We are educators and designers, collective and individual, common and uncommon, and average and extraordinary. We are the past and future, poised at the forefront of pedagogy, research, and practices to establish preconditions of equitable, just, and inclusive futures that support our sameness and differences. 

 

Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of design at the UCDA Design Education Summit: IMMERSE. You are invited to explore the limitless possibilities of immersive design. From participatory and co-design to digital media technology, gaming, and film production, this conference promises to be an exciting and enriching experience for all attendees. You'll have the opportunity to showcase your research and projects, as conference submissions could be broad, such as immersing the audience in the topic, culture, or environment, or specific to immersion itself. Come join us for a chance to network, learn, and exchange ideas with like-minded design professionals. We look forward to seeing you there!

This summit includes peer-reviewed presentations and posters, workshops and panels, and keynote presentations, and is open to UCDA members and non-members, design educators and practitioners, and students.

 

 

Photos from the 2023 UCDA Design Education Summit at Bowling Green State University.

EVENT REGISTRATION

REGULAR RATES (all prices in USD)	Regular	Early Bird (by April 1)	Trust Us* (by Dec. 31)
Non-member	$345	$295	$245
UCDA Professional or Faculty Member	$295	$245	$195
Full-Time Student	$245	$195	$145
TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Can't attend the conference? Watch the Keynotes Live or Recorded via Zoom. Register before Friday, May 17 to get a Zoom link sent directly to you via email. Registrations are under Pricing on the right side of this page. 

Last Day to Register for Live Zoom or Recorded Keynote: May 16

Live Keynotes: $75
Recorded Keynotes: $75
Live and Recorded: $125

NOT A MEMBER YET? JOIN NOW FOR DISCOUNTED REGISTRATION Membership Application

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REGISTER ONLINE HERE

A confirmation will be sent to you after registration is received and processed. Occasionally conferences fill before the registration cut-off date, so please register early.

Registration Cancellations
See UCDA Cancellation Policies

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EVENT LOCATION

Summit Location: Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus
The UCDA Design Education Summit will take place on the Polytechnic campus of Arizona State University in Mesa, Arizona.

The ASU Polytechnic campus is a nexus for studies in interdisciplinary sciences, engineering, management, technology and education. Industry partnerships are key to the campus’ distinctive course offerings, which provide opportunities for project-based learning within advanced laboratory spaces. Specialized equipment for hands-on exploration includes simulators for flight and centers for consumer behavior research, semiconductor fabrication, comprehensive commercial printing and design services, and on-demand digital manufacturing.

Address and Driving Directions

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TRANSPORTATION & LODGING

Mesa Gateway Airport: On campus regional airport www.gatewayairport.com
Sky Harbor International Airport (30 mins) www.skyharbor.com

HOTEL: Four Points Sheraton
Located On Campus  (0.4 mile ~9 minute walk) 
6850 E. Williams Field Road
Mesa, Arizona, USA, 85212
Phone: 480-579-2100

HOTEL DISCOUNT: $129/night

Book your hotel early. 

BOOK YOUR HOTEL with DISCOUNT HERE

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Event Schedule & Website 

MONDAY, MAY 20—WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 

See the full schedule and more details on: IMMERSE Website

Monday, May 20 8 AM-10 AM Summit Kick Off 10:00 AM-11:00 AM Welcome Keynote: Ana Herruzo From Concept to Reality The Crossover of Engineering and Art in Immersive Experience Design 11:15 AM-11:45 AM Concurrent Presentations 12 PM-1:45 PM Lunch & Learn (optional) w/Susan Matherne, new Executive Director, UCDA 2 PM-2:30 PM Concurrent Presentations 2:45 PM-3:45 PM Panels/Workshops 4:00 PM-4:30 PM Concurrent Presentations 4:45 PM-5:15 PM Concurrent Presentations 5:30-7:30 PM Poster Presentations, Opening Reception

Tuesday, May 21 9 AM-10 AM Keynote: Jake Pinholster Worlds in Play: Design and Immersive Education 10:15 AM-10:45 AM Concurrent Presentations 11:00 AM-11:30 AM Concurrent Presentations 11:45 AM-12:15 PM Concurrent Presentations 12:15 PM-1:45 PM Lunch & Learn (optional) Promotion & Tenure w/Michael Clayton 2 PM-2:30 PM Concurrent Presentations 2:45 PM-3:45 PM Panels/Workshops 4:00 PM-4:30 PM Concurrent Presentations 4:45 PM-5:15 PM Concurrent Presentations 5:30-8:30 PM Media and (MIX) Center Tour and Demo

Wednesday, May 22 9 AM-10 AM Closing Event 10:15 AM-10:30 AM Concurrent Presentations 10:45 AM-11:15 AM Concurrent Presentations 11:30 AM-12 PM Concurrent Presentations 12 PM-1:45 PM Lunch & Learn (optional) Networking 2:00 PM-2:30 PM Concurrent Presentations 2:45 PM-3:45 PM Panels/Workshops 4:00 PM-4:30 PM Concurrent Presentations 4:30-5:00 PM Closing Reception

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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Jake Pinholster
Executive Dean for Enterprise Design + Founding Director
ASU Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center

As a designer, Pinholster’s efforts have centered on projection and media design and technology for performance. He is an associate artist with Les Freres Corbusier, the former resident video designer for the David Dorfman Dance company, and a contributor to Live Design Magazine. His professional media/projection design credits include The Pee Wee Herman Show (Broadway/HBO Special), Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking (HBO Special), Current Nobody (Woolly Mammoth, La Jolla Playhouse), Hoover (La Jolla Playhouse), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Center Theatre Group), Heddatron (HERE Arts Center) and many other productions at off-Broadway, regional, and academic venues. Much of his recent activity has been as a creator/director for immersive performance in unusual venues: site-specific installations, creation of performance in high end 3D planetariums, and the creation of a 360deg immersive performance/media dome. As an educator and administrator, Pinholster has been involved in a number of long-term initiatives that fuse technology, interdisciplinarity, and curricular innovation, and he has been an invited speaker on these topics at the National Association of Schools of Theatre, the Leadership Institute of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and LDI.

Ana Herruzo
Program Coordinator Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center 
Associate Professor of Immersive Experience Design, The Design School

Ana's interdisciplinary research extends into academia, where she concentrates on experiential design, extended realities, and the ethics of emerging media. She serves as an Associate Professor at Arizona State University within their new Media and Immersive eXperience research center (MIX) and is the Director of the MEDIAtedX research Laboratory. The laboratory explores communication mediums within immersive experiences and interactive environments, focusing on their ideation and production pipelines. These pipelines utilize various emerging computational media tools, such as real-time graphics, computer vision, machine learning algorithms, and new XR technologies.

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Announcing: Live & Recorded Keynote

If you can't make it to the conference, you can still view these great keynote addresses by purchasing either the live or recorded versions, or both. Click on Register to sign up for one of these options no later than Thursday, May 12 at 5 PM CDT. When you register, you will receive an email with the Zoom link. 

Live Keynote via Zoom: $75
Recorded Keynote: $75
Live & Recorded Keynote $125

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PEER REVIEW PANEL
 

Shadrick Addy Assistant Professor The Ohio State University Rachel Bush Associate Professor Austin Peay State University Alexandria Canchola Assistant Professor Texas A&M University Summer Doll-Myers Associate Professor Kutztown University Matthew Donaldson Associate Professor University of South Carolina Upstate Benjamin Evjen Assistant Professor University of Nebraska–Lincoln Patrick Finley Assistant Professor Iowa State University Dori Griffin Associate Professor University of Florida

Amanda Horton Professor University of Central Oklahoma Marjan Khatibi Assistant Professor San José State University Amanda Lenig Assistant Professor Susquehanna University Lisa Maione Associate Professor Kansas City Art Institute Rachel McDonald Assistant Professor Louisiana State University Shreveport Celi Merchant Monroe Assistant Professor St. Cloud State University Becky Nasadowski Assistant Professor University of Tennessee Chattanooga Dajana Nedić Assistant Professor Virginia Tech

Lindsey Peterson Assistant Professor Grand Valley State University Lisa Reynolds Assistant Professor Wilkes University Julie Sayo Assistant Professor University of Maryland, Baltimore County Samira Shiridevich Assistant Professor University of North Carolina at Charlotte Ryan Slone Assistant Professor University of Arkansas Shantanu Suman Associate Professor Ball State University Rebecca Tegtmeyer Associate Professor Michigan State University Marius Valdes Professor University of South Carolina

Ryan Slone, Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas.

STUDENT POSTER DESIGN INITIATIVE This year, the student poster initiative theme is Immerse.  Students are invited to explore immersive design in all its formal and contextual possibilities. This student poster design contest helps promote positive thinking by enabling students to design an original poster for print or online use. We welcome entries as part of a class assignment or done independently by students outside of class. Entries are reviewed by Student Poster Chairperson, Ryan Slone, Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas.