caption workplaces field article_title education name
professor , canada research chair school university of interactive arts and technology , simon fraser computer research , design science - hci , virtual reality , health diane gromala
 university of michigan , yale university , plymouth university diane gromala
diane gromala

diane gromala -lrb- born 24 february 1960 -rrb- is a canada research chair and a professor in the simon fraser university school of interactive arts and technology .
her research works at the confluence of computer science , media art and design , and has focused on the cultural , visceral , and embodied implications of digital technologies , particularly in the realm of chronic pain .
dr. gromala received her bachelor 's degree -lrb- bfa -rrb- in graphic design from the university of michigan in 1982 , her master of fine arts -lrb- mfa -rrb- degree from yale university in 1990 , and her phd in human-computer interaction from plymouth university in 2007 .
from 1982-1990 , gromala worked in industry as art director for macworld and apple computer .
gromala was one of the first artists to work with immersive virtual reality -lrb- vr -rrb- , beginning with dancing with the virtual dervish .
co-created with choreographer yacov sharir in 1990 at the banff centre for the arts ' art & virtual environments residency , this piece has been exhibited worldwide from 1993-2004 .
gromala subsequently designed immersive vr for stress-reduction , anxiety-reduction , and pain distraction during chemotherapy at georgia tech .
gromala 's work has been used in over 20 hospitals and clinics .
gromala is the founding director of the chronic pain research institute , an interdisciplinary team of artists , designers , computer scientists , neuroscientists and medical doctors investigating how new technologies -- ranging from virtual reality and visualization to social media -- may be used as a technological form of analgesia and pain management .
with jay bolter , gromala is the co-author of windows and mirrors : interaction design , digital art and the myth of transparency .
this book was based on her experience as the art gallery chair for siggraph 2000 , which had the greatest number of interactive artworks in its history .
her work is widely published in the domains of computer science , interactive art and interaction design .
her pioneering virtual reality work has been featured on the bbc , cnn , the discovery channel , and the new york times .
dr. gromala lectures internationally and continues to publish research articles in her fields of research .
she was a faculty member at the university of texas at austin ; the university of washington , where she headed the new media research lab and was a member of the human interface technology lab -lrb- hitlab -rrb- ; and at graduate programme for information design at georgia tech 's school of literature , communication and culture -lrb- lcc -rrb- , and a member of the renowned gvu -lrb- graphics , visualization & usability -rrb- center .
she is currently a professor at simon fraser university -lrb- sfu -rrb- in vancouver , canada .
