Hunter Finney
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Hunter Finney, Ph.D. Candidate

Extended Reality Researcher with 8+ years of laboratory and development experience in leading projects from proposal to publication. My interdisciplinary research focuses on understanding how humans perceive, remember, and interact with real and virtual environments.

Extended Reality Researcher

Salt Lake City, Utah

hunter@hunterfinney.com

(662) 404-4868

LinkedIn


Notable Skills

Unity 3D

Formally Trained and XR Expert

Team-Based Communication

Lead Programmer across Fields of Expertise

Human Research Design

Novel Implementations of Methods

Technical Commuinication

Teaching, Presenting, and Writing Experience

Strengths

Problem Solving

Innovative Coding

Teambuilding and Leadership

Effective Presentations


Full DocumentResume

As of 2022: Download PDF

Due to the nature of my work, my resume quickly becomes outdated as the number of publications, talks, and accolades increases year over year. For the most updated version of my curriculum vitae or resume, please reach out to me through one of the contact methods I provide below.


Work Experience

Vision, Audition, & Acition in Space & Time (VAAST) Lab
VPSC Lab
August 2020 - Current
University of Utah. Salt Lake City, UT

I started work in the VPSC Lab as a research assistant during my first year at the University of Utah. The VPSC lab is led by both Dr. Jeanine Stefanucci and Dr. Sarah Creem-Regehr. I worked on remote experiments to run during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. I have had experiences working alongside the great faculty in both the Cognitive Neuroscience area and the Human Centered Computing area.


High-Fidelity Virtual Environments (HI5) Lab Member
Hi5 Lab
August 2016 - May 2020
University of Mississippi. Oxford, MS

I joined the Hi5 Lab as a computer science freshman at the University of Mississippi and worked under Dr. Adam Jones. Here I worked on a multitude of projects ranging from research papers to open house demos. I had the luxury of having my projects shown at expos such as C Spire Tech Experience (CTX), C Spire Tech Movement (MVMT), and Imagine the Possibilities. While at the lab, I published papers for the IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020.


Intern of Information Technology
June 2019 – August 2019
FedEx Services. Memphis, TN

Within a group of three, I created a lightweight solution for custom delivery options to allow incorporation with smart devices with a focus on Agile methodologies. I served as the frontend developer and the SCRUM master for our team.


Education

University of Utah
U of Utah
2020 - Current

Pursuing a PhD in Computing: Human-Centered Computing


University of Mississippi
U of Mississippi
2016 - 2020

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
Minor Study in Mathematics
Cumulative GPA: 3.9


Memphis University School
MUS
2012 - 2016

High School Diploma
FTC Robotics Team, 2013 - 2016


Notable Papers

IEEE VR 2025: Children's Calibration of Reaching Estimates in Virtual Reality
March 2025

Presented by Sarah Creem-Regehr, this paper is a tossing a hat into the ring moment for me and Adam at the Hi5 Lab where we tackle the Ebbinghuas illusion's effect on action versus perception. Most notably this paper takes an angle of studying this effect in VR where a reaching task leaves little ambiguity to results.

IEEVR2025

IEEE VR 2020: Asymmetric Effects of the Ebbinghaus Illusion on Depth Jedgements
February 2020

Presented by Adam Jones, this paper is a tossing a hat into the ring moment for me and Adam at the Hi5 Lab where we tackle the Ebbinghuas illusion's effect on action versus perception. Most notably this paper takes an angle of studying this effect in VR where a reaching task leaves little ambiguity to results.

IEEVR2020