Carolina Cruz-Neira, PhD

Executive Director, Institute for Simulation and Training
Executive Director, Pegasus Research Institute
University of Central Florida
Member, National Academy of Engineering

Dr. Cruz-Neira is a pioneer in the areas of virtual reality (VR), interactive visualization, and digital twins. Her innovations have been instrumental in facilitating data analysis, decision-making, design reviews, and training and education, and her work has evolved into standard tools used in industry, government, and academia.

Dr. Cruz-Neira is known worldwide for being the creator of the CAVE VR system, for transferring research into practice by spearheading Open-Source initiatives, and by supporting entrepreneurial initiatives to commercialize research.

Recognized for founding successful applied research centers: the Virtual Reality Applications Center at Iowa State University, the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise, and the Emerging Analytics Center at the University of Arkansas, her research leadership has received recognition from major companies for increasing product safety and improving design and production processes that have saved time, lives, and millions of dollars.

Dr. Cruz-Neira enjoys intersecting her research with the arts and the humanities through dance performances and museum installations. She serves on national and international technology boards as well as government technology advisory committees. Her life’s work addressing large problems through interdisciplinary teams has become a key to innovation and is considered standard practice in driving American competitiveness in the global economy.

Honors and Awards

• Named Forbes Magazine 50 over 50 Innovators of 2025 and one of the top three greatest women visionaries in VR
• First person inducted into the National Academy of Engineering for immersive technologies and VR
• Inducted to the U.S. Congressional Record
• IEEE Fellow and Member, IEEE VR Academy
• IEEE VR Technical Achievement and Lifetime Achievement Awards
• ACM Computer Pioneer
• Member, AWE XR Hall of Fame
• Member, Modeling and Simulation Hall of Fame
• International Digital Media & Arts Society Distinguished Career Award

Eric W. Shamlin

Founder, Firebringer.ai
Eric is a writer, producer, technologist, and researcher working at the intersection of entertainment, emerging technology, and business. A four-time Emmy winner and Peabody and Cannes Lions honoree, he is Founder of FireBringer and a Governor of the Television Academy, where he is Founding Chair of its AI Task Force and has hosted its AI Summit for the past two years. A leading advocate for the human-centered, ethical adoption of AI, he serves as a delegate to the Creators Coalition on AI and is an Adjunct Professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where he teaches The Future of AI Media. Writer, producer, technologist, and award-winning executive working at the frontier of AI, entertainment, and enterprise transformation.