J. Edward Swan II

 

Interim Associate Dean of Research
Virginia Carron Eiland and Brent Eiland Professor
Department of Computer and Science and Engineering
Mississippi State University

Interests and Expertise

  • Augmented and Virtual Reality
  • Applied Perception
  • Data Science
  • Empirical Methods (Experimental Design, Statistical Analysis)
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Human Factors
  • Visualization

Education

1997
Ph.D. in Computer Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Concentration: computer and volume graphics. Dissertation Title: Object-Order Rendering of Discrete Objects. Advisor: Roni Yagel. Defense Date: May 12, 1997.
1992
M.S. in Computer Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
Concentration: human-computer interaction. Advisor: Gary Perlman.
1989
B.S. in Computer Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
Freshman year completed at Georgia Institute of Technology, GA, USA.
Minor concentration: statistics, graph theory, digital coding theory.

Appointments

2024 —
Present
Interim Associate Dean of Research,
James Worth Bagley College of Engineering,
Mississippi State University, MS, USA
2024 —
Present
Virginia Carron Eiland and Brent Eiland Professor,
Department Computer Science and Engineering,
Mississippi State University, MS, USA.
2011 —
Present
Professor,
Computer Science and Engineering,
Mississippi State University, MS, USA.
2017 —
2018
Interim Department Head
Computer Science and Engineering,
Mississippi State University, MS, USA
2007 —
2011
  • Adjunct Associate Professor,
    Psychology,
    Mississippi State University, MS, USA.
    • 2004 —
    2011
  • Associate Professor,
    Computer Science and Engineering,
    Mississippi State University, MS, USA.
    • 1997 —
    2004
  • Scientist,
    The Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA.
    Affiliated with the Virtual Reality Laboratory.
    • 1990 —
    1997
    Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant,
    Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
    Affiliated with the Computer and Information Science Department (CIS) and the
    Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD).
    1988 —
    1990
    Software Engineer,
    Optimization Technology Inc., Huntsville, AL, USA.

    Honors and Awards

    2025
    Gave Invited Keynote Presentation at the ACM Symposium on Applied Perception, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, August 9, 2025.
    2024
    Awarded the Virginia Carron Eiland and Brent Eiland Endowed Professorship.
    2024
    Inducted into the IEEE Visualization and Graphics Technical Community
    Virtual Reality Academy Class of 2024, “for fundamental research on perceptual issues in virtual and augmented reality”.
    2023
    Received the IEEE Visualization and Graphics Technical Community
    VGTC Virtual Reality Service Award, “in recognition of his dedication, support, and many years of service contributions to the VR/AR academic community in operational capacity and in numerous leadership roles”.
    2023
    Received an Erskine Fellowship to study and teach at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
    2022
    Received the 2022 Impact Paper Award from the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality. This award recognizes a paper, published 10+ years previously, as having a sustained and lasting impact on the field of mixed and augmented reality. The awarded paper is: Ernst Kruijff, J. Edward Swan II, Steve Feiner, “Perceptual Issues in Augmented Reality Revisited”, Technical Papers, IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), 2010, pages 3–12, DOI: 10.1109/ISMAR.2010.5643530
    2021
    Gave an Invited Keynote Presentation at the Workshop on Perceptual and Cognitive Issues in XR (PERCxR), IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality.
    2020
    Honorable Mention Award, IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR 2020), for the poster abstract “Impact of AR Display Context Switching and Focal Distance Switching on Human Performance: Replication on an AR Haploscope”.
    2015
    Gave Invited Keynote Presentation at the XVII Symposium on Virtual and Augmented Reality (SVR 2015), São Paulo, Brazil, May 27, 2015.
    2012
    Research featured in an episode of Science Nation, a video series produced by the National Science Foundation and widely distributed on the web and through various media outlets.
    2012
    Honorable Mention Award, IEEE Virtual Reality 2012, for the poster abstract “Depth Judgments by Reaching and Matching in Near-Field Augmented Reality”.
    2011
    MSU StatePride Faculty Award, based on contributions to teaching, research, and service.
    2010
    MSU StatePride Faculty Award, based on contributions to teaching, research, and service.
    2010
    Selected for the 2010—2011 William Hall Smith Faculty Leadership Program, a competitive year-long leadership development program (15 faculty selected for 2010–2011).
    2010
    Inducted into the Shackouls Honors College, April 22, 2010
    2009
    Inducted into the Bagley College of Engineering Academy of Distinguished Teachers, March 11, 2009.
    2008
    Bagley College of Engineering Outstanding Research Paper Award, for the publication “Egocentric Depth Judgments in Optical, See-Through Augmented Reality”, Spring 2008.
    2006
    Honorable Mention Award, IEEE Virtual Reality 2006, for the publication “A Perceptual Matching Technique for Depth Judgments in Optical, See-Through Augmented Reality”.
    2006
    Elected as a professor to Upsilon Pi Epsilon (Honor Society in the Computing Sciences), Mississippi State University.
    2004
    Received the Alan Berman Publication Award, The Naval Research Laboratory, for the publication “Resolving Multiple Occluded Layers in Augmented Reality”.
    1999
    Received the Best Paper Award, IEEE Virtual Reality 1999, for the publication “User-Centered Design and Evaluation of a Real-Time Battlefield Visualization Virtual Environment”.
    1998
    Received the Naval Notable Achievement Award, The Naval Research Laboratory, for the publication “Splatting Errors and Antialiasing”.
    1997
    Received the Best Paper Award, IEEE Visualization 1997, for the publication “An Anti-Aliasing Technique for Splatting”.
    1989
    B.S. received Magna Cum Laude; elected to Phi Kappa Phi, Auburn University.
    1987
    Elected as a student to Upsilon Pi Epsilon (Honor Society in the Computing Sciences), Auburn University.
    1985
    Elected to Phi Eta Sigma (Freshman Honor Society), Auburn University.
    1983
    Elected to the National Honor Society, Vestavia Hills High School, Alabama.

    Professional Service and Activities

    Conference Steering Committee Chair

    • IEEE Virtual Reality, 2021—Present

    Conference Steering Committee

    • IEEE Virtual Reality, 2018—2025
    • IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, 2017—2022

    Conference General Chair

    • IEEE Virtual Reality 2021 (General Co-Chair with Joaquim Jorge, Kyle Johnsen, Pedro Campos), Lisbon, Portugal, March 2021.
    • IEEE Virtual Reality 2020 (General Co-Chair with Kyle Johnsen, Blair MacIntyre, Kiyoshi Kiyokawa), Atlanta, Georgia, USA, March 2020.

    Conference Program Chair

    • IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality 2017 (ISMAR 2017) (Program Co-Chair with Wolfgang Broll, Holger Regenbrecht), Nantes, France, October 2017.
    • IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality 2016 (ISMAR 2016) (Program Co-Chair with Wolfgang Broll, Hideo Saito), Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, September 2016.
    • IEEE Virtual Reality 2015 (Program Co-Chair with Tobias Höllerer, Victoria Interrante, Anatole Lécuyer), Arles, Camargue, Provence, France, March 2015.
    • IEEE Virtual Reality 2014 (Program Co-Chair with Doug Bowman, Sabine Coquillart, Kiyoshi Kiyokawa), Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 2014
    • IEEE Visualization 2002 (Program Co-Chair with Jim Thomas), Boston, Massachusetts, October 2002.
    • IEEE Visualization 2001 (Program Co-Chair with Hanspeter Pfister), San Diego, California, October 2001.

    Editorship

    • IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, Associate Editor, 2018—2022.
    • International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Associate Editor, 2010—2011.

    Advisory Board Member

      Virtual Experience Research Accelerator, Community Advisory Board Member, University of Central Florida, 2023—Present.

    Conference Committee

    • IEEE Visualization and Graphics Technical Committee (VGTC) 2025 service award committee.
    • ACM Virtual Reality Software and Technology 2024 reproducibility co-chair, Trier, Germany, October 2024.
    • IEEE Virtual Reality 2019 award co-chair, Osaka, Japan, March 2019.
    • IEEE Virtual Reality 2018 best dissertation award committee, Reutlingen, Germany, March 2018.
    • IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality 2018 doctorial consortium mentor, Munich, Germany, October 2018.
    • IEEE Virtual Reality 2012 workshops co-chair, Orange County, CA, USA, March 2012.
    • IEEE Virtual Reality 2011 posters co-chair, Singapore, March 2011.
    • IEEE Virtual Reality 2010 posters co-chair, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, March 2010.
    • IEEE Virtual Reality 2006 workshops co-chair, Washington, DC, USA, March 2006.
    • IEEE Visualization 2000 mini-workshops and birds-of-a-feather chair, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, October 2000.
    • IEEE Visualization ‘99 panels co-chair, San Francisco, California, USA, October 1999.
    • IEEE Visualization ‘98 panels co-chair, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA, October 1998.
    • IEEE Visualization ‘97 mini-workshops and birds-of-a-feather chair, Phoenix, Arizona, USA, October 1997.
    • IEEE Visualization ‘96 student volunteers co-chair, San Francisco, California, USA, October 1996.
    • IEEE Visualization ‘95 student volunteers co-chair, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, October 1995.