Maria Lantin is the Director of the Stereoscopic 3D Centre at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. She has a deep interest in space and movement both physical and metaphorical, and this is woven through her work in immersive media and interaction. She takes pleasure in scanning the technological horizon for trends in human fascination – what is grabbing our attention and why. Formative experiences include a BSc and PhD in Computing Science (Dalhousie University and Simon Fraser University), a wonderful stint at Mainframe Entertainment working on the first ever stereoscopic animation for the IMAX screen (it never made it to the screen but it was amazing), three fantastic years at the ground-breaking Banff New Media Institute’s Advanced Art and Technology (A.R.T) labs, and now heading into ten years at Emily Carr University’s Intersections Digital Studios. Her curiosity is currently directed at Virtual and Augmented Reality for art making and communication.

Dr. Lantin’s current research is in the design of virtual environments from the point of view of objects, incorporating object-oriented ontology into design techniques and implementation. This research takes a broad view of objects from representational to abstract and procedural, with an interest in their conception, nascence, transformations, connections, and death. Another related interest is in language, movement, and performance with and within virtual worlds — designing new social and poetic experiences for dancers, actors, writers, and audiences.