Dr Maria Roussou is an Associate Professor in Interactive Systems at the Department of Informatics & Telecommunications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She co-founded makebelieve, an experience design and consulting company in 2003 and previously established and directed the Virtual Reality Department at the Foundation of the Hellenic World from 1998 to 2003. Her work there involved creating immersive projection-based VR exhibits and overseeing research, design, and development of VR programs and visitor experiences. For most of the nineties (1993-1997), during her extensive work with the CAVE® at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory in Chicago, she focused on designing, applying, and evaluating virtual and digital media environments for education and cultural representation. She holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of London (UCL); a Master in Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Electronic Visualization and an MSc in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago; and a BSc in Applied Informatics from the Athens University of Economics and Business. Maria is a Senior Member of the ACM, Vice-chair of the Greek ACM SIGCHI Chapter and the Greek ACM-W Chapter, and the recipient of the 2013 Tartessos Award in Digital Heritage and Virtual Archaeology.
