PhD student
Sepehr Vaez Afshar
Sepehr is a PhD student in Informatics whose work connects educational games, extended reality, and cultural heritage. With a background in architecture, landscape architecture, and computer science, he studies game and museum data to understand player experiences and support public learning. His research includes data analytics and information visualization, and he is advised by Laura Shackelford. He is Associate Producer and XR Lead at the GSD stu/dio and Council Lead of the IMMERSE Graduate Student Council (IGSC).
Projects
Active projects
VRchaeology
An immersive virtual field school for learning archaeological field methods through excavation, mapping, documentation, and analysis.
Active projects
XR in U.S. Museums
A national study of how accredited U.S. museums adopt extended reality, built from a coded dataset of museum institutions.
Publications
Journal articles
Exploring the Role of Location-Based Games in Managing Tourist Destinations Under Climate Change Challenges: A Gap Analysis Review
A review of 75 studies examining location-based games and climate resilience in tourism, identifying research gaps and directions for participatory adaptation.
Conference papers
From Past to Present: A study of AI-driven gamification in heritage education
A study of AI-driven gamification for heritage education, connecting immersive environments with learning about the Silk Roads.
Presentations
Conference talk
Experiential vs Simulated Learning
Scheduled for 1:00–2:00 pm. Laura Shackelford, Sepehr Vaez Afshar, and Sarvin Eshaghi join Lena Currie and Melissa Roth of SGH to explore teaching preservation diagnostics and skills through hands-on experiences and realistic simulations. Following introductions from industry and academic presenters, attendees are invited to try non-destructive testing and virtual reality equipment.
Conference talk
From Carving to Digital Heritage: Capturing Material and Craft Knowledge with XR and Photogrammetry
Upcoming presentation, scheduled for October 2026.
Posters
IGSC: A Student-Led Hub for Immersive Computing at Illinois
Poster contributors: Sepehr Vaez Afshar, Duo Wang, Aditi Tiwari, Ogulcan Durmaz, and Maryam Jahadakbar.
Conference talk
Intelligent Avatars in Language Learning
A systematic review of immersive conversational AI avatars in language learning. Presented remotely.
Conference talk
A panel discussion of the stu/dio: Contributions, Focus Areas, and Challenges in University Student-Driven Game Production
Panel with Daniel Cermak, Robbie Sieczkowski, Sarvin Eshaghi, Sepehr Vaez Afshar, O. Wang, and R. Hidalgo.
Invited talks
Growing XR Development at Illinois: Inside the stu/dio
Presented by Dan Cermak, Robbie Sieczkowski, and Sepehr Vaez Afshar.
Invited talks
From Presence to Playability: The Role of Immersion and UX in VR Gaming
Conference talk
A UIUC Game Studies & Design Student Team managing VR game development for education, research, & beyond
Contributors: Robbie Sieczkowski, Sepehr Vaez Afshar, O. Wang, R. Hidalgo, T. Jiang, N. Simons, D. Parikh, and M. Tadepally.
Conference talk
Immersive Technology for Heritage: Exploring XR Adoption in U.S. Cultural Museums
Conference talk
Mapping XR Integration in Cultural Museums of the East North Central U.S.
Posters
AI-Driven Gameful Learning for Immersive Heritage Education on the Silk Roads
Awards & funding
Scholarships
APT Student Scholar
Selected for the APT Student Scholarship program in preservation technology.
Awards
NCPE Annual Conference Student Scholar Award
Scholarships
APT Student Scholar
Selected for the APT Student Scholarship program in preservation technology.
Awards
NCPE Annual Conference Student Scholar Award
