2022 Darsh T. Wasan Lecture: Jeremy Bailenson

Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University, will give the 2022 Darsh T. Wasan Lecture. Bailenson, whose research focuses on the psychology of virtual and augmented reality, will give lecture titled “Experience on Demand: Virtual and Augmented Reality.”

The event will take place in the Hermann Hall Ballroom on Mies Campus on April 28, 2022, at 3 p.m. 

Bio

Bailenson is the founding director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, the Thomas More Storke Professor in the Department of Communication, professor (by courtesy) of education, professor (by courtesy) in the program in symbolic systems, a senior fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, and a faculty leader at Stanford’s Center for Longevity. He earned a B.A. cum laude from the University of Michigan in 1994 and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Northwestern University in 1999. He spent four years at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a postdoctoral fellow and then an assistant research professor. Bailenson studies the psychology of virtual and augmented reality, in particular how virtual experiences lead to changes in perceptions of self and others. His lab builds and studies systems that allow people to meet in virtual space, and explores the changes in the nature of social interaction. His most recent research focuses on how virtual experiences can transform education, environmental conservation, empathy, and health. He has been the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching at Stanford. In 2020 the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers recognized his work with the Virtual/Augmented Reality Technical Achievement Award. He has published more than 200 academic papers, spanning the fields of communication, computer science, education, environmental science, law, linguistics, marketing, medicine, political science, and psychology. His first book, Infinite Reality, co-authored with Jim Blascovich, emerged as an Amazon best seller eight years after its initial publication, and was quoted by the United States Supreme Court. His new book, Experience on Demand, was reviewed by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Nature, and the Times of London, and was an Amazon best seller. He has produced or directed six virtual reality documentary experiences that were official selections at the Tribeca Film Festival. His lab’s research has exhibited publicly at museums and aquariums, including a permanent installation at the San Jose Tech Museum.

Complimentary parking will be available in lots D1/D2 and in the B5 (Hermann Hall) parking lot. Lot B5 is west of Hermann Hall, and lot D1/D2 is on 33rd Street just east of the “L” tracks.