About

Welcome! My name is Alexander Giovannelli and I am a fourth-year Computer Science Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech. I am a member of the 3D Interaction Group directed by Dr. Doug A. Bowman, as well as a member of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction.

Prior to attending Virginia Tech, I received my Bachelor's of Science with honors in Computer Engineering with German Studies and Computer Science minors from the University of Cincinnati in 2018. As part of my education at the University of Cincinnati, I completed five semesters of cooperative education experiences (co-op), including two semesters abroad in Germany as an international co-op.

My research interest lies in the intersections of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Extended Reality (XR), and 3D Interaction (3DI). I am currently developing and evaluating systems that facilitate both real-time, synchronous collaboration for simultaneous user cooperation, as well as recording and playback functionalities to support asynchronous collaboration over different time periods.

Timeline

• Mar. 2024 Our 3DUI contest project has been accepted at IEEE VR 2024.
• Feb. 2024 I have joined the Virtual Experience Research Accelerator (VERA) Ethics and Privacy Committee as an inaugural member.
• Sep. 2023 I have joined the IEEE VR 2024 Conference Committee as a Communications Chair! Additionally, I will be attending ISMAR 2023 in Sydney and have been accepted as a student volunteer.
• Aug. 2023 I have been awarded the Leonard P. Gollobin Scholarship at I/ITSEC 2023! Also, our conference and competition papers have been accepted at ISMAR 2023!
• Jul. 2023 I have been awarded the Davenport Leadership Fellowship at Virginia Tech. Additionally, our journal paper has been accepted at ISMAR 2023!
• May. 2023 Started work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a Computing Research Intern.
• Mar. 2023 I attended the VT satellite IEEE VR event!
• Jan. 2023 Our workshop and contest papers have been accepted at IEEE VR 2023.
• Dec. 2022 I passed my Ph.D. qualification exam.
• Oct. 2022 Our paper was selected as the Honorable Mention for Best IEEE ISMAR 2022 Conference Paper!
• Sep. 2022 I will be attending ISMAR 2022 in Singapore and have been accepted as a student volunteer.
• Aug. 2022 Our conference paper has been accepted at ISMAR 2022.
• May. 2022 Started work as a Graduate Research Assistant.
• Mar. 2022 Our project was awarded as the Best 3DUI Contest Entry at IEEE VR 2022!
• Jan. 2022 Our 3DUI contest project has been accepted at IEEE VR 2022.
• Aug. 2021 Joined Virginia Tech as a graduate student.