Andrew Raij, Ph.D.
  • About Me
  • Publications / CV
  • Synthetic Reality Lab (SREAL)
  • PIE Lab
  • Family

Biography

Who am I?
I am a Visiting Research Associate Professor in the Synthetic Reality Lab (SREAL) at the University of Central Florida's Institute for Simulation and Training. As part of SREAL, I have the great fortune of working with Dr. Greg Welch, Dr. Charlie Hughes, and so many other great people. We are working on understanding how to use virtual humans and self-avatars to build effective experiences for training, learning, and behavior change. 

Other Professional History
Previously, I was an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida (USF) Department of Electrical Engineering, where I founded and led the Powerful Interactive Experiences (PIE) Lab. PIE Lab is an interdisciplinary human-computer interaction lab with a mission to create and study new systems, user interfaces and experiences for health and wellbeing. We are particularly interested in pervasive technologies, information visualization and virtual reality. 

Although I'm no longer at USF, PIE Lab lives on as a virtual organization. ​I am most proud of the lab's current and upcoming Ph.D. graduates. In December 2015, Luis Jaimes became PIE Lab's first Ph.D. graduate; he is now faculty at Bethune-Cookman University. PIE Lab also has three active USF Ph.D. students, Tylar Murray, Evren Bozgeyikli, and Lal Bozgeyikli, all on track to complete their degrees by the end of 2016. 

​Education and Training
Before PIE Lab and USF, I held postdoctoral positions at the University of Memphis (Advisor: Dr. Santosh Kumar) and University of Florida (Advisor: Dr. Benjamin Lok). I received a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Florida (2009), a Masters degree in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2003), and a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from Northwestern University (2001). 

Family Life
My best and favorite job is that of husband and father. I have an amazing wife Emily, two kids that always keep me smiling, Tilly and Adam, and a sweet, sleepy, somehow also hyperactive dog named Ruby. I'm very lucky to have such a great family.


Contact Information

Picture of Andrew Raij
Andrew Raij (pronounced like "rye" bread) 
E-mail: raij at ucf edu (best way to reach me)
Office: UCF Institute for Simulation and Training Building P3, Room 111
Office Phone: 407-823-2281
Mailing Address: 
Institute for Simulation and Training
University of Central Florida
3100 Technology Parkway
​Orlando, FL 32826


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