Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications
Serious Games and AI
- Matthew McConnell, Richard Zhao. From Frustration to Fun: An Adaptive Problem-Solving Puzzle Game Powered by Genetic Algorithm. Proceedings of the Twenty-First AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE-25), Edmonton, Canada, November, 2025, p277-286. [Link] [Video Demo]
- Michael Shomoye, Richard Zhao. Automated Emotion Recognition of Students in Virtual Reality Classrooms. Computers & Education: X Reality. 5:2024, December, 2024. [Link]
- Mohammad Javad Sahebnasi, Mahdi Farrokhimaleki, Nanjia Wang, Richard Zhao, Frank Maurer. Exploring the Potential of Generative AI in Prototyping XR Applications. Proceedings of the First Workshop on Prototyping and Developing Real-World Applications for Extended Reality (RealXR), Arenzano, Italy, June, 2024.
- Hannah Ava Sloan, Richard Zhao, Faisal Aqlan, Hui Yang, Rui Zhu. Adaptive Virtual Assistant for Virtual Reality-based Remote Learning. American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition (ASEE 2022) Proceedings. Minneapolis, USA, June, 2022. [Link] [BibTeX]
- Rachael Versaw, Samantha Schultz, Kevin Lu, Richard Zhao. Modular Reinforcement Learning Framework for Learners and Educators. Proceedings of the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG), virtual, August, 2021. [Link] [BibTeX]
Serious Games and Immersive Technologies
- Hui Yang, Faisal Aqlan, Richard Zhao. Towards Smart Manufacturing Metaverse via Digital Twinning in Extended Reality. Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering. [Link]
- Rumena Begum, Nour Hamado, Faisal Aqlan, Richard Zhao, Hui Yang, Jason Saleem, Marci DeCaro, Karen Murphy. Collaborative Virtual Learning Factory for Advanced Manufacturing: Investigating User Experience and Team Dynamic. Manufacturing Letters, vol 46, 2025, p128-132.
- Rumena Begum, Faisal Aqlan, Marci Decaro, Hui Yang, Richard Zhao, Jason Saleem, P. Karen Murphy. Exploring Human-Human Teaming and Human-Machine Interaction in a Collaborative Virtual Learning Factory. American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition (ASEE 2025) Proceedings, Montreal, Canada, June, 2025. [Link]
- Naznin Sharmin Shishir, Richard Zhao. Is the Jedi Force Pull Method Effective? Evaluating Eye-Tracked Object Grabbing in VR. Proceedings of the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG 2025), Graz, Austria, April, 2025. [Link] Acceptance Rate: 48%.
- Farhan Aslam, Richard Zhao. Voice-Augmented Virtual Reality Interface for Serious Games. Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Games (CoG), Milan, Italy, August, 2024. [Link] [BibTeX] Acceptance Rate: 41.1%.
- Haedong Kim, Tyler Hartleb, Khalid Bello, Faisal Aqlan, Richard Zhao, Hui Yang. Behavioral Modeling of Collaborative Problem Solving in Multiplayer Virtual Reality Manufacturing Simulation Games. Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering. 2023. [Link] [BibTeX]
- Tyler Hartleb, Haedong Kim, Richard Zhao, Faisal Aqlan, Hui Yang. Exploring Magic Interactions for Collaboration in Virtual Reality Learning Factory. American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition (ASEE 2023) Proceedings, Baltimore, USA, June, 2023. [Link] [BibTeX]
- Rui Zhu, Faisal Aqlan, Richard Zhao, Hui Yang. Sensor-based Modeling of Problem-Solving in Virtual Reality Manufacturing Systems. Expert Systems with Applications, vol 201, p. 117220, 2022. [Link] [BibTeX]
- Faisal Aqlan, Richard Zhao. Assessment of Collaborative Problem Solving in Engineering Students Through Hands-On Simulations. IEEE Transactions on Education, 65:1, February, 2022, p9-17. [Link] [BibTeX]
- Rui Zhu, Faisal Aqlan, Richard Zhao, Hui Yang. Eye-Track Modeling of Problem-Solving in Virtual Manufacturing Environments. American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition (ASEE 2021) Proceedings, virtual, July, 2021. [Link] [BibTeX]
Artificial Intelligence
- Mahdi Farrokhimaleki, Parsa Rahmati, Richard Zhao. From Unstable to Playable: Stabilizing Angry Birds Levels via Object Segmentation. Proceedings of the Twenty-First AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE-25), Edmonton, Canada, November, 2025, p227-236. [Link]
- Kimiya Saadat, Richard Zhao. Enhancing Two-Player Performance Through Single-Player Knowledge Transfer: An Empirical Study on Atari 2600 Games. Proceedings of the Twentieth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE-24), Lexington, USA, November, 2024. [Link] Acceptance Rate: 26.5%.
- Mahdi Farrokhimaleki, Richard Zhao. Procedural Content Generation in Games: A Survey with Insights on Emerging LLM Integration. Proceedings of the Twentieth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE-24), Lexington, USA, November, 2024. [Link]
- Yiwei Zhang, Richard Zhao. Enhancing MCTS with Convolutional Autoencoder and Linear Approximator in XCOM-Inspired Environments. Proceedings of the Tenth AIIDE Workshop on Experimental Artificial Intelligence in Games (EXAG), Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, October, 2023. [Link] [BibTeX] Acceptance Rate: 57%.
- Kimiya Saadat, Richard Zhao. Exploring Adaptive MCTS with TD Learning in miniXCOM. Proceedings of the Ninth AIIDE Workshop on Experimental Artificial Intelligence in Games (EXAG), Pomona, California, USA, October, 2022. [Link] [BibTeX]
Extended Abstracts
- Matthew McConnell, Richard Zhao. A Demonstration of Pathfinding-Based Puzzle Generation with Adaptive Difficulty. Proceedings of the Twenty-First AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment (AIIDE-25), Edmonton, Canada, November, 2025, p396-398. [Link] [Video Demo]
- Faisal Aqlan, Richard Zhao, Hui Yang, Sreekanth Ramakrishnan. A Virtual Learning Factory for Advanced Manufacturing. Proceedings of the 2020 Winter Simulation Conference, virtual, December, 2020. [Link]
Past Publications
