Dr. Tony Liao (Ph.D, Cornell University) is an Associate Professor of Digital Media in the Information Sciences Technologies Department. He founded the CougAR lab at the University of Houston to explore how augmented reality and mixed reality technologies could affect society now and in the future. The lab offers research assistants access to some of the most cutting edge augmented and virtual reality devices, and welcomes any UH students interested in conductin g research studies, developing AR/VR technologies, and getting hands on experience with emerging technology.
Dr. Liao brings over a decade of experience of studying AR/VR technologies, and his research has been published in leading academic outlets such as New Media & Society, Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Information, Communication, & Society, Social Media & Society, Science, Technology, & Human Values, Mobile Media & Communication, Information and Organization, Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, Communication Studies, the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (SIGCHI), Ethics and Information Technology, Journal of Communication Pedagogy, and First Monday.
His work on the future of AR technologies, how AR affects people’s sense of space/place, how people interact and communicate through various cues in mixed reality environments, has been covered in Bloomberg, Flaunt Magazine, Undark Magazine, NewCo, and several other media outlets. He has also appeared as a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Cornell’s Institute for the Social Sciences, and the Taft Foundation at the University of Cincinnati, and he has been invited to given talks at the Hewlett Packard Data Science Institute, National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University, and several other academic and industry conferences all over the world.
Dr. Liao earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California, masters degreefrom Cornell University, and a Ph.D in Communication from Cornell University. Prior to coming to the University of Houston, Dr. Liao has held faculty appointments at Temple University and the University of Cincinnati.
He is always looking to work with students in the CougAR Lab, and many former students have continued to do research as tenure track professors as well as work for corporate research teams such as Meta Reality Labs. Please feel free to contact him and reach out about any questions/opportunities regarding the CougAR Lab at tcliao@uh.edu
Afaf is currently a sophomore at the University of Houston pursuing a degree in Digital Media. She is a research assistant with a specific interest in the impact of VR/AR pets on mental health. Additionally, Afaf has a passion for graphic design and looks forward to exploring more in the digital media field.
.webp)
Debriunna Porter is a Digital Media major and is completing her 3rd year at the University of Houston. Debriunna is a Research Assistant in the CougAR lab with research interests that lie in Digital Marketing, Psychology, social behaviors, and eCommerce. Work experience lies in programming, photography, photo editing, and digital design.
Hridi is a Senior majoring in Digital Media. Hridi is a Research Assistant in the CougAR lab. Her research interest is in how users interact with AR/VR technologies. She has work experience in User Experience (UX), Web designing,Video editing, and Logo designing.
Emily is a sophomore majoring in Art at the University of Houston. She is a Research Assistant interested in how social interaction is affected by various digital avatars in a Virtual Reality environment.
Emina is a junior majoring in Digital Media at the University of Houston. Within the CougAR lab, she serves as the social media manager, responsible for content creation, post scheduling, and fostering active engagement with followers to drive growth and enhance brand presence. Additionally, she has interests in Graphic Design, Photography, and Digital Marketing.
Sammy is a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at the University of Houston. His research interests are in Human-Computer Interaction and Extended Reality. His hobbies are cyber security, sports, and skydiving.
