About
Brian Cantrell, PhD, is a media designer, researcher, and creative technologist who works in a range of computational media to design and construct experiences with immersive data display, interactive audio, and scientific visualizations. He often applies his visual arts background and design research experience to the creation of media products that address design problems requiring complex, systems-thinking approaches. His research interests involve exploration of the potential for immersion and multi-modal sensory perception in science communication and the contribution of experimental arts approaches to scientific visualization / sonification. His broader research interests include worldbuilding and systems-oriented design methodologies, computational aesthetics, and phenomenology of perception. Since early 2017, Brian has worked with USC's Worldbuilding Media Lab on a number of interdisciplinary design projects including InnerSpace (formerly World in a Cell), a collaboration with the Michelson Center for Convergent Biosciences that seeks to build a data-driven, immersive model of the inner structure and function of the pancreatic beta cell. Additionally, Brian has taught college-level courses ranging from observational drawing to worldbuilding for media production. He holds a doctorate in Media Arts and Practice from University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts and recently completed a postdoctoral research appointment in the Vision Center Laboratory at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
CV available upon request.