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I studied Digital Media Art and Technology as a graduate student at Michigan State University from 2000 to 2003. In my later years, I had the opportunity to work first as a student assistant and later as a lead designer at the MSU Media Interface Network Design (M.I.N.D.) Lab.  I am especially grateful to Professor, Dr Frank Biocca, who found and led the M.I.N.D. Lab and offered me my first research assistant position. Dr. Biocca is a prominent scholar in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and human–computer interaction, especially known for his work on “presence”—the feeling of “being there” inside a virtual environment. As a leading figure in early VR research, he explores how media technologies can extend human perception, cognition, and performance. Professor Biocca’s support opened the door for me to explore VR as early as 2002—at a time when the technology was still rare and costly. His M.I.N.D lab was one of the first serious academic VR research environments. I still remember the dedicated dark VR room in the lab; it felt almost magical, particularly during lab tours, and it sparked many ideas that shaped my early research interests.

I was fortunate to contribute to several research projects, including NSF funded HomeNetToo, where I gained hands-on experience in research methods, data collection, and thesis writing. Dr. Biocca served as my thesis chair and generously guided me into fields such as interactive media, cognitive science, and human–computer interaction. During my time at MSU, I began developing serious games with a team of students—often working late into the night, learning alongside inspiring young faculty at the time, Brian Winn and Carrie Heeter, both later served in my thesis commitee. It was also during this period that I attended my first SIGGRAPH and Game Developers Conference—experiences that left a lasting impression and gently shaped my academic and professional path.

HomeNetToo UI. 2002. Source. MSU Thesis Library.

“Three computer interfaces – a standard web interface, a spatial interface, and an interpersonal interface were constructed for experiments that compared the effect of different interfaces on a person’s knowledge gained with respect to their cognitive styles. The standard web browser interface presented information in magazine-style and was used as a control condition for the experiment. The spatial interface was a three-dimensional environment where a test participant used a joystick and mouse to navigate around different buildings with information presented as posters within the buildings. The interpersonal interface used computer-generated talking avatar as an agent to help test participants to access information.”

Reference:

• Ming Tang. Thesis. Spatial interface and interpersonal interface design : design report for homenettoo project. Thesis Chair: Frank Biocca. Thesis commitee:  Brian Winn, Carrie Heeter. Michigan State University. 2003.
• Lim, L., Jackson, L., Biocca, F., Barbatsis, G., Bradburn, K., Tang, M., Zhao, Y., Fitzgerald, H. Presence in Informative Virtual Environments: The Effects of Self-Efficacy, Spatial Ability and Mood, Proceeding of Mass Communication & Society Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Conference. 2003
• Jackson, L. A., Biocca, F., Lim, L., Bradburn, K., Tang, M., Mou, W., Barbatsis, G., von Eye, A., Zhao, Y., & Fitzgerald, H. (2003). Effects of culturally adapted interfaces on learning and attitudes: Findings from the HomeNetToo project. Proceeding of the International Association for the Development of Information Society (IADIS) International Conference, WWW/Internet 2003, Algarve, Portugal. 2003
• Jackson, L. A., Biocca, F., Lim, L., Bradburn, K., Tang, M., Mou, W., Barbatsis, G., von Eye, A., Zhao, Y., & Fitzgerald, H. (2003). Presence, Learning and Attitudes in Virtual Environments: A Comparison between 3-D Spatial, Interpersonal and Standard Interfaces in Transmitting Health Information to Low-income Users. Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers in Education 2003 (ICCE 2003), Budapest, Hungary. 2003
• Jackson, L. A., Biocca, F., Lim, L., Bradburn, K., Tang, M., Weimin Mou, et al. (Nov. 2003). Effects of culturally adapted interfaces on learning and attitudes: Findings from the HomeNetToo Project. Proceedings of IADIS WWW2003. 2003