Meet Our Research Team
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Matthew Browning, Ph.D. (Lab Co-Director)
Associate Professor in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University; Founding Director of the VRN Lab; Director of Operations for the Research Innovation Suite (RIS); Scientific Advisor for NatureQuant, Inc., developers of the first personalized nature prescription app; Internationally Ranked among the highest cited and published nature and health researchers on ExpertScape based on recent PubMed metrics.
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Olivia McAnirlin, Ph.D. (Lab Co-Director)
Lab Co-Director in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University; Founding Manager of the VRN Lab; Operations Coordinator for Research Innovation Suite (RIS); Recipient of two Outstanding Graduate Researcher Awards from (1) Dean of the College of Behavioral, Social, and Health Sciences, and (2) President and Provost of Clemson University; Research interests include studying the psychological and physiological impacts of nature and virtual reality as well as using virtual reality as a form of storytelling.
Our Core Research Assistants
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Shuai Yuan
Ph.D. candidate in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson University. Shuai has a background in architecture. His research centers on the physical and social contexts of the environment and human well-being. His dissertation used virtual reality (VR) and eye tracking to examine how the presence of other visitors impacts urban park perceptions. He also used VR interventions for health and coping behaviors (e.g., storm surge mitigation). Shuai is also passionate about visualization, interdisciplinary theory building, and flexible use of methods.
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Allison Maynard
Allison is a Ph.D. student in Parks, recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson University. She has a background in conservation education, ecology, and child and youth studies which influence her research interests. Currently her research focuses on immersive technology use in informal education settings and exploring the impacts of wildlife-inspired awe through real and virtual encounters.
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Fu Li
Ph.D. Student in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University whose research interest falls into the study of human perception, cognition and behavior in the built environment, which mainly focuses on the human-environment interaction, assessing the impact of human well-being, and evaluating the performance of the design. He has a background in landscape architecture and is currently working on projects involving multi-pipeline knowledge such as urban study, cognition, GIS, machine learning, smart city, and mobility.
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Mondira Bardhan
Mondira is a Ph.D. student in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University. She is enthusiastic about exploring human-nature interaction, particularly evaluating the importance of nature exposure to human physical and psychological health. Her pure background in Environmental Science and research experience in public health support her research interests.
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Kuiran Zhang
Kuiran is a Ph.D. student in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University) has backgrounds in ecosystem science and management, and geospatial data sciences. With her previous experience in ecological research and practice, her career goal is to advance citizen science in biodiversity conservation and broaden people's interest in wildlife to encompass sustainability. She explores using virtual technology and leisure as the approach.
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Katie Thurson
Katie is a Ph.D. student, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Clemson University. She studies data science and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in youth programs.
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Elliott Floyd
Ph.D. student in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson University. M.S. Experiential Education, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2020. His research interests are based on a curiosity regarding the potential of contact with nature to promote salutogenic changes in the brain and body across the lifespan. He has worked as a course instructor with the Voyageur Outward Bound school, taught in the Department of Outdoor Education and Leadership at North Greenville University, and worked for the State Park Service in Utah.