Interior Design assistant professor, Dr. Yeji Yi, has been granted funding through OU’s Faculty Investment Program (FIP). This funding supports her project “Development of Interactive Virtual Reality Multi-Sensory Environments: Participatory Research.”
The project seeks to integrate Virtual Reality (VR) technology to analyze stakeholders’ needs and develop interactive VR Multi-Sensory Environments (VR MSEs). These environments are specifically designed to be usable for neurodivergent individuals. The project aims to enhance the sensory processing outcomes for these individuals, helping them manage non-preferred behaviors and ultimately improve their quality of life.
The Research Council and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships at OU reviewed Yi’s proposal and awarded her a $15,000 grant to support the research. This funding is part of the university’s ongoing efforts to support faculty in developing their research programs and encouraging further studies that could lead to external funding opportunities.
Yi’s project will conduct a detailed stakeholder needs analysis through a participatory design approach, ensuring that the developed VR MSEs are tailored to the specific requirements and challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals. This approach not only aims at immediate application but also at long-term benefits by enhancing the quality of life through tailored environmental designs.
A project designed by Gibbs College of Architecture faculty member Austin Lightle has been selected for BuildFest 2026, a national art and architecture festival held at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in New York, on the historic grounds of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival.
Two Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture alumni are helping shape recommendations that could influence affordable housing design and construction across Oklahoma.
The University of Oklahoma Libraries recently welcomed Carl Siegel as an Architecture Librarian and Archivist and Assistant Professor. In his role, Siegel supports students, faculty and staff across the Gibbs College of Architecture while also serving as archivist for the American School of Architecture Archives.
