New NSF award: translating the science of learning into virtual reality

The lab is part of a new NSF I-USE collaborative award: Improving Conceptual Understanding of Invisible Physics by Translating the Science of Learning into Virtual Reality Environments ($750,000, 2025–2028), with Dr. Ortega serving as co-PI.

The project asks how virtual reality can make invisible physics — the forces, fields, and waves students can’t see — graspable, by translating what we know about how people learn into the design of immersive environments. It connects directly to the lab’s XR Training & Education work.