AGENDA

AWE USA 2026

Jun 15 Jun 16 Jun 17 Jun 18
09:00 AM - 09:55 AM
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage
Main Stage
Jun 18
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage

The Wild West of Storytelling: From Hollywood Legacy to Immersive Worlds

Travis Cloyd - California Institute of the Arts
Deborah Worrell - Observe Media
Billy Zane - General Human
10:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage
Main Stage
Jun 18
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage

Building a 4D God's Eye View: The Intelligence Monopoly Is Over

Bilawal Sidhu - TED Conferences
10:00 AM - 10:25 AM
Room 101A
Developer | Sponsored by Qualcomm
Jun 18
Room 101A

Engineering Empathy: Biosensing, Emotion, and the Next Layer of XR

Conor Russomanno - OpenBCI, Inc.
10:00 AM - 10:25 AM
Room 102B
Healthcare & Wellness | Sponsored by Trifork
Jun 18
Room 102B

From Operating Room to AR Reading Room: Building Trust Through XR

Steven Christian - Iltopia
Patrick Thomas MD, MMCI, FACS - University of Nebraska Medical Center
10:00 AM - 10:25 AM
Promenade Room 104B
XR Enablement
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104B

Introducing the New TactGlove DK3: How We Engineered Whole-Hand Haptics

Kiuk Gwak - bHaptics
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Promenade Room 104A
Enterprise | Sponsored by Lenovo
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104A

From Killer to Comeback: An Enterprise XR Survival Story

Dax Leepart - PICO
Ryan Van Deussen - ArborXR
Marco Janmaat - VR Expert
Allen Dulaney - Nationwide
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Room 101B
Creator
Jun 18
Room 101B

PANEL: BurnerSphere: Scaling the Spirit of Black Rock City into a Persistent Social Metaverse

Athena Demos - Big Rock Creative & BurnerSphere
Justin Gunn - BurnerSphere
Doug Jacobson - Big Rock Creative & BurnerSphere
Gregory Panos - Persona Foundation
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Room 103B
Creator
Jun 18
Room 103B

Roundtable Discussions: Get Connected with XR Women: Resources and Introductions to Propel You Forward

Christine Hill Hobbi - ServiceAlliances International, Inc.
Robin Moulder - 3lbXR & 3lb Games
Jenna Watts - XR Women
Tracie Yorke - XR Women
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Promenade Room 104C
Enterprise VIP
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104C

Expo Tour (Enterprise/Gov VIP Program Only): Digital Twin, 3D Environments

10:00 AM - 02:30 PM
Expo Hall
Immersive Video & Art
Jun 18
Expo Hall

AWE Art Festival

10:00 AM - 03:00 PM
Expo Hall
Networking
Jun 18
Expo Hall

Expo, Playground, Expo Stages

10:10 AM - 10:25 AM
Gaming Stage | Expo Hall
Gaming & LBE | Sponsored by PICO
Jun 18
Gaming Stage | Expo Hall

Game Devs Lightning Round

10:17 AM - 11:00 AM
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage
Main Stage
Jun 18
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage

PANEL: Demystifying World Models

Bilawal Sidhu - TED Conferences
Matt Miesnieks - Stealth Mode AI Startup
Sharon Lee - Moonlake AI
Ahmed Ahres - Reactor
10:25 AM - 10:50 AM
Builders Stage | Expo Hall
Immersive Video & Art
Jun 18
Builders Stage | Expo Hall

TECHNO SAPIENS By Kulture Intelligente

Karina Márquez Caballero - PHI
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Expo Hall
Research & Education
Jun 18
Expo Hall

Research Posters Showcase Demo Hour

10:40 AM - 11:05 AM
Promenade Room 104A
Enterprise | Sponsored by Lenovo
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104A

From XR Vision to the Shop Floor: A Heavy Industry Case Study

Dan Cui - Shiloh Strategic Marketing
Randolph Warnaar - Fabstation
Alida Rehm - Schuff Steel
10:40 AM - 11:05 AM
Promenade Room 104B
XR Enablement
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104B

Building Smart Glasses People Actually Wear: A Validation Framework for Product Leaders

Tinku Malayil Jose - Quest Global
Thomas Winkler - Quest Global
10:40 AM - 11:05 AM
Room 103C
Entertainment & Media
Jun 18
Room 103C

Building the Infrastructure Behind Live Spatial Experiences

Daniel Zeitman - Spatial Explorer Labs
10:40 AM - 11:05 AM
Room 102A
AI + XR
Jun 18
Room 102A

How To Make Your Robot Dance

Mitch Chaiet - Experiential Technologies
10:40 AM - 11:05 AM
Room 101A
Developer | Sponsored by Qualcomm
Jun 18
Room 101A

Transforming Existing Code into Real-World Experiences in Lens Studio

Hart Woolery - Snap
11:00 AM - 11:25 AM
Gaming Stage | Expo Hall
Gaming & LBE | Sponsored by PICO
Jun 18
Gaming Stage | Expo Hall

Beyond WOW! Designing Quality VR Experiences for Kids

Elizabeth Rood - The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Builders Stage | Expo Hall
Immersive Video & Art
Jun 18
Builders Stage | Expo Hall

Art Festival Showcase

11:15 AM - 11:40 AM
Room 101B
Creator
Jun 18
Room 101B

Your Past, Present, and Future In the Same Room: Self-Dialogue in XR

Shu Wei - Yale School of Medicine
11:15 AM - 11:45 AM
Room 103B
Builders
Jun 18
Room 103B

Roundtable Discussions: Who Makes Decisions and Who Makes Coffee

Phylis West-Johnson - San Jose State University
Tina Korani - San Jose State University
11:20 AM - 11:45 AM
Room 101A
Developer | Sponsored by Qualcomm
Jun 18
Room 101A

Knowledge Management, XR, Cognitive Science, Computer Graphics History

Dr. Julian Gómez - Computer Graphics History Institute
11:20 AM - 11:45 AM
Room 102A
AI + XR
Jun 18
Room 102A

The Future of Enterprise Learning: Integrating LLMs, VR, and Agentic AI at Scale

Krista Wharton - Amazon
Harshit Kikani - Amazon
Jessica Su - Amazon
11:20 AM - 11:45 AM
Room 102B
Healthcare & Wellness | Sponsored by Trifork
Jun 18
Room 102B

Treating Emotional Trauma with XR and AI

Albert Skip Rizzo - University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies
11:20 AM - 11:45 AM
Room 103C
Entertainment & Media
Jun 18
Room 103C

Inventing Global Immersive Public Media

Ben Erwin - Academy of Immersive Arts and Sciences
11:20 AM - 11:45 AM
Promenade Room 104A
Enterprise | Sponsored by Lenovo
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104A

Bits and Buildings: Constructing Digital Experience

David Gillespie - Foster + Partners
Zehao Qin - Foster + Partners
11:20 AM - 12:00 PM
Promenade Room 104B
XR Enablement
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104B

Debating the Hardware, Software and Social Implications Driving AR with the Display Skeptics

Karl Guttag - KGOnTech LLC (kguttag.com)
Radu Reit - Display Training Center
11:45 AM - 01:00 PM
Networking
Jun 18

LUNCH

12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Room 103B
AI + XR
Jun 18
Room 103B

Roundtable Discussions: Accelerating Adoption for AI Wearables: What Do Consumers Want?

Alice Siu - Stanford University
Dena Feldman - Meta
Dr. Isabel Pedersen - Ontario Tech University
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
Promenade Room 104C
Enterprise VIP
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104C

Roundtable (Enterprise/Gov VIP Program Only): Achieving Scalable, Predictable ROI through XR Implementation

Matthew Wren - VRAR Chicago
01:00 PM - 01:25 PM
Promenade Room 104A
Enterprise | Sponsored by Lenovo
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104A

Beyond Pilots and Headsets: Scaling XR in Federal Emergency Services

Leon Pietschmann - THW
01:00 PM - 01:25 PM
Promenade Room 104B
XR Enablement
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104B

AI Integrated XR/Smart Glasses and the Next Human-Machine Interface

Omar Abed - InvenSense, a TDK Group Company
01:00 PM - 01:25 PM
Room 101A
Developer | Sponsored by Qualcomm
Jun 18
Room 101A

Toward Evaluating and Securing XR Experiences in Real Time with Large Multimodal Models (LMMs)

Maria Gorlatova - Duke University
01:00 PM - 01:25 PM
Room 103C
Entertainment & Media
Jun 18
Room 103C

Who Are We Becoming? Why XR, Avatars, and Digital Fashion Are Rewriting Identity

Briar Prestidge - Prestidge Group
01:00 PM - 01:25 PM
Gaming Stage | Expo Hall
Gaming & LBE | Sponsored by PICO
Jun 18
Gaming Stage | Expo Hall

Traversing the XR Landscape in 2026

Arturo Perez - Kluge Interactive
JP Minetos - Hartmann Capital
01:00 PM - 01:25 PM
Room 102A
AI + XR
Jun 18
Room 102A

AI-Driven Companion in XR

Jason Kao - University of Inland Norway
01:00 PM - 01:40 PM
Builders Stage | Expo Hall
Research & Education
Jun 18
Builders Stage | Expo Hall

Research Posters - Highlighted Projects

Michelle Binyan Xu - Northeastern University
Elizabeth Childs - Stanford
Ruhee Nagulwar - Texas A&M University
01:00 PM - 01:50 PM
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage
Main Stage
Jun 18
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage

“It Makes No Sense!” – Perception Across Bodies, Robots, and Virtual Environments

Jasmine Roberts - Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute | NASA Marshall Flight Center
Adam Sauer - Circaevum DAO
Dev Kennedy - Motion ML
01:00 PM - 02:00 PM
Room 101B
Creator
Jun 18
Room 101B

PANEL: How We Can Preserve Online Worlds and Why It Matters

Neil Barbour - S&P Global Market Intelligence
Wagner James Au - New World Consulting
Evo Heyning - Realitycraft
Julian Reyes - Virtual Worlds Museum™
01:15 PM - 02:15 PM
Room 103B
Research & Education
Jun 18
Room 103B

Roundtable Discussions: XR Success Stories from Universities, Part 1

Mallesham Dasari - Northeastern University
Andrew Martin - Utah State University - Innovation Lab (ILab)
Ludovic Attiogbe - Utah State University - Innovation Lab (ILab)
Pat Clark - University of Colorado Boulder / Immersive Experience Alliance (IXA)
Erin Reilly - University of Texas at Austin
Jonathan David Martin - University of Maryland
01:20 PM - 02:15 PM
Room 102B
Retail & Marketing
Jun 18
Room 102B

XR, AI and the Next Consumer Journey

Benny Lee - Newell Brands
Louisa Spring - SAM Immersive
David Robustelli - Beyond Studio
01:30 PM - 01:55 PM
Gaming Stage | Expo Hall
Immersive Video & Art
Jun 18
Gaming Stage | Expo Hall

Creating New Formats for Immersive Entertainment

Victor Agulhon - Targo
01:40 PM - 02:05 PM
Promenade Room 104A
Enterprise | Sponsored by Lenovo
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104A

Using Mixed Reality to Reduce Anxiety and Inspire the Next Generation of Blood Donors

Miguel Carrazza Morales - Abbott Laboratories
01:40 PM - 02:05 PM
Promenade Room 104B
XR Enablement
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104B

How BCI is Removing the Friction from AR and AI Interaction

Guy Wagner - Wearable Devices LTD
01:40 PM - 02:05 PM
Room 101A
Developer | Sponsored by Qualcomm
Jun 18
Room 101A

XR UX for the Moment

Steven Wolpe - Pretty Big Monster
01:40 PM - 02:20 PM
Room 103C
Entertainment & Media
Jun 18
Room 103C

Immersive Theatre: Building the XR Stage for New Audiences

Kiira Benz - Double Eye Studio
Richard Broadbridge - 4Dviews
Chris Pfaff - Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC
01:50 PM - 02:15 PM
Builders Stage | Expo Hall
Creator
Jun 18
Builders Stage | Expo Hall

Tangible Intangibles: How Biosignals Are Shaping the Future of Mixed Reality Art Therapy

Mahsa Nasri - Northeastern University
02:00 PM - 02:20 PM
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage
Main Stage
Jun 18
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage

The View In 2036: How New Headmounted Devices and Always-On AI Will Change the Way We See the World

Cortney Harding - Friends with Holograms
02:20 PM - 02:45 PM
Room 101B
Creator
Jun 18
Room 101B

From Scans to XR: A Practical Pipeline for Cultural Heritage

Ines Said - Tanit XR
Margarita Johnson - Tanit XR
02:20 PM - 02:45 PM
Room 101A
Developer | Sponsored by Qualcomm
Jun 18
Room 101A

When Less is More: Avoiding Unnecessary Geometric Constraints in XR Task Instructions

Steve Feiner - Columbia University
02:20 PM - 02:45 PM
Promenade Room 104B
XR Enablement
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104B

Optics Technologies Trends for the Next Generation of Smart Glasses

Thomas Bithell - IDTechEx
02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Room 103B
Research & Education
Jun 18
Room 103B

Roundtable Discussions: XR Success Stories from Universities, Part 2

Andrew Martin - Utah State University - Innovation Lab (ILab)
Ludovic Attiogbe - Utah State University - Innovation Lab (ILab)
Pat Clark - University of Colorado Boulder / Immersive Experience Alliance (IXA)
Erin Reilly - University of Texas at Austin
Jonathan David Martin - University of Maryland
Mallesham Dasari - Northeastern University
02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage
Main Stage
Jun 18
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage

Socratic Style Debate on the Future of Immersive Tech

Alvin Graylin - Our Next Reality | Virtual World Society
Louis Rosenberg - Unanimous AI
Leslie Shannon - Virtual World Society
Kent Bye - Voices of VR Podcast
02:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Room 103C
Entertainment & Media
Jun 18
Room 103C

The Known Unknowns: Storytelling at the Frontier of Immersive Film

Kathleen Cohen - The Collaboratorium
Elad Offer - Adorable Monsters
Emily Olman - Hopscotch Interactive
Matthew Celia - Light Sail VR
Danah Matthews - YOU SHOWGIRL
02:35 PM - 03:30 PM
Room 102B
Retail & Marketing
Jun 18
Room 102B

PANEL: You’ve launched your game, now what? A talk about extending your game’s profitability.

Andy Fidel - Spatial Networks
David Wyatt -
Jasmine Uniza - Impact Reality / Flat2VR Studios
Eric Masher - Impact Reality / Flat2VR Studios
03:00 PM - 03:25 PM
Room 102A
AI + XR
Jun 18
Room 102A

Notable Lessons from Exploring AI Modalities in Higher Education

Becky Lane - Cornell University
03:00 PM - 03:25 PM
Room 101A
Developer | Sponsored by Qualcomm
Jun 18
Room 101A

No More Flat Sliders: Designing Interfaces in a 3D Reality

Ophelia Chen - Dreamscape Learn
03:00 PM - 03:25 PM
Promenade Room 104A
Enterprise | Sponsored by Lenovo
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104A

XR at Electric Utilities: Deployments, Lessons Learned, and the Path to Broader Adoption

Julia Uhr - EPRI
03:00 PM - 03:25 PM
Promenade Room 104B
XR Enablement
Jun 18
Promenade Room 104B

OpenXR Deep Dive: From Runtime Architecture to Spatial Computing

Frédéric Plourde - Collabora and Khronos Group
03:45 PM - 04:30 PM
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage
Main Stage
Jun 18
Grand Ballroom | Main Stage

AWE USA 2026 Wrap-up and Best in Show Awards

Ori Inbar - AWE & UnitedXR