About

Hi, and welcome to my website!

I’m Dr James Broderick, an Irish-American researcher currently based in Seoul, South Korea. I completed my PhD (Computer Science) from the Department of Computer Science at the National University of Ireland Galway in 2021, under the supervision of Prof Jim Duggan and Dr Sam Redfern. My dissertation was “Effect of Spatial Audio and Control Schema on User Performance, Awareness, and Enjoyment”, and examined how the method of control we use to engage with a virtual environment, and the type of sensory information we receive in that environment, can not only change our performance and enjoyment of a virtual experience, but also change the unconcious way we act in that virtual space. During my research, I had the opportunity to work as a lecturer teaching modules on 3D Modelling and Animation, 3D Game Development, and Object Orientated Programming through Interactivity, Graphics and Animation. I also had the opportunity to work with some amazing Master’s degree students while supervising their research dissertations.

As well as my academic background, I have a long history of volunteer event organising. I was the Founder of Akumakon, an award-winning annual animation and culture event which first took place in NUIG in January of 2011. Over the years I have worked as both Convention Director and in an advisory role up until 2017, during which we raised over €15000 for charity, had a huge variety of guests from Europe, the United States of America, and Japan, and had over 1200 annual attendees. I was also the President of the Anime and Manga Society in NUIG from 2009 to 2011, and organised local card game tournaments and official regional qualifiers for Yu-gi-oh! and Cardfight Vanguard between 2011 and 2017.

My research interests include Extended/Mixed Reality, Human-Computer Interaction, Digital Twin, and Spatial Audio. My focus is on crafting environments that are more enjoyable, immersive, and accessible to the wider public, and examining how the way we engage with a virtual space and the sensory stimuli within it and change how we act within that space.

Outside of research and work I love music, games, anime, and generally nerdy stuff. I have a post dedicated to my old radio show, Fractal on FlirtFM, that can be found here. The main purpose of this website is to keep track of my projects, provide some information on myself, and practice some new skills.

If you’re interested, you can read my dissertation here or you can see my resume here. Feel free to get in contact if you want to chat!