Donald Degraen

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Bio.

I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the HIT Lab NZ, a research centre at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Previously, I was a a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen in the Human-Computer Interaction Group led by Prof. Dr. Stefan Schneegass, and a postdoctoral researcher in the Ubiquitous Media Technology Lab led by Prof. Dr. Antonio Krüger where I completed my PhD.

My PhD was funded through the DISTRO-ITN, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie training network. During my time as an early stage researcher, I had the pleasure to intern with Prof. Dr. Bernd Bickel at the Institute for Science and Technology, and with Prof. Dr. Tim Weyrich at the University College London. Previously, I was a research fellow at the Intel Visual Computing Institute, and the Expertise Centre for Digital Media.

I hold the degree of Doctor of Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) from Saarland University, a Master's degree in Human-Computer Interaction from Hasselt University, and a Bachelor's degree in Applied Informatics from the Hogeschool PXL. A long time ago, I was a teacher, professionally developed software, and started out as a system administrator.

Research.

My research lies on the intersection of haptic perception, fabrication technologies and Virtual Reality (VR). Specifically, I aim to improve the design of tactile experiences for VR. My approach starts by investigating the different tangible features used in configuring our real-world physical environment. This allows me to create tools and methods for building visuo-haptic perception in VR. During my PhD, I built fabrication methods for replicating and procedurally generating haptically-varying surface structures, studied user-centric haptic design processes, and investigated the use of everyday objects for enhancing VR interaction.

Recently, I was awarded a Marsden Fund Fast-Start Grant from Royal Society Te Apārangi.

Besides this, I investigate methods to improve interaction in virtual environments and explore the world of living media interfaces.