Researcher

Lisa Townsend

TU Dortmund University
Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Str.25
Room 224
44227 Dortmund
Germany

Academic Career and Research Areas:

Lisa Townsend holds a B.Sc. in Human-Computer Interaction (2022) from the University of Hamburg and an M.Sc. in Human-Computer Interaction (2025) from LMU Munich. In September 2025, she joined the Chair for Human-AI Interaction at TU Dortmund University as a researcher.  Her research lies at the intersection of computer science, interaction design, and psychology, with a focus on HCI for Good. She is particularly interested in how immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences can foster positive societal impact in areas such as mental health, connectedness, and sustainability, and the risks and benefits of integrating artificial intelligence to enable more adaptive, personalised, and socially responsible VR systems.

 

Key Publications:

  1. L. L. Townsend, J. Rasch, A. Grech, B. E. Riecke, S. Mayer, and L. Townsend, “A Tree’s Perspective: Enhancing Nature Connectedness Through Transitional and Multisensory Virtual Reality Experiences,” in Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Apr. 2026, https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3790282. 
  2. Villa, S., Barth, L. L., Chiossi, F., Welsch, R., & Kosch, T. (2025). Whose mind is it anyway? A systematic review and exploration on agency in cognitive augmentation. Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 5, 100158, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbah.2025.100158.
  3. Barth, L. L., Mostajeran, F., Steinicke, F., Riecke, B. E., & Kühn, S. (2025). Immersive videos of natural and urban environments can enhance awe and psychological well-being. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 6, 1532991. https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2025.1532991.
  4. Grech, A., Barth, L. L., Rasch, J., Riecke, B. E., Brisco, R., & Wodehouse, A. (2025). More than a feeling: empathic reflection through virtual experiences. In DS 137: Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE 2025) (pp. 301-306). https://doi.org/10.35199/epde.2025.51.
  5. Barth, L. L., Hilpert, P., Kaschub, L., Reichardt, W. A., Mostajeran, F., & Steinicke, F. (2022, October). Heated Escape: A Virtual Reality Serious Game on the Urgency of the Climate Crisis. In 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality Adjunct (ISMAR-Adjunct) (pp. 338-341). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ismar-adjunct57072.2022.00074. 
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