A glimpse of the final scene, where the rainbow represents peace, renewal, and emotional grounding.

You Can Grow Here A Therapeutic VR Journey for Anxiety Management

This year&rsquo;s Art of HPC showcase at the <ahref="https://sc25.supercomputing.org/">International Conference for High Performance Computing SC25</a>, brought together an inspiring community of artists, designers, and technologists exploring the intersections of creativity, high-performance computing, AI, and immersive media. The Art Gallery became a vibrant hub of curiosity and inspiration, where the audience could explore new possibilities at the intersection of art and cutting-edge computation. 
UIC Design and EVL Professor Daria Tsoupikova participated on the panel &ldquo;From Silicon to Surrealism: The Fusion of Art, AI, and HPC,&rdquo; moderated by Tomasz Bednarz with Amy Karle, Ruth West, and Mark Hereld. The discussion explored how large-scale computation is opening new frontiers in creative expression, from generative imagery to immersive storytelling, and how artistic inquiry, in turn, is reshaping our understanding of the purpose and potential of computing itself. 
The EVL Hummingbird VR Performance project, featured prominently in the exhibition, was displayed on giant displays across the show floor, in the Art Gallery, and in the poster ballroom. It was awe-inspiring for Tsoupikova to share this work, born from deep collaboration between theater artists, designers, and computer scientists, which was truly inspiring. 
This was Tsoupikova&rsquo;s first SC, &ldquo;I am deeply grateful to the Art of HPC Committee Joseph Insley, Francesca Samsel, Mark Hereld, India Gordon and Silvina Caino-Lores for championing and elevating artistic innovation at SC25. Their vision made this year&rsquo;s program groundbreaking.&rdquo; 
#SC25, #HPCignites 
<a href="https://sc25.supercomputing.org/program/art-of-hpc/">The Art of HPC</a> Where Creativity Meets HPC: 
Creativity has always been at the heart of innovation. It drives new perspectives, fuels artistic expression, and allows us to see beauty in unexpected places. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and resources, we can push the boundaries of both science and art. 
SC proudly presents Art of HPC, a showcase of the intersection between artistic creativity and high-performance computing. This comprehensive event featured a diverse array of exhibits, presentations, and activities throughout the conference. 
The Art of HPC Panel: 
High-performance computing and AI are sparking a thrilling new era in creativity and the arts. This dynamic panel brought together visionary artists and cutting-edge technologists to reveal how they harness the power of large-scale computation to craft works that dazzle the senses, resonate culturally, and often surprise us in delightful ways. From mesmerizing generative imagery to immersive, interactive experiences, the panelists demonstrated how HPC unlocks artistic possibilities at scales and resolutions previously unimaginable. 
But the excitement doesn&rsquo;t stop there - this is a two-way street. Artistic practices aren&rsquo;t just benefiting from big tech; they&rsquo;re reshaping how we think about computing itself, transforming its purpose from mere efficiency and scientific rigor to a wellspring of inspiration and expressive power. The panel provided an accessible and fascinating peek into a future where silicon and creativity join forces, co-designing bold new forms of culture and unlocking realms of imagination we&rsquo;ve yet to explore.

The Art of HPC Exhibition was a tremendous success at Supercomputing25!

UIC Design Professor and EVL faculty member Daria Tsoupikova presented her development and experience in producing the interdisciplinary, collaborative VR Live Theater performance Hummingbird at the 114th College Art Association Conference held in Chicago February 20, 2026. Tsoupikova presented at the session entitled &ldquo;Creativity, Collaboration, and Critique in the Age of AI and Immersive Technologies.&rdquo; This session examined how emerging technologies - from generative AI to virtual reality - are reshaping art and design education, practice, and theory. The presentations addressed the challenges and opportunities of teaching AI across the curriculum, rethinking artistic labor and aura in an era of machine collaboration, and creating interdisciplinary projects that blend performance, creative coding, and immersive media. Together, these talks highlighted how designers, educators and artists can engage critically with technology to expand creative expression, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, amplify student voices, and reimagine the future of studio-based learning. 
Tsoupikova&rsquo;s presentation &ldquo;Interdisciplinary Collaboration Developing VR and Live Theater Hummingbird Performances&rdquo; told the story of the collaboration, development and showcasing of Hummingbird, an award-winning, immersive virtual reality (VR) performance that merges live theater with interactive storytelling, fostering collaboration and active audience participation. Developed through an interdisciplinary partnership among computer scientists, designers, theater professionals, and over 30 students, the production explores innovative methodologies for VR theater. Tsoupikova&rsquo;s talk examines the collaborative processes, theoretical challenges, and technological advancements behind Hummingbird, which serves as a prototype for integrating VR with live performance. 
At its core, Hummingbird is a coming-of-age story that empowers participants by granting them agency within the narrative. Five audience members engage directly with a lead actor in a responsive, collaborative adventure, utilizing problem-solving, teamwork, and storytelling skills. The production has been performed at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago Children&rsquo;s Theater, and the Immersive Pavilion in Vancouver, reaching over 500 audience members. Through a qualitative analysis of audience experiences and collaboration findings, we identify key design considerations for interdisciplinary VR theater production. Our insights contribute to the development of collaborative systems that enhance live performance through VR, demonstrating how this medium can push the boundaries of traditional theater and make immersive storytelling more accessible. Hummingbird exemplifies the potential of VR to revolutionize theatrical narratives, offering a model for cross-disciplinary education and future partnerships between nonprofit theater and academic research.

Design Professor and EVL Faculty Daria Tsoupikova Presents &ldquo;Creativity, Collaboration, and Critique in the Age of AI and Immersive Technologies&rdquo; at CAA 114

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