Elham Ebrahimi

Dr. Elham (Ellie) Ebrahimi is an associate professor at University of North Carolina Wilmington. She has a Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing from Clemson University. Her career goal is to find new ways to adapt and improve ideas and theories to help STEM education and workforce development, Mental Health in Adolescents, Language Learning in multilingual children.

Education

Ph.D. in Human-Centered Computing, Clemson University
M.Sc. in Mechatronics Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Iran
B.Sc. in Robotics Engineering, Shahrood University of Technology, Iran

Specialization in Teaching

Game Development
Python Programming
Human-Computer Interaction

Research Interests

Her research interests are in Virtual Reality, Human-Centered Design, Educational Games with a main focus on STEM education and workforce development, Mental Health in Adolescents, Language Learning in multilingual children. She is specifically interested in the following three projects serving K-12 population:
1. CyberFortress Academy is a cybersecurity educational platform which provides cybersecurity education that is critical for children growing up in a digital world where learning to navigate the internet safely is no less important than learning to safely cross a busy street. Interacting with engaging games is an excellent way for children to learn complex cybersecurity concepts. Early exposure to cybersecurity concepts also cultivates interest in STEM, which opens doors to future technical careers and builds valuable problem-solving and analytical skills.
2. The Lookupp app encourage teens to disconnect from social media and engage in face-to-face interactions. By creating "Lookupp Zones," the app provides spaces for teens to build emotional resilience, reduce reliance on online validation, and foster a healthy relationship with technology.
3. Spellingual is a web-based app that helps second-grade multilingual children fluent in Farsi improve their spelling through gamified, multimedia learning. It emphasizes accessibility, motivation, and engagement with features like level progression, points, and hints. Hosted on AWS, Spellingual uses Vue.js, HTML5, and CSS3 to ensure scalability and performance, with future plans to expand grade levels and integrate into educational settings.

Professional Service

Last five years:
- Computer Science Undergraduate Coordinator -> 2022 - Present
- Hiring Committee Member -> 2024, 2021, 2020, and 2019
- Local Organizer Chair - IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality -> 2023
- Program Chair - Carolinas Women in Computing - An ACM-W Celebration -> 2021-2022
- Research Demo Chair - IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality -> 2022
- Conference Chair - ACM Symposium on Applied Perception Conference -> 2020
- Poster Chair - IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality -> 2019

Reviewer of Scholarly Activities
◦ ACM Transaction on Applied Perception Journal
◦ ACM Symposium on Applied Perception Conference
◦ American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Press
◦ ASME Advances in Computers and Information in Engineering Research
◦ Grant Reviewer for KU LEUVEN University
◦ International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality
◦ IEEE International Conference on Virtual Reality
◦ International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
◦ Computer Graphics Forum

Community Engagement

Last five years:
- Faculty Advisor - WISE Organization: Women in Science & Engineering Wilmington, NC, USA, February 2021 - Present
- Creator and Organizer - STEM Club: The Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences Wilmington, NC, USA, August 2020 - August 2021
- Outreach Program: Ladies who Launch - The Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences Wilmington, NC, USA, November 2019
- Guest Speaker/Lecturer - Outreach Program: NC Museum of Natural Sciences at Whiteville Whiteville, NC, USA, December 2019
- Interviewed for Wilma Magazine - Published Magazine Article: Finding VR purpose in real life Wilmington, NC, USA, August 2019
- Lecturer - STEAM Camp: Game Design Process in Virtual Reality Wilmington, NC, USA, July 2019
- Interviewed for SWOOP - Faculty and Staff Newsletter - Published Article: We Are UNCW Wilmington, NC, USA, February 2019

Honors & Awards

- Discere Aude Award Academic, UNC Wilmington Center for Teaching Excellence Wilmington, NC, USA, Year 2022-2023
- Best Paper Award, ACM Symposium on Applied Perception Conference Virtual, Published in ACM Transactions on Applied Perception 2020
- Best Paper Award, IEEE Virtual Reality Conference Reutlingen, Germany, March 2018
- Best Paper Award, ACM Symposium on Applied Perception Conference Anaheim, CA, USA, Published in ACM Transactions on Applied Perception 2016