The National Science Foundation-funded Virtual Experience Research Accelerator (VERA), a platform created through a $5 million NSF award to UCF Pegasus Professor Gregory Welch, has reached two major milestones: launching its first large-scale remote study and awarding its first use grant. Led by UCF Research Associate Professor Gerd Bruder, the study will investigate cybersickness using remote participants in virtual reality environments, while researchers from San José State University will use the first VERA grant to explore how people engage with immersive technologies to improve learning experiences across education, cultural institutions and public engagement. The milestones mark a significant step toward expanding the scale, accessibility and impact of virtual and augmented reality research nationwide.

According to the Times Higher Education Sustainability Impact Rankings 2026, released on June 24, Hokkaido University ranks 7th globally and has maintained 1st place in Japan for the seventh consecutive year.

Using artificial intelligence to detect images of African leopards and rattlesnakes and freezing samples of endangered marine organisms far below zero degrees Fahrenheit are just some of the ways that new technologies can help protect biodiversity and threatened ecosystems. San Diego State University and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) announced a partnership to increase the impact of such innovations developed through SDZWA’s research, conservation, and wildlife care initiative

An innovative and artistic showcase breathing new life into a 300-year-old Hakka village officially opened yesterday (17 June) in Central. Organised by The University of Hong Kong’s Centre for Civil Society and Governance (HKU-CCSG), the contemporary exhibition marks the culmination of the 9-month artist incubation programme, “Celebrating Traditional Wisdom Through Art.”