Carlow University hosts two conferences on April 10; on digital learning and the XR Executive Summit. Facebook’s Yaser Sheikh, PhD, will be the keynote speaker.
| Marketing and Communications | For Immediate Release |
| Drew Wilson, Director, Media Relations | March 25, 2019 |
| 412.578.2095 (phone) | |
| 412.260.6807 (cell) | |
| 412.578.2080 (fax) | |
| agwilson@carlow.edu |
Yaser Sheikh, PhD, Director of Facebook Reality Lab, Pittsburgh Will Be Keynote Speaker for the XR Executive Summit
Event held in Collaboration with the Pittsburgh Chapter of The Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Association
Pittsburgh, Pa. –In collaboration with the Pittsburgh Chapter of The Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Association, Carlow University will host “One Evening of Technology Immersion,” on April 10, 2019, beginning at 4 p.m., in the A.J. Palumbo Hall of Science and Technology, located on the corner of Fifth and Craft avenues on the Carlow campus.
The keynote speaker for the XR Executive Summit is Yaser Sheikh, PhD, the Director of Facebook Reality Lab, Pittsburgh. Sheikh is devoted to achieving photorealistic social interactions in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). He is also an associate professor at the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. [A more complete bio follows this release.]
This innovative evening will feature two conferences where attendees will learn from a variety of presenters about the transformations taking place through digital learning and XR technologies. The “X” in XR technologies is a variable that can stand for virtual reality, augmented reality, or mixed reality.
The first conference, Digital Learning Collaboration Conference: Feasible Transformation, The “A-Ha” Shift, will take place from 4 until 5:30 p.m. Presenters will share their innovative ideas on digital learning, and attendees can hear ideas and the practical steps for implementing digital learning in an organization.
“Digital learning has transformed the education landscape at all levels,” said Rachael Afolabi Royes, EdD, Executive Director of the Center for Digital Learning and Innovation, and the Hub for Workforce Development and Innovation, Carlow University. “Collaborating and learning more about an ever-evolving field will enable educators at all levels to learn new and innovative ways and create learning possibilities beyond the limits of our current imagination.”
The XR Executive Summitwill begin at 6 p.m. This summit will explore cutting-edge research in XR currently taking place in Pittsburgh and the various ways that the business, industry, and education sectors can benefit from the deployment of XR (virtual, augmented, and mixed) reality technologies. The intersection of Pittsburgh’s strengths in robotics and artificial intelligence/machine learning with XR technologies offer exciting opportunities for further development of the city’s reputation as a hub of tech innovation.
“XR will have an impact on all business sector and individual lives equivalent to that of the personal computer or the smart phone,” said Karen Alexander, PhD, co-president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of The Virtual Reality Augmented Reality Association.
Registration for just the Digital Learning Conference is $50. Registration for the XR Executive Summit is $99. There is a discount available for those who register for both.
To register for the Digital Learning Conference, please visit https://carlow.wufoo.com/forms/rsgane70u9e8eo/
To register for the XR Executive Summit, please visit https://carlow.wufoo.com/forms/r14t5fvb0nxi4l3/
To register for both, please visit https://carlow.wufoo.com/forms/r25nl8815f438l/
For more information about either event, please contact CDLI@carlow.edu.
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Biography for Yaser Sheikh
Yaser Sheikh, PhD, is Director of the Facebook Reality Lab in Pittsburgh, devoted to achieving photorealistic social interactions in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), and an Associate Professor at the Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. His research broadly focuses on machine perception and rendering of social behavior, spanning sub-disciplines in computer vision, computer graphics, and machine learning. With colleagues and students, he has won the Honda Initiation Award (2010), Popular Science’s “Best of What’s New” Award, as well as several conference best paper and demo awards. In 2004, he received the Hillman Fellowship for Excellence in Computer Science Research. Yaser has served as a senior committee member at leading conferences in computer vision, computer graphics, and robotics, and served as an Associate Editor of the Elsevier journal Computer Vision and Image Understanding. His research has been featured by various news and media outlets including The New York Times, BBC, MSNBC, Popular Science, WIRED, The Verge, and New Scientist.
About Carlow University
Carlow is a private, co-educational, Catholic university located in the heart of Pittsburgh’s “Eds, Meds, and Tech” district. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, Carlow’s graduates, curricula, and partnerships reflect its strong commitment to social justice; ethical, forward-thinking and responsible leadership; and service to the community that has a meaningful impact. Undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered in four colleges: Health and Wellness, Leadership and Social Change, Learning and Innovation, and Professional Studies. Carlow graduates are in demand for their professional expertise, in fields ranging from nursing, the sciences, and perfusion technology to counseling, education, and forensic accounting; their entrepreneurial spirit and creative mindset; and their ability to manage change. Carlow’s 13 athletic teams are known as the Celtics, a reflection of the university’s Irish heritage and roots.
About the Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Association
The VR/AR Association is an international organization designed to foster collaboration between innovative companies and people in the VR and AR ecosystem that accelerates growth, fosters research and education, helps develop industry standards, connects member organizations, and promotes the services of member companies.