ALEX URBAN, PhD

I investigate how information is organized, communicated, and experienced in immersive virtual worlds. My overarching research goal is to determine how novel media, like video games or virtual reality, may foster personally meaningful experiences and promote inquiry. To this end, I have led investigations on information experiences within commercial games and game-based learning applications as well as gameplay documentation. My latest work focuses on technology-induced awe and its potential for education.

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I'm also the Research & Development Manager at the University of Missouri’s Adroit Studios Gaming Lab. At Adroit, I works with stakeholders across disciplines in the development of educational learning games. These games include a Department of Education-funded game called Mission HydroSci, a learning game that teaches water science to middle school students with a $10M budget. I also teach project management and game-based learning design. Additionally, I have six years of professional instructional design and training experience.