Diane Gromala

Who is Diane Gromala?

Diane Gromala is a Canada Research Chair and a Professor in the Simon Fraser University School of Interactive Arts and Technology. Her research works at the confluence of computer science, media art and design, and has focused on the cultural, visceral, and embodied implications of digital technologies, particularly in the realm of chronic pain.

Dr. Gromala was one of the first artists to work with immersive virtual reality, beginning with Dancing with the Virtual Dervish. Co-created with Yacov Sharir in 1990 at the Banff Centre for the Arts' Art & Virtual Environments residency, this piece has been exhibited worldwide from 1993-2004. Subsequent immersive VR work was designed for stress-reduction and pain distraction during chemotherapy. Dr. Gromala's work is currently in use in over 20 hospitals and clinics.

Dr. Gromala is the founding director of the Transforming Pain Research Group, an interdisciplinary team of artists, designers, computer scientists, neuroscientists and medical doctors investigating how new technologies—ranging from virtual reality and robotics to social media—may be used as a technological form of analgesia and pain management. With Jay Bolter, Gromala is the co-author of Windows and Mirrors: Interaction Design, Digital Art and the Myth of Transparency. This book was written from her experience as the Siggraph 2000 Art Chair. Her work is widely published in the domains of Computer Science, Interactive Art and Design.