Award will support the development of next generation intelligent XR interfaces
July 8, 2026
Assistant Professor David Lindlbauer
David Lindlbauer, an assistant professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, has received a Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation.Known as the NSF CAREER award, the honor is the foundation's most prestigious recognition for early-career faculty members who are expected to become academic leaders in their fields. Lindlbauer’s award will support research and education in adaptive extended reality, commonly known as XR.XR is a broad term for the technologies that blend the digital and physical worlds, including augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality.While laptops and smartphones provide instant access to tools, digital clutter can make it difficult for users to find the right information when they need it most. An XR interface lifts digital elements from the boundaries of flat screens and brings them into physical, 3D spaces.As designers build the next generation of intelligent systems, adaptive XR interfaces will automatically adjust to the user's surroundings. Some of Lindlbauer’s past projects, including BlendMR and MineXR, have explored personalization to customize the interfaces based on whether the user is at home, in the office, or shared spaces like coffee shops.“Adaptive interfaces will be at the forefront of how users interact with digital information and AI in a productive, enjoyable, and always-available way,” said Lindlbauer. “Future interactive technologies should consider factors, such as who the user is, where they are, and what they are doing to optimally adapt both the digital content users receive and how it is presented to them.”
