About

Dr. Brendan David-John is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Virginia Tech. David-John was the first Native male to graduate with a doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Florida in 2022, and received his BS and MS from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2017. He is from Salamanca NY, which is located on the Allegany reservation of the Seneca Nation of Indians.

His personal goals include increasing the representation of Native Americans in STEM and higher education, specifically in computing. He believes that accomplishing this goal comes from an introduction to STEM during secondary school, and immersion in research early during undergraduate studies. He is a proud member of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society and has been a Sequoyah Fellow since 2013. His research interests include virtual reality and eye tracking, with a primary focus on privacy and security for the future of virtual and mixed reality.

Principal Investigator

Brendan David-John
Assistant Professor, Computer Science, Virginia Tech

CV
Ph.D: University of Florida 2022
MS: Rochester Institute of Technology 2017
BS: Rochester Institute of Technology 2017

Contact

email: bmdj AT vt.edu

Office #3203
220 Gilbert Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060

Google Scholar
ORCID
Erdős Number: 4
Dijkstra Number: 4

Funding

DARPA Intrinsic Cognitive Security (co-PI, 2024-2027) Assessment and Optimization of Human Performance in Mixed Reality Attacks Total: $1,053,119, co-PI share: $491,148

Virginia Tech 4-VA Collaborative Research Grant Proposal Program SP24 (co-PI, 2024) A new green space exposure index utilizing AI methods and an eye-tracking device Total: $30,000

Student Engineers’ Council (PI, 2023-2024) Funding to support speaker engagement for CubeFest 2024 Total: $9500

VT Diverse Voices and Perspectives Lecture Series (PI, Fall 2023) Funding to support speaker Amelia Winger-Bearskin Total: $750

CCI SW Virginia Node Research Engagement Program FY23 (PI, 2023-2024) Team Building and Privacy Expert Recruitment for a Workshop on Bystander Obscuration in Wearable Augmented Reality Displays Total: $20,000

Virginia Tech ICAT Major SEAD Grant (PI, 2023-2024) Securing Trustworthy XR Interactions through Human-Machine Networks in Healthcare Total: $25,000

Virginia Tech Center for HCI Planning Grant (PI, 2023-2024) Understanding the long-term impact and perceptions of privacy-enhancing technologies for bystander obscuration in wearable AR displays Total: $15,000

Virginia Tech LAUNCH Proof-of-Concept Program (PI, 2023-2024) Prototype Refinement and Customer Discovery for Bystander Privacy in AR Systems Total: $50,000

Virginia Tech 4-VA Pre-Tenure Faculty Research Grant Proposal Program SP23 (PI, 2023) Personalizing machine-learning guided navigation interfaces in Virtual and Augmented Reality Total: $15,000

CCI SW Virginia Node Innovation: Ideation to Commercialization FY23 (co-PI, 2023-2024) Protecting Bystander Visual Data Privacy in Augmented Reality Systems Total: $50,000, co-PI share: $6,007

Meta Research Gift (co-PI, 2022-2023) Enhancing Privacy Notices: Visceral Interfaces for Eye Tracking in VR Total: $50,000, co-PI share: $25,000

Virginia Tech Policy Scholar Professional Development Program (PI, 2022-2023) Framing the intersections of policy with security and privacy in the future of XR technology Total: $10,600