Who We Are
The Alternate Reality Initiative (ARI) is a student organization at the University of Michigan centered around virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality technology. After seeing a lack of a centralized community, we created ARI to provide a hub and community for students interested in XR technology.
Through weekly meetings, ARI is fostering the next generation of XR innovators by hosting development workshops, discussing industry news, and connecting students to opportunities in the greater XR ecosystem.
Founded in January 2018, ARI has received recognition and generous support from other University of Michigan organizations. In April 2018, ARI received a $5,000 optiMize project grant and was accepted into the competitive Barger Leadership Institute Capstone program. In April 2019, ARI hosted the first ever XR Midwest Conference.
Our History
Our Team
Christabella Palumbi
Co-President
Christabella Palumbi is a junior studying computer science in the College of Engineering. She has been interested in XR since middle school, and the drive to develop her own VR games is what encouraged her to first try out the Unity game engine. The applications of XR that most intrigue Christabella are multiplayer games (including asynchronous multiplayer) and experiences that utilize 3D space to introduce elements that would not be possible on a traditional 2D screen.
Nicole Choi
Co-President, Art Lead
Nicole is a junior pursuing a dual degree in computer science in the College of Engineering and art & design at the Stamps School of Art and Design. Her first VR rollercoaster experience in 2015 and her love for programming, animation, and games led to her fascination with XR, where she is interested in creating immersive virtual experiences. With her interests in XR and artificial intelligence, she hopes to build immersive XR experiences with AI to create pleasurable experiences for the user and promote a society of care and empathy.
Kriti Gupta
Outreach Officer, Project Lead
Kriti is a junior pursuing a major in Computer Science. She joined ARI after her first game jam, which was also her introduction to Unity and game development. She loves that XR development involves a lot of creativity and likes to explore how XR can be incorporated into everyday life.
Ashley Phillip
Marketing Lead
Ashley is a junior studying Computer Science in the College of Engineering and minoring in Art & Design at Stamps. Her first real experience with XR was when she joined ARI, but she has always been interested in the unique worlds and interactions that can be made in a virtual space! She loves the creativity that is inherent in any kind of XR experience and hopes to use XR to create enjoyable spaces for people and help improve people’s lives!
Andy Yao
Board Officer
Andy is a freshman studying computer science in the College of Engineering. He plans to build virtual tools in pursuit of real impact, especially in education. His love of XR began in high school, where by day he would research human movement with a Meta Quest, and by night he would play Beat Saber. By creating experiences that leave people with not only useful skills, but a new sense of wonder, Andy hopes to change all words – virtual and physical – for the better.
Vivian O
Website Director
Vivian O is a sophomore currently pursuing a double major in computer science and cognitive science. Her journey into the world of augmented reality (AR) began with playing Geocache in high school. Since then, her passion for developing computer applications, particularly involving XR, has only grown through ARI. With a keen interest in the human-computer interaction (HCI) aspect of XR, Vivian aims to expand her knowledge and skills to create XR everyday applications that prioritize accessibility.
Selina Sun
Fundraising Chair
Selina is a freshman double majoring in computer science in CoE and business in Ross. She joined ARI because it combined her previous experience with 3D modeling with game development in Unity. Her fascination with XR lies in its complementary applications with CV
Michael Nebeling
Faculty Advisor
Michael Nebeling is an Assistant Professor in the School of Information where he leads the Information Interaction Lab. His lab works in the area of human-computer interaction, investigating new techniques, tools, and technologies that enable users to interact with information in more natural and powerful ways, and also make it easier for designers to create more usable and effective interfaces. His current research focuses on empowering non-technical designers to create AR/VR experiences with little to no background in 3D animation, modeling, and programming.