Derek Ham

Derek Ham is the Director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center, where he leads innovative research and collaborative projects at the intersection of technology, design and storytelling. With a deep commitment to fostering creativity and advancing the future of interactive entertainment, Derek brings a wealth of experience as a designer, teacher and leader in the fields of virtual reality, augmented reality and immersive media.

Prior to joining CMU, Derek served as the Head of the Media Arts, Design and Technology department at North Carolina State University’s College of Design. There, he led the department’s transition to an emphasis on cutting-edge technologies, such as game based learning, algorithmic thinking, and immersive storytelling. He also founded the College of Design’s Mixed Reality Lab, where he worked with students to find new ways to utilize VR & AR technology and expand the possibilities of interaction design.

In 2017, he completed the VR project “I Am A Man.” Set during the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike and the last days of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “I Am A Man” makes the history of the Civil Rights Movement alive and present by immersing users in the period. The project won multiple prizes, including the Perspectives Award for Immersive Storytelling at the 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival, VR Best of Show at the 2018 Nashville Film Festival and the 2018 FoST Prize in the category “Bridging the Divide.” In 2022, his interactive VR experience “Barnstormers: Determined to Win,” which places users on the baseball field in the Negro Leagues, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival.

Media Experience

Carnegie Mellon’s Dr. Derek Ham probes cultural innovation  — Rollingout
Visionary director of university’s Entertainment Technology Center [Derek Ham] explores how virtual reality and AI are shaping the future of Black storytelling and inclusive design.

Carnegie Mellon students invent AI pet that merges virtual reality with the physical world  — TribLive
When they pitched their idea to a committee of faculty members, Entertainment Technology Center Director Derek Ham was surprised in the similarities between the student’s idea and a prototype he had been working on. Ham felt that the entirely virtual aspect of the AI pet project had been done before, so Ham and the team combine ideas, he said.