About
Akram Taghavi-Burris is program coordinator and instructor of computer simulation and gaming at The University of Tulsa. For nearly two decades, Taghavi-Burris has been teaching and developing a curriculum in interactive media that covers a wide range of topics including game development and design, virtual reality, mobile app development, web design and development, video post-production, 3D modeling and animation, 2D animation, digital media and motion graphics.
Taghavi-Burris has previously held the following titles: assistant professor in graphics and imaging technologies at Pittsburg State University in the College of Technology; program director and professor of game design and computer animation at the Oklahoma City Community College; and instructional designer for the University of Oklahoma.
Awards & Honors
- Kermit E. Brown Teaching Excellence Award, College of Engineering & Computer Science, The University of Tulsa, 2026
- Unity Education Ambassador, 2023
- Day of Innovation Grant Recipient, The University of Tulsa, 2022
- Grant Recipient, Chevron CCUS, 2022
- Chapman Professorship Recipient, The University of Tulsa, 2020
- Oklahoma Center for Humanities Fellowship, 2019-2020
- Gold Award (2D Animation), American Advertising Federation, 2014
- Silver Award (2D Animation), American Advertising Federation, 2014
- Silver Award (2D Animation), American Advertising Federation, 2013
- DaVinci Institute Fellow, Innovation in Teaching, 2011
Education
- M.Ed., Certificate of Mastery CS, University of Central Oklahoma, 2010
- B.S., Training and Development, University of Central Oklahoma, 2005
Research Interests & Areas of Expertise
- Artificial intelligence for games
- AI for non-player characters (NPCs) and player modeling
- Game AI and intelligent systems
- Extended reality (XR)
- Virtual reality (VR)
- Augmented reality (AR)
- Serious games
- Digital twins
- Virtual production
- Game design and development
- Immersive technologies
- Spatial computing
- Interactive simulations
