Works
Communication bleeds into nearly everything, which has afforded me opportunities to participate and consult in projects ranging from mid-size business communication, to mass media persuasion efforts, to public speaking skill development, to next gen technological implementation. Here's a brief showcase of some of the projects in which I've participated. If something here is relevant to you, feel free to reach out! I love to collaborate.
Over my time in academia I've had the opportunity to assemble six state of the art research laboratories, most involving an XR component. In these labs we've conducted research into topics ranging from why people like the entertainment they like, why we enjoy the experience of suspense, what the role of synchrony is in fostering trust with others, how audiences can continue to love a character who sometimes does bad things, what drives terrorists to commit violent acts, how to get the most out of online meetings, how to assist children on the autism spectrum with learning, and many more.
XR tech is plenty of fun, no doubt, but it's also provided a window into why we behave the way we do, why we make the decisions we make, how we can better understand people who are different from us, and ultimately how to make a better world.
As a founding member of the Beyond Meet Space team I've conducted research awarded support by the NSF (nos. 2128746, 2128803, 2128813, and 2128991). Together we've examined the effects of virtual meetings, explored ways to improve outcomes, and established the annual Meaningful XR Conference (MXR). The applications of XR technology beyond entertainment and into realms of art, education, and productivity are myriad and often forgotten, but our team has been able to shed light on their more meaningful capabilities.
Immersive digital technology makes for some impressive displays. I've had the opportunity to design and create holoportals, custom VR experiences, and projection mapping projects that have been used in a variety of contexts. Often these efforts are highly interdisciplinary, such as with What Child is This which brought together Theater, Fine Art, Music, Media Arts, Engineering, and Communication to create an immersive visual experience worthy of the subject matter. To better promote these expansive and impressive efforts I am a board member of the Christ in Media Institute, which links media creators to the resources and people needed to make great art happen.
At the end of the day, XR tech is a lot of fun. There might be a ton of practical and meaningful applications, but as an entertainment researcher the interest always seems to come back around to fun. This is an easy area of interest to share, since it's a rare person who isn't interested in having a good time. This has led to repeated opportunities to host events and camps that are dedicated simply to enjoying immersive experiences. Each summer I host camps designed to enable campers not only to have fun, but also to create experiences that allow others to join in the enjoyment. Sharing tactics on how to make games more fun, narratives more compelling, outcomes more desirable, and the overall package more presentable not only aligns well with my research, but has become a real joy for me too!
One of the more unusual directions my life has taken is that I've ended up serving as a parliamentarian in a variety of meeting settings, from the national convention for the Evangelical Lutheran Synod to small board and planning meetings. I am a strong advocate of the consensus model of group decision making and have been fortunate to facilitate many groups in moving as a united team.
As a narrative entertainment researcher, I've been a part of projects that have provided insight into why we like what we like, how to take something bland and make it interesting, what drives us to pay attention to some material, how children develop an understanding of the world through story, and what we gain or learn from our media experiences. The answers to questions such as, "why do I like this" have implications that reach across persuasion, memory, attention, and morality. A favorite example of this is the Captain America comic we altered for research purposes into the morally ambiguous "Agent Orange," transforming readers' assessments of the character and his behaviors.
Research into moral intuitions, communication networks, and media effects makes up the backbone of my theoretical work. I have a particular interest in those mental mechanisms that operate before we actually have a conscious thought, and end up providing the scaffolding for the ideas, beliefs, and actions we subsequently take. The implications of this research range from promoting camaraderie at an institutional level, to understanding why individuals adopt differing moral positions, to subtly influencing various behavioral outcomes. It's been an honor to work and publish with some of the top minds in the field.
My wife and I have been extremely blessed to be able to participate in a variety of projects aimed at improving the lives of people facing difficult circumstances. These efforts have included work with Hmong congregations, homeless populations, incarcerated individuals, displaced refugees, orphans, children on the autism spectrum, and sufferers of early onset dementia. We are board members for Branch Lutheran Schools of Haiti, an organization that manages 3 orphanages and 7 schools in the very challenging Haitian environment. If you are looking for a worthy cause to support I can't recommend Branch highly enough, and if you're looking for assistance with your own charitable endeavors I'd be excited to help how I can.