Director
Dr. Elin Carstensdottir
About Elin
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Katelyn Grasse
Katy is a clinical research engineer and educational game developer who joined the Interaction Dynamics Lab in September 2021. She earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas and a B.S. in Applied Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her primary research interest is to develop and test engaging closed-loop technologies that measure and enhance brain functions. Her previous R&D experience includes human and animal projects focused on neural interfaces and rehabilitation automation. She was also a postdoc for UCSC’s ALT Games Lab in which she designed and/or studied games for embodied learning and collaboration. In addition to building things, Katy enjoys dabbling in the visual arts, reading science fiction, hiking, learning about random stuff on The Internet and playing most any kind of video game, so long as it’s awesome.
PhD Students
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Bjarke Larsen
Bjarke is an interactive storytelling researcher and writer focusing on narrative in video games. He joined the Interaction Dynamics Lab in 2020 as a PhD student, investigating narrative play in “perennial games”, ongoing live games that tell stories over time. His research interests lie in the theoretical and design realm of narrative and interaction, of understanding how games tell stories, how players play them, and how developers make them to do so. He has a Master in Medialogy (Media Technology) from Aalborg University in Copenhagen, and some years in the game development industry. Bjarke enjoys playing games of many varieties, either with rich stories or deep competitive elements, as well as rock climbing, writing, and reading fantasy books. You can find out more about Bjarke at his website. |
Nic Junius Nic is an artificial intelligence researcher, game developer, and playwright who joined the Interaction Dynamics Lab in September 2021. They have an M.S. in Computational Media and an M.F.A. in Digital Arts and New Media from UC Santa Cruz. Their primary research interest is in designing narrative and AI systems inspired by theatrical practices (such as Puppitor) and studying narrative design under dramaturgical lenses. Nic has been the lead writer on a number of game projects both for entertainment and education as part of their previous degrees. In their spare time, Nic enjoys watching theater, reading novels and comics (preferably yuri or sci-fi), and playing games (sometimes even on stream!). For complete lists of their projects and publications, please visit their portfolio site. |
MS Students
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Ben Rowland
Ben is a gameplay programmer attending UC Santa Cruz’s Games and Playable Media MS program at the Silicon Valley campus in San Jose. He joined the Interaction Dynamics Lab during his undergraduate studies in Computer Science: Game Design at UC Santa Cruz in 2020. He serves as the primary programmer for the lab, working with technology to assist the research being conducted by the other members. In his spare time, Ben plays a large variety of games and utilizes gaming environments to promote socialization between players both inside and outside of the game. You can see some of his work on his portfolio site or connect with him on LinkedIn. |
Andrea Estrada
Andrea is a design researcher and Human-Computer Interaction M.S. Student at UCSC’s Silicon Valley Campus. She received her B.S. in cognitive science and B.A. in philosophy at UC Santa Cruz in 2020, she enjoys applying embodied cognition theories to HCI. Her work in the Interaction Dynamics Lab focuses on user testing for VR studies and HRI simulation interface design. In her free time Andrea enjoys playing chess and reading novels. |
Alumni and Former Members
Name
About