Dr. Ann Collier
Clinical Psychologist

 

 

Dr. Collier is a clinical psychologist with specialties in both health psychology and cross-cultural psychology. For her cross-cultural work, Dr. Collier uses Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) models with indigenous people and refugees. Dr. Collier is actively developing projects that are relevant to both Pacific Islanders and Native American people to change health behaviors. She also studies the role of arousal and engagement in mood-repair and rejuvenation; this has been applied to her research with textile handcrafts in women, art-making, the do-it-yourself (DIY) and “Maker” movements.

Dr. Bruce Hungate 

 

 

 

Hungate’s research focuses on the ecology and management of global change, and microbial ecology from humans to the globe. His research occurs in grasslands, woodlands, forests, and rivers in the temperate zone, boreal forests in Siberia, and tropical forests of the Amazon basin.Through teaching, research, and outreach, Hungate hopes to raise awareness of the role of the Earth system science for managing global environmental change. Hungate enjoys classical piano, telemark, and alpine skiing, soccer (go Barςa), and CrossFit.

 

Dr. Ishan Bhatt
Assistant Professor, Communication Sciences and Disorders

Dr. Ishan Bhatt was appointed to the Northern Arizona University, in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2014. He received his Bachelor of Science (Hearing, Language and Speech) and MASPL – Masters of Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology from Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, Maharastra University of Health Science, India. He has a wide range of clinical experience working with patients across multiple age groups. He provided clinical services to academic institutions, hospitals, and private clinic facilities in India. He pursued his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he studied genetic basis of noise-induced hearing loss using a non-invasive audiological test battery. Dr. Bhatt manages the Auditory Physiology Lab at Northern Arizona University. He has been recognized for academic and research excellence in the academic institutions he attended.

Dr. Michelle D. Miller 
Professor, Psychological Sciences and Director, First Year Learning Initiative, Northern Arizona University.

 

Dr. Miller’s academic background is in cognitive psychology; her research interests include memory attention, and student success in the early college creer. Dr. Miller co-created the First Year Learning Initiative at Northern Arizona University and is active in course redesign, serving as a Redesign Scholar for the National Center for Academic Transformation. She is the author of Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology (Harvard University Press, 2014), and has written about evidence-based pedagogy in scholarly as well as general-interest publications including College Teaching, Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, and The Conversation. Dr. Miller’s current work focuses on using psychological principles to help instructors create more effective and engaging learning experiences, and to help students become more effective learners.

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Robert Rasmussen
BS, Computer Science

John-Paul Abrahaim
BA, Visual Communication

 

 

John is a designer whose passion for video games led him to an internship in the AML at NAU. He knew from a young age that he would not be content with simply playing video games. Rather, he chose to be part of the industry himself. When he found out that NAU was organizing a virtual reality program he knew he had to become a part of it. John was apart of the AML team as a 3D modeler and environments designer. He aspires to use this experience gained in the AML to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a game designer.

 

Madeleine Dill
Junior, Strategic Communication (Public Relations Emphasis)

 

 

Madeleine Dill is a NAU graduate. Her brain tumor surgery left her with a desire to help others. After becoming involved with several organizations in high school, she decided to go into nonprofit fundraising. Madeleine is also an avid gamer, so the opportunity to work with the AML was very exciting. She saw the potential in the emerging scene of VR, and as an intern strived to communicate to NAU its valuability as an educational tool.

 

Erik Strauss
Senior, Applied Computer Science

 

 

It has been Erik’s goal to be a game developer since high school, which is why he chose the computer science program. He first heard about the AML through an email from a career advisor and decided to apply. It was a great experience for him and helped him to become a better programmer.

 

Brittany Rodgers
Senior, Visual Communication (Graphic Design Emphasis)

 

 

Because she has been a gamer all her life, Brittany took a VR class in the spring of 2015. She then decided to become an intern a year later in fall 2017. Her passion for gaming has driven her to achieve many feats in the AML.

 

Caylie Savage
Junior, Strategic Communication (Public Relations, Advertising Emphasis)

 

 

Caylie is a former AML intern at NAU and has a love for gaming and people. The AML was the perfect fit for her passions, because she feels that VR is a growing field that is helping people from all walks of life.

 

Daniel Movich
Senior, Visual Communication (Graphic Design Emphasis)

 

 

Daniel first became interested in VR when he took the VR class. He was reluctant to jump into VR development at first, but became comfortable enough to apply for the internship. He is interested in pursuing a career in game design and hopes to work for Bethesda.

 

Thomas Bryant
Senior, Visual Communication (Graphic Design Emphasis)

 

Thomas is a student designer whose interest in video games and animation led to an internship with AML at NAU. From a young age, he had been enthralled by digital entertainment, and by high school had decided that simply being a consumer wouldn’t be enough–he decided to become a part of the industry. When he found out that a virtual reality program was in the works at NAU, he knew he had to become a part of it. Thomas worked for the AML as a 3D modeler.

 

Phuong Nguyen
Senior, Interior Design

 

 

Phuong (Phoebe) a former AML intern at NAU has a great passion for interior design and virtual reality. Her dream is to be able to apply her knowledge and skills of interior design for virtual reality projects by combining her two passions to make her ideas more visual. Phuong was a CAD Designer/ 3D Modeler intern at the AML.

 

Bryce Wilson
Senior, Computer Science

 

Bryce Wilson was born and raised in San Diego, California and is currently a Senior at NAU working towards his undergraduate in Computer Science. He was first introduced to the AML during the Fall of 2019 and now works as a lead developer for the MAR’s GIS project. He spends his free time enjoying the outdoors specifically hiking and snowboarding. After graduating he hopes to pursue a career in data engineering.

 

Clayton Bozeman
Sophomore, Computer Science; Asian Studies Minor (Japanese emphasis)

Clayton Bozeman is a current sophomore at NAU majoring in computer science with a minor in Asian studies with an emphasis in Japanese. In the past year, Clayton has been working in the Advanced Media Lab on Virtual psychology and Mars geology VR.

Hannah Skalleberg
Second year Graduate Student, Medical Anthropology and Research

 

Hannah is from Atlanta, Georgia, but has lived in Flagstaff since starting her undergrad at NAU in 2014. She is working on writing her thesis on her research from this past summer in London, where she studied English conceptions of chronic pain and pain management. When she’s not at school, she shoots weddings on the weekends. Hannah currently works as the lab manager, helping everyone stay organized and on track with the multiple projects taking place. She hopes to move to England to pursue anthropological research after graduation.

 

Alex McLaughlin, BFA

 

Alex has a varied background in video game development, marketing, and visual communication, specifically in 3D modeling, web design, and print graphics. She earned an AAS in Video Game Development from Yavapai College and a BFA in Visual Communication from NAU in 2017. During her time at the university, Alex contributed to the IVR Lab on several projects before graduating and pursuing a career in design. Freelance work eventually led her to marketing and publishing, where she designs and edits for NYT and USA Today bestselling authors. Currently, Alex contributes her spare time to multiple grant projects, including the NASA grant for the Center for Science Teaching and Learning as well as the Aurora project.