I am a PhD candidate in Interdisciplinary Design and Media at Northeastern University, where I conduct NSF-funded research at the intersection of human–computer interaction, artificial intelligence, extended reality (XR), and physiological computing. My work focuses on developing adaptive systems that use behavioral and physiological signals to understand users’ cognitive and emotional states and create more personalized, human-centered experiences.
I received my B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Isfahan University of Technology, where I graduated third in my class. I later earned an M.A. in Animation from Iran’s University of Art, where my short animated films were exhibited at national and international festivals. This combination of engineering, design, and storytelling continues to shape my interdisciplinary research approach.
My research has resulted in multiple peer-reviewed publications in venues including IEEE ISMAR, IEEE VR, ACM IDC, and UMAP. I have designed and led user studies involving virtual reality, eye tracking, and physiological sensing.
Beyond research, I enjoy contributing to the XR community as both a speaker and Track Chair at AWE and as a judge for MIT Reality Hack. My long-term goal is to build intelligent, adaptive technologies that better understand people and enhance learning, creativity, and well-being through the thoughtful integration of AI and immersive experiences.
Research/Publications Highlights
1- Adaptive Visual Complexity in VR Training: An Eye-Tracking Approach to Detecting and Regulating Embodied Cognitive Load. Nasri, M. (2026). In Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR) Doctoral Consortium. https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW70859.2026.00352
2- Tangible Intangibles: Exploring Embodied Emotion in Mixed Reality for Art Therapy. Nasri, M., Jahanian, M., Wu, W., Xu, B., & Harteveld, C. (2026). In Proceedings of the Twentieth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI ’26). https://doi.org/10.1145/3731459.3779050
3- Towards Intelligent VR Training: A Physiological Adaptation Framework for Cognitive Load and Stress Detection. Nasri, M. (2025). In Proceedings of the 33rd ACM Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP Doctoral Consortium). https://doi.org/10.1145/3699682.3727575
4- Exploring Eye Tracking to Detect Cognitive Load in Complex Virtual Reality Training. Nasri, M., Kosa, M., Chukoskie, L., Moghaddam, M., & Harteveld, C. (2024). In IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR Adjunct). https://doi.org/10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct64951.2024.00022
5- Designing a Virtual Reality Training Apprenticeship for Cold Spray Advanced Manufacturing. Nasri, M., Narayan, U., Sonbudak, M. F., Simonson, A., Chiu, M., Donati, J., … & Harteveld, C. (2024). In IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR Adjunct). https://doi.org/10.1109/ISMAR-Adjunct64951.2024.00156
6- ArticuMotion: Towards Assessing Motor Speech Disorders via Gamification. Alsebayel, G., Nasri, M., Myers, C. P., Troiano, G. M., Hatamimajoumerd, E., Ostadabbas, S., Allison, K., & Harteveld, C. (2024). In Proceedings of the 23rd ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference (IDC ’24). https://doi.org/10.1145/3628516.3655815
7- The Teaching Efficacy of the Protégé Effect in Gamified Education. Corwin, T., Kosa, M., Nasri, M., Holmgård, C., & Harteveld, C. (2023). In Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Games (CoG 2023). https://doi.org/10.1109/CoG57401.2023.10333166
Departments
Interdisciplinary, Art + Design
Education
- B.Sc., Electrical Engineering
- M.A., Animation
Research Focus
- Human–Computer Interaction (HCI)
- Extended Reality (XR)
- Eye Tracking
- Physiological Computing
- Multimodal AI
- Adaptive Intelligent Systems