Dr. Patrick Pennefather

Dr. Patrick Pennefather, Assistant Professor at the Master of Digital Media Program and shared with UBC Theatre and Film.

Patrick is a designer of interactive experiences working as a sound designer, composer, live performer, educator, designer of learning and producer of scalable virtual and augmented reality prototypes. With the Master of Digital Media Program, for the past ten years, he has developed a successful rapid prototyping methodology focused on mentoring teams co-constructing scalable digital prototypes with over 45 companies and organizations (Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Blackbird, Finger Foods, Kabam and more). As a designer of learning he has facilitated and workshopped with a variety of teams internationally including Riot Games, EA, Microsoft Big Park, Fujitsu, Procon Mining Safety, Crystal CG China, the City of Fukuoka, NGX, Ballet BC, British Columbia Museum Association, and SIGGRAPH. He’s also co-appointed with UBC Theatre and Film, he draws from his work as an award-winning sound designer and composer for live and virtual spaces having worked on over 250 productions in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Asia. His research interests and scholarly activities are focused on understanding the benefits of rapid prototyping for mixed realities as well as investigating the design of spatial audio in physical and virtual environments.

Passionate about the moving target rapidly becoming categorized as xR (substitute x to denote any virtually mediated human computer interface that merges with, augments or hijacks reality), Patrick has worked on research-driven projects, public VR projects for good, iPad/mobile VR projects for older adults as a development partner with Agewell NCE, AR projects with British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Small Stage, Virtro VR, UBC Theatre and Film, and Occipital. He has also written about xR development, is currently researching rapid prototyping xR pipelines at the MDM Program, has published in a variety of journals with others in the field of project-based learning and VR, and has presented scholarly work in VR in the area of improving public exposure of VR experiences to the general public.

Projects