Sponsored Programs and Grants Management

RU Researcher Spotlight

Matt Dunleavy is an Assistant Professor in Instructional Technology at Radford University. Building upon and extending his cutting-edge research, Dr. Dunleavy has established the Radford Outdoor Augmented Reality (ROAR) project. In collaboration with MIT and HP Labs, the ROAR project will develop and study elementary, middle and high school curricula that use augmented reality (AR) to deliver instruction.  The narrative-driven, inquiry-based AR simulations developed by the ROAR team will be played on a handheld computer and use GPS technology to correlate the students’ real world location to their virtual location in the simulation’s digital world.

Dr. Dunleavy is one of the leading researchers in the area of augmented reality, which is an excellent representation of how new mobile technologies can be leveraged to build upon and extend the informal, collaborative learning styles of young people today to enhance learning and physical activity. During his first year at Radford University, Dr. Dunleavy actively networked with the following organizations to further his research agenda and raise the profile of Radford University as a cutting-edge institution: Harvard University, MIT, Hewlett Packard Labs, National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) of Costa Rica, the Army Research Institute, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Virginia Department of Education, Virginia Tech, and the New River Community College. All of these relationships continue to increase and enhance the profile of Radford University in the regional, state, national, and international arena and these relationships will continue to provide grant opportunities and resources for STEL, CEHD and RU for the foreseeable future. For more information concerning Dr. Dunleavy’s work, please visit the Radford Outdoor Augmented Reality (ROAR) project at http://www.radford.edu/mdunleavy/445/ROAR.html.