Spring 2023:
* For in person meetings, I'm on campus MWF from 9:30-2 (i teach 2-3 MWF). 
* For remote meetings (Zoom), I'm available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Fridays afternoons.
For meetings, use Calendly to book a meeting time

​I have one spring 2023 senior projects/independent study spots open.
If you are...
  • interested in joining the VERG group. I am accepting new Ph.D., masters, and undergraduate students into my research group. You do not need to email me your CV. If you email me asking about open positions, I will know you didn't visit my webpage. You can email me to discuss how your research interests align with the group. Use calendly.com/lokben to schedule a meeting with agenda and goals.
  • requesting a letter of recommendation.
  • interested in doing a senior project. ​
Teaching
Fall 2022 - UX Design (grad) (link to canvas site when it becomes available. draft syllabus

Previous courses (most recent offering)
VR for the Social Good (Fall 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018 (sabbatical), Fall 2017 (sabbatical))
Human-Computer Interaction (Spring 2017, Spring 2021)
Virtual Reality (Spring 2016)
Computer Graphics (Spring 2008)
Service
 Journal Associate Editor
IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
Research
Do you want to make a better world by helping people communicate better? Then join our group! We study "would interacting with a virtual human make you better at interacting with real people?"

The Virtual Experiences Research Group conducts virtual reality and human-computer interaction research through creating virtual human communication experiences. 

I encourage undergraduates (including freshmen and sophomores) and graduate students (regardless of prior experience) who want to get into research in virtual reality or human-computer interaction to contact me. Here's how!

How are we doing? Check out our OKRs (inspired by Measure What Matters by John Doerr)

I am a part of the Human-Centered Computing@UF. 
Here's a systems model of me: 
Bio: Benjamin Lok is a Professor in the Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering Department at the University of Florida and entrepreneur, having previously co-founded Shadow Health (now a part of Elsevier). Professor Lok's research focuses on using virtual humans and mixed reality to train communication skills within the areas of virtual environments, human-computer interaction, and computer graphics. Professor Lok received a Ph. D. (2002, advisor: Dr. Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.) and M.S. (1999) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a B.S. in Computer Science (1997) from the University of Tulsa. He did a post-doc fellowship (2003) under Dr. Larry F. Hodges.

​Professor Lok was inducted into the inaugural IEEE VGTC VR Academy (2022), received the UF Innovator of the Year Award (2019), a UF Term Professorship (2017-2020), the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering Faculty Mentoring Award (2016), a NSF Career Award (2007-2012), and the UF ACM CISE Teacher of the Year Award in 2005-2006. He and his students in the Virtual Experiences Research Group have received Best Paper Awards at IVA 2019, IEEE VR 2008, and ACM I3D (Top 3, 2003). He was the chair of the Steering Committee of the IEEE Virtual Reality conference (2018-2021). He has been the general co-chair of IEEE VR 2014 and IEEE VR 2013, and program co-chaired the ACM VRST 2009, IEEE Virtual Reality 2010, and IEEE Virtual Reality 2011 conferences. Professor Lok is a journal associate editor of ​IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.
If you are interested in Shadow Health, Inc. and the commercialization of virtual humans for interpersonal skills training, please visit: www.shadowhealth.com