[The following article by Darius Goodman, with photo by Matt Yung, first appeared on the Kennesaw State University website, republished with permission]

To meet the growing demand of the $380 billion film, gaming, and immersive technology industry, Kennesaw State has launched the Center for Interactive Media, designed to accelerate innovation in storytelling, virtual reality, and user-interface technology.

Led by Assistant Professor of English Victoria Lagrange, the center will emphasize user-experience research that helps designers and product teams understand user needs, engage in immersive storytelling, and uncover real-world applications of interactive tools.

Among the projects that the center will be working on is creating a digitized model of Georgia that can be used to improve traffic or energy consumption in the state.

“From hurricanes to cyberattacks, the Center for Interactive Media’s ambitious plan to build a digital twin of Georgia will empower responders, planners, and policymakers to see what is coming, act with clarity, and protect lives before danger strikes,” said Executive Vice President for Research Karin Scarpinato.

The Center for Interactive Media has established five goals, which include:

• Advancing interdisciplinary research in interactive media.
• Developing and evaluating immersive experiences through applied research.
• Integrating ethical, human-centered AI into interactive systems.
• Bridging research and practice through industry and community partnerships.
• Training the next generation of researchers in digital innovation.

The center will also address the growing gap in Georgia’s digital economy by integrating human-centered, user-experience research, ethical artificial intelligence (AI) design, and immersive media development into a unified research and development pipeline.

“The Center for Interactive Media is strategically aligned with high-growth commercial sectors,” said Assistant Vice President of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships Chris Cornelison. “Collectively, the U.S. film, music, video game, and digital entertainment industries represent a market exceeding $380 billion annually. In Georgia, these industries have seen substantial expansion, positioning the state as a national leader and creating significant opportunities for KSU researchers, scholars, and graduates to contribute through innovation, collaboration, and workforce development.”

Plans for the center include building a physical space with a virtual and augmented reality room, a game studio, motion capture and sound room, and a focus room for user experience. In addition, the CIM will establish a presence in the metaverse, a virtual reality environment. Lagrange also seeks faculty members from across campus interested in bringing their expertise to the center.

As a case in point, Lagrange is already collaborating with Associate Professor of Engineering Mahyar Amirgholy on an ambitious plan to create a digitized model of the entire state of Georgia.

“This digital twin model will be particularly valuable for planning, operational decision-making, and policy development,” said Amirgholy, who teaches civil engineering in KSU’s Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology. “It will contribute to the development of more responsive and resilient smart urban systems, such as transportation networks, communication infrastructure, and the energy grid.”

The center’s interdisciplinary approach encourages collaboration across media disciplines to pursue funding for its work and to build industry and community partnerships.

“As an institution with a high level of research, one of our goals is to promote interdisciplinary research and go after external funding,” said Lagrange, a faculty member in KSU’s Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “One of the ways we can do that is by partnering with people who have different skills than the ones you have.”