Paige Li
Paige is a technical artist and graphics engineer at PPP specializing in rendering and visual effects for Apple Vision Pro. She architects performant XR rendering solutions that harmonize technical innovation with immersive artistic experiences.
Jerry Zheng
On my LinkedIn page, I am a MET student with Data Science background. In my mind, I am a human-computer interaction researcher. But in my heart, I am a gamer. I want to become some one like Satoru Iwata who led the game industry with his endless passion.
Just like how I play both Controller and Duelist’s roles in Valorant, I do both design and engineering in our project.
Brian He
Applying his unique background in computational neuroscience, Brian has a tendency to approach every problem by analyzing both the technical and human aspects. His previous experience working in start-ups reinforces his philosophy: “Use as little as possible to find out as much as possible, iterate and scale from there.”
Joy Lim
3D Artist & Soft Technologies Designer
Joy is the 3D artist and soft tactile designer at PPP, shaping both the visual and physical presence of the virtual pet. She designs the pet’s digital form for Apple Vision Pro while also crafting the soft, sensor-embedded plush that users interact with in real life. By bridging virtual aesthetics and tactile experience, Joy helps bring a living, touchable companion into extended reality.
Sophie Huang
Animator, Rigging Artist, & Producer Mentor
William Zhang
William’s goal is to solve interdisciplinary problems and make multimedia storytelling possible. Bringing a background in computer science and music, he is the technical producer and sound engineer for PPP, bridging team members and stakeholders.
Project Advisor
Derek Ham
Derek Ham is the Director of Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center. He is an award-winning VR director, design educator, and immersive storyteller. Trained as an architect, he earned his PhD in Design Computation from MIT, a Master’s in Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and a Bachelor of Architecture from Hampton University. In his research, he continues to investigate both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology to find ways these tools can expand the way we work, play, and learn. His most notable projects “I Am A Man” and “Barnstormers: Determined to Win” both share a special focus on the use of virtual reality as a tool for the empathetic storytelling of African American history.
Expert Consultants
Olivia Robinson
Olivia Robinson is the lead faculty for CMU IDeATe’s Soft Technologies and is also a
full teaching professor within the ETC (Entertainment Technology Center) at CMU .
Olivia is a multimedia artist whose work spans performance, installation, research, and
public engagement. Robinson’s diverse body of work, which ranges in scale from hand-
built textile circuits to architectural-scale inflatable structures, investigates issues of
justice, identity, community, and transformation.
Within her work at CMU, Olivia is invested in exploration of large-scale sustainable
textile practices. She does this through her teaching, research, and support of students’
work. Olivia recently received NSF funding to support and scale-up textile recycling
innovations made by her former student and CMU alumna, Sarika Bajaj. Using this
collaboration as a model, Olivia is committed to supporting her students’ interests,
research, and experiments that may lead to significant reductions and elimination of the
harmful toxicity and waste within our current practices and relationship with textiles.
Olivia received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she majored
in Fiber Art with a focus on inflatable sculpture, experimental costuming, and
performance. She co-founded the performance troupe Little Big Bang which performed
at the American Visionary Art Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Mermaid
Parade, and the WPA/Corcoran Museum. She also worked in the Community Arts
Partnerships office during its first four years. Robinson holds an MFA in Electronic Art
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she explored an interest in integrating
electronics into sculptural objects and materials. From 2011-2017, Olivia was a founding
member of Luminous Intervention, an arts and activism collective based in Baltimore.
Olivia has additionally received awards and honors from the Rubys Award, National
Endowment for the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council, New York State Council on the
Arts, Franklin Furnace Fund, Harpo Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, and
National Science Foundation.