Faculty members are the heart and soul of a university, carrying the immense responsibility of not only preparing students for their future careers, but also advancing critical research for the betterment of society. For the UCF Department of Computer Science, it’s a privilege to be able to prepare those who choose the path of pursuing a doctoral degree to enter academia, knowing the immense responsibility they will have in mentoring doctoral students, while pursuing the advancements and innovations in their field.
Xiachun Cao ’06 and Leila Barmaki ’16 chose to forge their doctoral paths at UCF and are now esteemed researchers and educators at highly regarded universities. As Knights do, they’ve continued to reach for the stars in their roles, pursuing innovations in virtual reality and computer vision.
Leila Barmaki
Associate Professor, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Delaware
Leila Barmaki always knew that she wanted to enter the world of academia, as she had always enjoyed interacting with people, from her peers to students of all ages. Combined with her penchant for problem-solving, academia was a natural fit for her, and she chose to pursue research in educational technology and human-centered computing.
She was drawn to UCF for its groundbreaking research in applied computing and computer vision, working with her advisor, Pegasus Professor Charles Hughes, during her doctoral journey in the Synthetic Reality Lab, or SREAL.
“I had the privilege of working with one of the pioneers in virtual reality and human-computer interaction for my Ph.D.,” Barmaki says. “Dr. Hughes not only prepared me with the core principles of research and research ethics, but also as a caring human being.”
She adds that the department encouraged its students, especially female students, to enter academia. Their support enabled her to attend events such as Grace Hopper, Grad Cohort, Tapia and academic workshops to network with her peers and learn more about an academic career.
Her research lies in advancements in virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI), focused on driving engagement and effectiveness in the healthcare and education fields. She creates innovative tools designed to improve collaboration, motivation and life skills.
“I study how people think, learn, and communicate by looking at signals such as brain activity, bodily and eye movements, and facial expressions often through interactive games or immersive environments,” Barmaki says. “I also design AI-powered virtual companions that help students practice skills, from solving math problems to building empathy in healthcare training.”
It’s a field she first worked in during her time at UCF, on projects like TeachLivE, using human-in-the-loop technology to create featured avatars.
“Nowadays, with more AI advancements, we can automate most of these processes and run our simulations on a larger scale, with more accessible VR gadgets,” she says. “I enjoy understanding human behavior and especially communication and engagement dynamics in virtual settings and modeling these complex behaviors with sensing data analytics.”
Always the innovator, Barmaki has several projects she’s pursuing with her research team in her continued work to motivate students in educational and healthcare settings.
“Right now, my team is building systems that use brain and behavior data to personalize learning in educational games and creating VR role-play experiences to inspire young learners, especially girls, to pursue computing,” she says. “We are also developing intelligent virtual patients to improve medical training, and simulations for poultry farmers to practice responding to disease outbreaks and depopulation emergencies, with support from federal and private funding.”
Xiaochun Cao
Dean, School of Cyber Science and Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University
Xiaochun Cao chose to pursue his doctoral degree at UCF because of its stellar reputation in the computer vision field, a perfect complement to his experience in image processing. He took the opportunity to fully focus on his research thanks to the university’s generous support package that included full tuition support.
“The appeal of residing in Orlando, a dynamic and culturally rich city in Florida, added a compelling personal dimension to this excellent academic opportunity,” he says.
His inspiration to enter academia came from one of UCF’s most renown researchers, Center for Research in Computer Vision (CRCV) Director Mubarak Shah.
“I was deeply motivated to pursue a career in academia, inspired by what Professor Shah has rightly called ‘the best job in the world,’” he says. “I am particularly drawn to the unique combination of intellectual freedom to pursue one’s own research passions and the profound reward that comes from mentoring the next generation of scholars.”
Cao says working with his advisor, Professor Hassan Foroosh, gave him the fundamentals he needed as an up-and-coming researcher at the vanguard of burgeoning field of computer vision. His doctoral work at the CRCV provided a strong foundation for his research today.
“I learned not just how to execute experiments, but how to identify novel research questions, design rigorous methodologies to investigate them and persevere through the inevitable challenges of experimentation,” he says. “The high-pressure, high-reward environment of UCF taught me resilience, critical thinking, and the discipline required to conduct meaningful, publishable science.”
Cao continued to pursue his research passion across the globe at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and now at Sun Yat-Sen University.
“My research and project experience spans several practical applications of computer vision, including the development of image enhancement algorithms for smartphone cameras and the design of systems for anomaly detection in structural materials, such as tunnel bricks,” he says.
As a scientist and researcher, his passion for the field is evergreen. He continues to be motivated by the numerous opportunities to serve society by developing solutions with long-lasting impacts.
“I’m motivated by the puzzle of how sight works, the opportunity to solve real human problems, and the chance to help build a smarter, safer future,” he says. “It’s a field where fundamental research meets practical application every single day.”
- Written by Bel Huston