Keynote Speakers

Maurizio Forte

Maurizio ForteDuke University, USA
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Maurizio Forte, PhD, is William and Sue Gross Professor of Classical Studies, Art, Art History, and Visual Studies, and Bass Fellow at Duke University. He has coordinated research projects in Italy, India, Turkey Ethiopia, Egypt, Syria, Kazakhstan, Peru, China, Oman, and Mexico. He is editor and author of several books including “Virtual Archaeology”, “Virtual Reality in Archaeology”, and more than 200 scientific papers. Topics: virtual reality in archaeology, digital archaeology, cybernetics, spatial technologies, 3D documentation, and virtual reconstruction of archaeological landscapes.
Awards: Best paper award VSMM2002; 2005 E-content Award; Best Paper Award, VSMM2008; 2008E-content Award e-learning; 2008E-content Award Italy, E-culture; 2009 Tartessos Prize, Bass Fellowship.

Keynote speech: From Virtual Archaeology to Cyber-Archaeology: Avatarizing the Past [Abstract in PDF]

Luis A. Hernández Ibáñez

Luis A Hernandez IbanezVideaLAB - Universidade da Coruña, Spain
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Luis A. Hernández Ibáñez. Architect, PhD. Professor at the Universidade da Coruña (Spain) where he teaches at the School of Civil Engineering and at the School of Audiovisual Communication. Main researcher of the VideaLAB (Group of Advanced Visualization in Architecture, Civil Engineering and Urbanism) where he has been working on the creation and use of tridimensional models on the fields of construction, historical recreation and diffusion of the cultural heritage, especially with the application of real-time visualization technologies.
In the field of Museums, he leaded the design and development of many projects of interactive audiovisual installations based on original approaches on the use of visual technologies, including image analysis, immersive virtual reality and natural interfaces, being awarded with the Architectural 3D Award (2011) for his work on the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

Keynote speech: Depict, envision, experience. Visual narratives for virtual heritage [Abstract in PDF]

Μaria Roussou

Maria RoussouMakebelieve design & consulting, Athens
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Maria Roussou is Founding Director of makebelieve design & consulting, as well as a researcher and Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Athens, Greece, teaching courses in Human Computer Interaction and ‘Museums and Digital Technologies’. Previously (1998-2002), she established and directed the Virtual Reality Department at the Foundation of the Hellenic World, a cultural heritage museum in Athens primarily presenting reconstructions of ancient Greek monuments in immersive virtual reality theatres. She has also collaborated with many other museums, including contemporary art museums such as the Walker Art Center to design and create interactive art education material for ArtsConnectEd.org. Currently her main research is within the EU funded project CHESS (www.chessexperience.eu), which she will be presenting at VAMCT 2013. Maria holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University College London (UK), a Master in Fine Arts in Electronic Visualization and an MSc in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Keynote speech: A vision of adaptive cultural experiences through the use of interactive storytelling in museums [Abstract in PDF]