Bimal Balakrishnan, Associate Dean for Research


College of Architecture, Art and Design


My research interests are at the intersection of design, 3D visualization & simulation, and human-computer interaction. My research agenda explores the potential of advanced digital media, including virtual and augmented reality to visualize and simulate human-environment interactions to solve problems across disciplinary boundaries. I draw on my formal academic training as well as prior research experience in architectural visualization, media psychology, and human-computer interaction to further my research agenda. The theoretical strand of my research agenda investigates the cognitive, emotional, and performance outcomes of virtual and augmented reality tools as a function of its technology affordances and the underlying psychological mechanisms. This, in turn, informs my applied research agenda aimed at developing visualization and simulation tools and environments. I recently started the Simulation and Interactive Visualization Applications (SIVA) Lab at Mississippi State to advance simulation research. I bring more than a decade of experience leading virtual reality (VR) visualization and simulation projects at the Immersive Visualization Lab (iLab) that I founded at the University of Missouri and led until the end of 2021. In these projects, I have successfully collaborated across disciplinary boundaries with the School of Medicine, College of Engineering, and the Thompson Center for Autism, among others within the University of Missouri system.