Victoria Interrante - University of Minnesota

Victoria Interrante

Professor

Department of Computer Science and Engineering
University of Minnesota

6-185 Keller Hall
interran {at} umn {dot} edu
(612) 625-3543

Professor Interrante's research focuses on applying insights from visual perception and cognition to the development of more effective virtual reality experiences and the more effective communication of complex information through visual imagery. In this work, she has enjoyed collaborating with colleagues in a wide variety of fields, from architectural design and neuropsychology to engineering and medicine.

Dr. Interrante is a recipient of the 2020 IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Career Award in recognition of her lifetime contributions to visualization and visual perception for augmented and virtual reality, and the 1999 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, "the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers". She was also a recipient of the 2001-2003 McKnight Land-Grant Professorship from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Interrante co-founded and served as the first general co-chair of the ACM/SIGGRAPH Symposium on Applied Perception, and served from 2015-2021 as co-editor-in-chief of the ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, as well as on the editorial boards of several other leading journals including the IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. She was an invited presenter at the 2004 National Academies Convocation on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research, an invited participant at the National Academy of Engineering's Seventh Annual Frontiers of Engineering, and a member of the organizing committee for the Eighth German-American Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering, a joint project of the NAE and the Alexander von Humbolt Foundation.

In addition, Dr. Interrante has an active record of leadership and service with numerous top international conferences in virtual reality, visualization and computer graphics. She was a member of the Steering Committee for the IEEE Virtual Reality Conference, for which she also served as co-General Chair in 2014 and co-Program Chair in 2015-2017. In recent years, she has also served as the co-General Chair of EuroVR 2017, and as co-Program Chair of the 2018 and 2019 EuroVR Conferences, the 2010 Joint Virtual Reality Conference of EGVE, EuroVR and VEC, and the 2008 Eurographics Workshop on Computational Aesthetics, as well as chair of the technical track on Graphics, Animation and Gaming at the 2015 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

At the University of Minnesota, Dr. Interrante served for many years as the director of the University-wide Center for Cognitive Sciences and as a member of the graduate faculty in the interdisciplinary Cognitive Science and Human Factors programs. She also served from 2010-2013 as a member and 2013-2014 as co-chair of the Women's Faculty Cabinet, providing consultation and advice to the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs to improve and enrich the academic and professional environments for women faculty at the University of Minnesota. She also served as Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Computer Science and Engineering from 2010-2013.