Pouya Ghasemaghaei
About
I'm Pouya, a Computer Science Ph.D. candidate at the University of Central Florida. My research sits at the intersection of human–AI interaction, immersive computing, and intelligent systems. I enjoy projects where I can both build technical systems and study how people use, interpret, and respond to them.
My background began in Computer Engineering at Sheikh Bahaei University before I moved into Computer Science and HCI at UCF. Since then, my work has ranged from VR/AR and conversational agents to multimodal sensing and localization. In my free time, I enjoy reading about history and playing video games.
Education
Ph.D. in Computer Science
Aug. 2022 – Present
University of Central Florida
Advisor: Dr. Joseph J. LaViola Jr.
M.S. in Computer Science
Aug. 2022 – Aug. 2025
University of Central Florida
B.S. in Computer Engineering
2017–2021
Sheikh Bahaei University
Research Experience
Interactive Systems and User Experience Lab (opens in a new tab)
Aug. 2022 – Present
Graduate Research Assistant · University of Central Florida
Research in human-computer interaction, human-centered AI, virtual and augmented reality, conversational agents, multimodal interaction, and empirical human-subject evaluation.
Lab profile (opens in a new tab)
Unknot.id, Inc. (opens in a new tab)
Sep. 2026 – Present
Graduate Research Assistant · University of Central Florida
Research on GPS-independent localization and tracking using multimodal sensor data, including LiDAR, Wi-Fi, inertial sensors, and visual data.
Teaching
CAP 3104: Foundations of Human-Computer Interaction
Spring 2026
Graduate Teaching Assistant · University of Central Florida
Supported instruction in user-centered design, interface evaluation, and interaction design, including project work and office hours.
COP 3503: Computer Science II
Fall 2025
Graduate Teaching Assistant · University of Central Florida
Led two lab sections with weekly instruction and live coding demonstrations, alongside assignment and debugging support.
COT 4210: Discrete Structures II
Fall 2022; Spring 2023
Graduate Teaching Grader · University of Central Florida
Supported coursework, examinations, and office hours in discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science.
Mentorship
Graduate Research Mentor
2024 – 2025
F-L.E.A.R.N. Program, University of Central Florida (opens in a new tab)
Mentored first-year undergraduate researchers in research planning, technical implementation, poster preparation, and research communication, with projects spanning VR, visual language models, gesture recognition, and human-computer interaction.
Academic Service & Honors
Peer review service
ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
2026, 2027
ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces
2026
IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces
2026
NordiCHI Research Papers
2026
ACM CSCW Posters
2026
Honors & recognition
Special Recognition for Outstanding Reviews, ACM CUI
2026
Special Recognition for Outstanding Reviews, NordiCHI
2026