Two recent graduates of Purdue Polytechnic’s Master of Science in Computer Graphics Technology program, Angela Jimenez and Anant Upadhyay, have had their research papers accepted to the prestigious IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (IEEE ISMAR).
The papers, which are the results of their master's theses completed under the supervision of Professor Christos Mousas, will be presented at the conference in Daejeon, South Korea, from Oct. 8-12, 2025.
IEEE ISMAR is a top-tier conference as ranked by the Computing Research and Education Association of Australasia (CORE), with an A* or “exceptional” ranking. The acceptance rate for presenters at IEEE ISMAR this year was just 21%.
Jimenez’s paper, "Virtual Roomie: Immersive Layout Co-design with a Virtual Agent," explored how a person collaborates with an AI-powered virtual agent to design a room layout in a virtual reality environment. Her research found that when the virtual agent's decisions were driven by an optimization-based method—allowing it to make "smarter," spatially coherent suggestions—users perceived the collaboration more positively and designed the space more efficiently.
For Jimenez, who will also serve as a student volunteer at the conference, this achievement is a significant professional milestone. Her travel is supported by a Women in High Performance Computing Travel Award from Purdue. "This is going to be the first time I'm there presenting, so it's a big deal for me," she said. "The recognition of going to ISMAR just validates all my research, so it's rewarding and gives me hope on future research."
Upadhyay’s paper, "Virtual Museum Tour Agent: Effects of Responsiveness and Awareness," investigated what makes a virtual tour guide effective in a VR museum. His study revealed that the agent’s responsiveness—its ability to answer questions—had a significantly greater positive impact on the user’s experience than its physical awareness or ability to navigate toward the user.
Upadhyay also noted the importance of the recognition. "Since the paper is based on my master’s thesis, it feels like a major accomplishment to see months of work recognized," he said. "Publishing it at a respected conference like IEEE ISMAR makes the achievement even more meaningful."
Professor Mousas noted that the Master’s program in Computer Graphics Technology is designed to produce high-impact research, with students regularly publishing their thesis work at top international conferences.
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