Viz prof appointed to lead college creativity institute
The Institute for Applied Creativity, a hub for research and creative collaboration in the arts, sciences, and other fields, will soon be led by a new director, Jinsil Hwaryoung Seo, associate professor of visualization.
Seo, whose research and creative projects focus on augmenting human experience with interactive and immersive technology, succeeds the IAC’s inaugural director, Carol LaFayette.
“Seo’s work has had great impact in interactive and immersive arts and design research at Texas A&M,” said Wenping Wang, head of the Department of Visualization. “The university and college will benefit greatly from her dedication, vision, and unique background.”
With years of experience collaborating with scholars in varying fields, Seo plans to build upon the institute’s unique mix of creative projects in visualization, dance, anatomy, biochemistry, veterinary medicine, and others.
As the founder of the Soft Interaction Lab, she collaborates with an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students to develop methods of making technology more approachable. Lab projects have included creating digitally enhanced plants and stuffed toys, which appeal especially to the elderly and to young children.
“We are providing more natural interactions between people and technology through alternative materials for computing,” she said of the lab’s projects. “If you look at nature, it’s not made out of hard, rectangular shapes like mobile devices or keyboards. These shapes and materials are convenient for manufacturers, but we want to make technology more approachable,” she said.
Seo’s research and creative projects also include interdisciplinary collaborations that have led to interactive arts and performance programs, virtual reality anatomy applications, and immersive medical and nursing education.
Her term as the new IAC director begins Sept. 1, 2021.
Contact: Richard Nira, rnira@arch.tamu.edu
