WYOMISSING, Pa. — The Penn State Berks AIMS (Artificial Intelligence, Modeling and Simulation) Lab will host a lecture titled “Revolutionizing immersive experiences: The synergy of AI, virtual reality and gamification in learning and user engagement,” delivered by Christian Lopez Bencosme, assistant professor of computer science at Lafayette College (see article HERE)
How Lafayette faculty are tackling the weighty ethical and educational questions raised by the latest wave of artificial intelligence. (See HERE)
Computer science professor Christian López receives NSF grant
By Bryan Hay
Christian Lopez, assistant professor of computer science (affiliated with mechanical engineering), has received his first National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to advance his research in gamification and machine learning to support STEM education in collaboration with colleagues from Pennsylvania State University and Carnegie Mellon University.
“While this is not my first grant per se, since I was awarded two grants from the Dominican Republic government in the past few years, this is my first NSF grant,” says Lopez, whose research interests include machine learning and persuasive technologies.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
Nathan Dinh ’25 and Prof. Christian Lopez explore how gamification can be used to teach programming
Nathan Dinh ’25 and Christian Lopez, assistant professor of computer science (affiliated with mechanical engineering), have teamed up to research how gamification and machine learning can be used to teach programming.
In preparation for teaching ES 101 remotely this past fall, Professor Christian Lopez created a virtual tour of the mechanical engineering lab with the help of one of his students so students away from campus could learn about the lab and its equipment. The students were appreciative of the opportunity to see the machinery and imagine themselves in the lab. The tour was created using a regular camera and then uploaded onto Google Poly and Google Expedition to be used with the Google Cardboards that were sent to his students. Showcasing VR content is a common feature of his classes and he has collaborated with other professors to create VR projects for their courses, such as these aerial views generated using Google Earth studio for a Geology course.
https://citls.lafayette.edu/2021/02/02/virtual-tours-of-campus-mechanical-engineering-lab/
By Bryan Hay
Recent studies suggest that Americans exercised less during the height of the pandemic, but a research project by Alexa Gould ’23 and Prof. Christian López may help get sedentary people moving again.
Gould and López have been working on an innovative way to promote physical activity by developing a virtual reality exergame. Wearing a VR headset, viewers physically respond to obstacles coming toward them, and with the use of depth-sensor technology, they can control an avatar in the virtual environment.
READ MORE HERE
FULL ARTICLE HERE
What my research is about:
“Our project aimed to develop a machine learning model for counting vehicles observed through traffic cameras. Using existing computer vision technology, our model first detected the presence and trajectories of the vehicles in the traffic camera footage. :….
Student researcher: Malolan Vasu ’23
Major: Computer science and mathematics
Adviser: Christian Lopez, assistant professor of computer science
By Bryan Hay LINK TO ARTICLE
Christian López would never say anything to disparage his native Dominican Republic (DR), but he’s quick to offer that driving conditions in the DR require a heightened sense of alertness.
“While the DR has some of the most wonderful beaches in the world, there are areas that need improvement, just like any other country,” says López, assistant professor of computer science. “The traffic situation in DR is very similar to a lot of developing countries that have experienced exponential growth of population in the last few decades, but urban planning and infrastructure systems have not managed to keep up with the growth. These are some of the reasons for the traffic situation in DR.”
(L-R) Raysa Vasquez, professor of computer science at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Radhamés Silverio, dean, Faculty of Sciences at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, and Christian Lopez, assistant professor of computer science at Lafayette College.
