Presentations

Talks, posters, demonstrations, workshops, and exhibitions.

Invited talks

  • Invited talks

    Growing XR Development at Illinois: Inside the stu/dio

    IMMERSE Seminar Series, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · September 11, 2025

    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

    Sepehr Vaez AfsharIMMERSE Seminar Series, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · April 2025

  • Invited talks

    VRchaeology talk (Laura Shackelford) to the VR Club

    VR @ Illinois · March 12, 2021

Conference talks

  • Event poster for Experiential vs Simulated Learning, featuring Lena Currie, Melissa Roth, Laura Shackelford, Sepehr Vaez Afshar, and Sarvin Eshaghi.

    Conference talk

    Experiential vs Simulated Learning

    APT Academics & Research Committee meeting · JW Marriott Indianapolis, IN · White River Ballroom F · October 28, 2026

    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

    Sepehr Vaez Afshar · Laura ShackelfordAPT International Annual Conference · Indianapolis, Indiana · October 2026

    Upcoming presentation, scheduled for October 2026.

  • Conference talk

    Intelligent Avatars in Language Learning

    Ogulcan Durmaz · Sepehr Vaez Afshar · Sarvin EshaghiSoCaLLT 2026, Baylor University · Waco, Texas (remote presentation) · 2026

    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

    MDEV 2025 · Madison, Wisconsin · November 2025

    Panel with Daniel Cermak, Robbie Sieczkowski, Sarvin Eshaghi, Sepehr Vaez Afshar, O. Wang, and R. Hidalgo.

  • Conference talk

    A UIUC Game Studies & Design Student Team managing VR game development for education, research, & beyond

    IMMERSE Symposium, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · 2025

    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

    Sepehr Vaez Afshar · Laura ShackelfordAPT International Annual Conference · CS3.5 Revolution and Innovation · Rhode Island · 2025

  • Conference talk

    Mapping XR Integration in Cultural Museums of the East North Central U.S.

    Sepehr Vaez AfsharNCPE Annual Conference · Milwaukee, Wisconsin · 2025

  • Conference talk

    Motivational processing in a game-based VR learning system for teaching introductory archaeology

    Laura ShackelfordAECT International Conference · 2019

  • Conference talk

    Virtual archaeology: the efficacy of virtual reality for social science education

    Laura ShackelfordCampus Alliance for Advanced Visualization, Indiana University · 2019

  • Conference talk

    Digitally-empowered learning: teaching archaeology through VR and game-based learning

    Laura ShackelfordPaleoanthropology Society 2018 Meeting · 2018

Posters

  • Posters

    IGSC: A Student-Led Hub for Immersive Computing at Illinois

    IMMERSE Symposium, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · 2026

    Poster contributors: Sepehr Vaez Afshar, Duo Wang, Aditi Tiwari, Ogulcan Durmaz, and Maryam Jahadakbar.

  • Posters

    AI-Driven Gameful Learning for Immersive Heritage Education on the Silk Roads

    Sarvin Eshaghi · Sepehr Vaez AfsharPlayful by Design 2024 · November 2024