Additional media: Photos | 360 Story

A University of Maryland program in partnership with The Phillips Collection was held on June 6, 2017 to explore the frontiers of virtual reality, augmented reality and immersive storytelling.

Three speakers working at the forefront of innovation in these areas discussed how these cutting-edge platforms are being used in fields as diverse and journalism, education, defense and the arts and are serving as engines of empathy and windows into our cultural and environmental heritage. The speakers were:

Amitabh Varshney
UMD’s interim vice president for research and director of UMIACS, Maryland’s Institute for Advanced Computer Studies

Dan Russell
Google’s “director of user happiness”

Maribel Perez Wadsworth
Gannett’s senior vice president and chief transformation officer

Opening remarks were delivered by Mary Ann Rankin, provost of the University of Maryland.

The program was organized by the University of Maryland’s Future of Information Alliance, in collaboration with these UMD sponsors:

Philip Merrill College of Journalism
iSchool – Maryland’s College of Information Studies
College of Arts and Humanities Center for Synergy
Bahá’í Chair for World Peace