S. Shyam Sundar

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Bonding with your virtual self may alter your actual perceptions

5/2/13

When people create and modify their virtual reality avatars, the hardships faced by their alter egos can influence how they perceive virtual environments, according to researchers presenting their findings at 2013 Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Paris today (May 2).

tissues in white boutique box

People may welcome talking tissue boxes and other smart objects

5/1/13

Just as people have embraced computers and smart phones, they may also give their blessing to talking tissue boxes and other smart objects, according to Penn State researchers. "Smart objects will become more and more a part of our daily lives," said S. Shyam Sundar, Distinguished Professor of Communications and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory.

Catching up with S. Shyam Sundar

11/17/09

How did you first become interested in your specialty?

My background in engineering, journalism, psychology, communication all come together in my area of interest—user aspects of media interfaces.

What is the most exciting or fascinating part of your job?

The most exciting part of my job is that I teach and do research on new media, which, as the name implies, continue to be new all the time!

When you're not working, how do you spend your free time?

Probing Question: Is playing video games detrimental?

9/11/06

Since their conception in the late 1970s, video games have steadily increased in popularity. In 2004, the video-game industry raked in 10 billion dollars worldwide, generating more revenues than Hollywood. Polls indicate that today's children play anywhere from 9 to 20 hours of video games per week.

Parents may fret over these figures, but Edward Downs believes that video games can be a positive experience for kids, though pitfalls do exist.

Role Models

9/1/00

Ndidi Moses touches the cover of Cosmopolitan. The woman under the title is thin and white, with strawberry-blonde hair and azure eyes. She wears a come-hither look and a white lace dress that leaves her torso almost bare. "That dress is beautiful," Moses says, running her fingers across the page. "You couldn't wear it out, but for a fashion show . . . I wonder if that's her real body."

Not Just Special Effects

9/1/99

Lights, camera, electrodes!

Electrodes?

Shyam Sundar Sethuraman, director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at Penn State, uses electrodes to monitor people's reactions to everything from download speed on the Internet to the size of a television screen to how seating affects enjoyment in a movie theater.

"Essentially, what we do is look at people's reactions to various stimuli," Sundar says. These stimuli include television, cable, Internet, laserdisc, and video sources.

avatar wearing a backpack

Bonding with your virtual self may alter your actual perceptions

5/2/13

When people create and modify their virtual reality avatars, the hardships faced by their alter egos can influence how they perceive virtual environments, according to researchers presenting their findings at 2013 Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Paris today (May 2).

tissues in white boutique box

People may welcome talking tissue boxes and other smart objects

5/1/13

Just as people have embraced computers and smart phones, they may also give their blessing to talking tissue boxes and other smart objects, according to Penn State researchers. "Smart objects will become more and more a part of our daily lives," said S. Shyam Sundar, Distinguished Professor of Communications and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory.

Catching up with S. Shyam Sundar

11/17/09

How did you first become interested in your specialty?

My background in engineering, journalism, psychology, communication all come together in my area of interest—user aspects of media interfaces.

What is the most exciting or fascinating part of your job?

The most exciting part of my job is that I teach and do research on new media, which, as the name implies, continue to be new all the time!

When you're not working, how do you spend your free time?

Probing Question: Is playing video games detrimental?

9/11/06

Since their conception in the late 1970s, video games have steadily increased in popularity. In 2004, the video-game industry raked in 10 billion dollars worldwide, generating more revenues than Hollywood. Polls indicate that today's children play anywhere from 9 to 20 hours of video games per week.

Parents may fret over these figures, but Edward Downs believes that video games can be a positive experience for kids, though pitfalls do exist.

Role Models

9/1/00

Ndidi Moses touches the cover of Cosmopolitan. The woman under the title is thin and white, with strawberry-blonde hair and azure eyes. She wears a come-hither look and a white lace dress that leaves her torso almost bare. "That dress is beautiful," Moses says, running her fingers across the page. "You couldn't wear it out, but for a fashion show . . . I wonder if that's her real body."

Not Just Special Effects

9/1/99

Lights, camera, electrodes!

Electrodes?

Shyam Sundar Sethuraman, director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory at Penn State, uses electrodes to monitor people's reactions to everything from download speed on the Internet to the size of a television screen to how seating affects enjoyment in a movie theater.

"Essentially, what we do is look at people's reactions to various stimuli," Sundar says. These stimuli include television, cable, Internet, laserdisc, and video sources.