Virginia Tech
The Arts at Virginia Tech
The arts at Virginia Tech are deeply embedded in teaching, research, and the student experience at Virginia Tech. Academic programs in the arts are found at the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, the School of Visual Arts, the School of Performing Arts, and the School of Architecture and Design. The Moss Arts Center operates as both a presenting organization and as a 147,000-square-foot, top-caliber arts center; it is a thriving community where the arts are a catalyst for engagement, inspiration, and discovery. Powered by advanced technology and networks of creative people, ICAT, the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, brings together and supports teams of faculty and students from across academic disciplines to address grand challenges and creative opportunities, ranging from large societal problems to industry-specific issues to the frontiers of artistic expression.
a2ru Campus Contacts
R. Benjamin Knapp is the Director of the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) and Professor of Computer Science at Virginia Tech. ICAT seeks to promote research and education at the boundaries between art, design, engineering, and science. Dr. Knapp also leads the Music, Sensors, and Emotion research group, with researchers in the UK and the US.
For more than 20 years, Dr. Knapp has been working to create meaningful links between human-computer interaction, universal design, and various forms of creativity. His research on human-computer interaction has focused on the development and design of user-interfaces and software that allow both composers and performers to augment the physical control of a musical instrument with direct sensory interaction. He holds twelve patents and is the co-inventor of the BioMuse system, which enables artists to use gesture, cognition, and emotional state to interact with audio and video media.
In previous positions, Dr. Knapp has served as a Fulbright Senior Specialist at University College, Dublin, and chief technology officer of the Technology Research for Independent Living Centre. As the director of technology at MOTO Development Group in San Francisco, Calif., he managed teams of engineers and designers developing human-computer interaction systems for companies such as Sony, Microsoft, and Logitech. He co-founded BioControl Systems, a company that develops mobile bioelectric measurement devices for artistic interaction. Dr. Knapp has also served as professor and chair of the Department of Computer, Information, and Systems Engineering at San Jose State University.
He earned a doctorate and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University. Dr. Knapp has been a PI in several pan-European projects including, CAPSIL (Common Awareness and Knowledge Platform for Studying and Enabling Independent Living) and SIEMPRE (Social Interaction and Entrainment Using Music Performance) and coordinated the EU project, BRAID (Bridging Research in Ageing and ICT Development).
Lisa D. McNair is a Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech and Director of the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts (CENI) at the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology (ICAT). As part of the Creativity + Innovation initiative, she led the transdisciplinary team that created the Innovation Pathway Minor, which includes the Create!, StartUp, and Innovation in Society courses. Her work in CENI focused on building networks between the university and multiple community sectors and supporting engagement in science, engineering, arts, and design. Her overarching goal is to develop learning experiences that are research-informed and that transverse perspectives within and beyond the university. Her other learning pursuits include hiking & e-biking, boxing, and sculpture. Way before all of this, she earned a PhD in Linguistics at the University of Chicago, and an M.A. and B.A. in English at the University of Georgia.
Described as “brilliant” (Opera Today) and “alluringly complex” (Opera News), Ariana Wyatt’s recent opera engagements include appearances with Gotham Chamber Opera, Opera on the James, Opera Omaha, Opera Roanoke, Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, the Juilliard Opera Center, and the Aspen Opera Theater. Her 2020 recording Let Evening Come: American Songs Old and New was named one of the best classical recordings of 2020 by the Chicago Tribune. Ms. Wyatt is a graduate of the Juilliard Opera Center and the University of Southern California. She is an associate professor of voice and the Associate Dean for Outreach and Engagement for the College of Architecture, Arts, and Design at Virginia Tech.
Professor Karine Dupre, an architect and urban designer, serves as Associate Dean of Research and Creative Scholarship for the College of Architecture, Arts and Design at Virginia Tech.
She is passionate about mentorship and empowerment, strategic thinking, impact delivering and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration on campus and beyond. As a researcher, Professor Dupre focuses on the design processes that can make cities and communities more resilient and sustainable. She is an expert on social design and live projects, with work building upon and emphasizing collaboration and co-creativity.
Prior to Virginia Tech, Professor Dupre has held a variety of leadership positions in academic administration and research: a cluster leader for the Griffith Institute for Tourism (ranked top 5 in the world), head of the Architecture at Griffith University (Australia) and head of the School of Architecture at the National Institute of Applied Sciences in Strasbourg, France.
Dupre earned a Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture from Ecole d’Architecture de Paris Charenton and a Research Master in history and anthropology from the University Antilles-Guyane (UAG), France. She has also earned a Ph.D. in urban planning and design from Tampere Technical University in Finland and a Ph.D. in modern history from UAG.
A transdisciplinary creative, Ivica Ico Bukvic’s work is defined by the community building through creative enabling technologies and experiences. Bukvic’s output encompasses aural, visual, acoustic, electronic, performances, installations, technologies, research publications, presentations, grants, patent disclosures, and awards. His most recent work focuses on multisensory immersion with particular focus on spatial audio and immersive sonification, new interfaces for musical expression, exploring connections between the arts and human health, and recontextualizing STEM K-12 education through innovative approaches to creativity and technology.
Bukvic spent most of his career as a scholar-practitioner developing new transdisciplinary trajectories. Between 2011 and 2019 he has received more than $1 million in external funding.
Having completed his temporary 2018 appointment as the Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences interim associate dean for graduate studies, research and College’s diversity director, Bukvic currently serves as the inaugural director of Creativity + Innovation (C+I) transdisciplinary community of over 120 faculty, a part of Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) and the Destination Areas initiative.
Bukvic is the founder and director of the Digital Interactive Sound and Intermedia Studio (DISIS) and the Linux Laptop Orchestra (L2Ork), co-founder of the Creative Technologies in Music (CTM) degree option, co-Director of the Human-Centered Design (HCD) individualized PhD (iPhD) program, and a member of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction (CHCI) with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Computer Science. He also serves as the director of preservation for the national Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) and a member of the New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) international community steering committee.
