My name is Cyan DeVeaux. I’m a fifth-year Ph.D. Candidate at Stanford University advised by Professor Jeremy Bailenson and Professor James Landay. As a member of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab and Human-Computer Interaction Group, my work exists at the intersection of media psychology and computer science. My research investigates social and embodied experiences in immersive technologies, with a focus on how people learn, connect, and express themselves through emerging media. Using experimental studies, digital ethnography, and design-based research, I take a mixed-methods approach to understanding people’s interactions with immersive environments, avatars, and AI-mediated systems. My goal is to translate psychobehavioral and design research insights into guidance for building technologies that support enriching human experiences.

I am supported by the Joyful Learning Seed Grant, NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Stanford Graduate Fellowship in Science & Engineering, Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education Doctoral Fellowship, and Technology & Racial Equity Graduate Fellowship. I am also a Research Affiliate at the University of Michigan Intersectional Tech Lab working with Professor Kishonna Gray. Over the past summers, I worked as a Research Scientist Intern at Meta Reality Labs Research on the Audio Team and Microsoft Research on the Speaking the World into Existence Team. Prior to the Ph.D., I worked at Google as a Software Engineer. I hold an M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University and an interdepartmental B.A. in Computer Science and Visual & Media Studies from Duke University.

Research Themes

My work explores how immersive technologies shape learning, connection, and expression across three themes [more details here]

Immersive Learning

I design and study immersive environments that support education. This work examines how embodied interaction and spatial presence can foster novel forms of learning,