Ryan McMahan named Center for Human-Computer Interaction director, steps into mentor's shoes

For years, Doug Bowman kept saying yes to the same student. 

He said yes to his undergraduate research requests, yes to mentorship through the pursuit of a master’s degree and later a Ph.D., and eventually yes to co-authoring a textbook.

“One thing he always did was believe in me,” Ryan McMahan '04, MS. '07, Ph.D. '11 said. “So anytime I went to him, and I said, ‘I want to do this. Will you help me?’ He never once suggested, ‘I don't think you can do that.’ He was always extremely supportive and encouraging.” 

Just more than two decades later, it is now McMahan who has said yes to stepping into Bowman’s shoes as director of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction, the place the pair worked together for more than eight years. McMahan, who has been serving as the center’s deputy director since returning to Virginia Tech in 2024, officially took over as the center’s director in August, coinciding with the center’s 30th anniversary.

“I think Doug has done a great job of growing the internal Virginia Tech community and building up this very interdisciplinary human-computer interaction community,” said McMahan, also a professor of computer science. “I plan to continue that growth and focus outward to ensure we are supporting our brand globally as much as we are supporting our community of interdisciplinary researchers.”

The Center for Human-Computer Interaction (CHCI) is a universitywide research center. Operating within the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT), it aims to advance human-computer interaction research and education across disciplines by supporting interdisciplinary partnerships. 

“Ryan and Doug's relationship and collaboration reflect ICAT’s mission: foster relationships that drive innovative research and, at the same time, strengthen cohesion and professional growth,” said Tom Martin, co-interim executive director of ICAT. “What excites me about what Ryan brings to CHCI is his deep expertise in using extended reality and virtual reality for education and training, his collaborative approach, and the fresh perspective he brings to looking for future opportunities for the center.”

Bowman served as center director from 2011-25. He will continue in his role as a professor of computer science at Virginia Tech, concentrating on research and student mentoring.

McMahan first enrolled in Bowman’s class as an undergraduate in 2003.

“At the time, I was very interested in video games, and obviously virtual reality and computer graphics were the closest thing that computer science had to video games,” McMahan said.

Bowman said McMahan’s innate skills as a researcher were apparent early. 

“Ryan would always come with interesting questions, arguments, or debates,” Bowman said. “That’s really what makes research fun — discussing new ideas.”

To Bowman, McMahan stood out for his approach to problems and his preparation. Before long, he gave in to McMahan's requests to engage in research projects and invited him to participate in one, and then another.

“He looked for opportunities instead of whining about problems,” Bowman said. “He’s not satisfied with the status quo.”

Over the next few years, the pair worked on many projects in the Center for Human-Computer Interaction. That undergraduate research encouraged McMahan to pursue and earn a master’s degree and a Ph.D in computer science and applications.

“I learned a lot about the scientific method from Doug. How to properly pose a research question, how to properly pose a hypothesis, how to design an experiment to answer the research question,” McMahan said.

Throughout McMahan’s academic journey, the two met regularly.

“I had some of the deepest research conversations with Ryan,” Bowman said.

The two agreed that they often disagreed during those conversations. McMahan was comfortable questioning assumptions and bringing his own perspective to the table. Bowman welcomed it.

“He never just accepted my opinion on something,” Bowman said. “He would often push back and give sound logical evidence and arguments for a different opinion.”

That dynamic carried over into their writing, as well as numerous research papers that resulted in widely cited publications on virtual reality and 3D user interfaces.

Eventually, they co-authored the second edition of “3D User Interfaces” in 2017, a textbook used in human-computer interaction courses. 

After earning his doctorate, McMahan left Blacksburg. Over the following decade, he worked at the DIVE immersive-display facility at Duke University as a postdoctoral researcher, then joined the University of Texas at Dallas as a tenure-track faculty member. He earned tenure and a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award before moving to the University of Central Florida as a tenured associate professor.

Throughout his career, McMahan and Bowman continued to collaborate and stay in touch.

“Ryan went out and made an independent name for himself,” Bowman said. “He wasn’t just ‘my student’ anymore. He was a colleague, a collaborator, and someone whose work I followed closely.”

As their collaborations continued from afar, the center, one of three within ICAT, expanded its faculty and programs, forming new partnerships. It’s one of the longest-standing and most prominent human-computer interaction research groups in the country, according to Bowman. 

During his time as director, the center became especially well known for its contributions to extended reality. It supports interdisciplinary teams that study how people interact with technology and how to improve those interactions.

“We’re in a center because we enjoy working together, and we’re better when we work together, as opposed to when we work independently,” Bowman said.

Moving into the role of director as the center as it celebrates its 30th anniversary is something McMahan described as a homecoming.

In the position, McMahan will now oversee similar mentorship and collaborative programs he benefited from as a student. Bowman said he hopes the center’s sense of community will endure.

“Something that would also make me very proud would be if we maintained a really excellent sense of community,” Bowman said. “I think that’s something that makes us unique among centers.”

McMahan said he aims to follow Bowman’s example of asking rigorous research questions, building cross-disciplinary teams, and supporting students early in their careers.

“I try to do the same with my students. I try to encourage them to reach as high as they want to, and not to filter or edit themselves,” McMahan said.

What began as a series of yeses between a professor and one undergraduate student has evolved into a body of joint research that grew over multiple degree programs and subsequent collaborations.

“To me, it’s very important that we continue that tradition of being one of the leading universities in human-computer interaction research,” McMahan said.