Professor of Computer Graphics Valentin Schwind

Curriculum Vitae

I'm professor of computer graphics at Stuttgart Media University, where I connect computer graphics with human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence into immersive worlds (XR). My research investigates how immersive, multimodal and intelligent user interfaces are designed, rendered and empirically evaluated — from real-time graphics through avatars, embodiment and perception to artificial intelligence in graphics pipelines.

After studying media informatics, I worked as a developer, designer and art/technical director for CGI/VFX productions and video games. My doctorate, supervised by Prof. Niels Henze, addressed the uncanny valley of virtual characters and avatars. In 2017 I was a research intern at Oculus Research / Meta in Redmond. After positions at the University of Regensburg and as a professor at Frankfurt UAS, I returned to Stuttgart as a professor in 2025.

Valentin Schwind wearing a VR headset in the Mixed Reality Lab

Career

Projects & tools

HCI User Studies Toolkit
Tools and methods for planning and analysing empirical user studies.
faceMaker
Online avatar generator for character-design and perception research.
Mixed Reality Lab
Built and led the Mixed Reality Lab (Frankfurt UAS).
Nightfall (2007)
3D computer-animated short film, three-year study project (Vimeo).
Redemption (2005)
3D computer-animated short film, six-month study project.
Avesmaps
Route planner for the fictional world of Aventuria (The Dark Eye) — a private, non-commercial project.

Academic service

Funding

Since 2020 I have secured around €746,000 in third-party funding as principal investigator and about €2 million as co-applicant (incl. BMBF, the State of Hesse, and building the Mixed Reality Lab).

Person wearing a VR headset with motion-capture markers interacting with a drone

Awards

In the media

SPIEGELWELTheise onlineStuttgarter ZeitungRhein-Neckar-ZeitungInverseOnetzScience Reporter Hessen