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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Thank you for reading - hopefully the article was worth everyone's time :)

Reposted by Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn

Chris Carpenter @chriscarpenter.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I just had a grad seminar class in which we read Ahn and Hatfield's (2025) article on the research and advertising possibilities of virtual influencers in VR. It was a really interesting and forward looking article that spurred a great discussion. I recommend assigning it. doi.org/10.1080/1525...

doi.org

Simulated Persuasion in Extended Realities: Virtual Influencers in Immersive Virtual Environments

With advances in computer-generated technologies and artificial intelligence, virtual influencers (VIs) are likely to play a critical role in shaping interactive advertising within immersive enviro...

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Reposted by Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn

Journal of Communication @journal-of-comm.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Pub Alert! Introducing JoC publication: “Walking the moral plank: using virtual reality to investigate moral decision-making under threat”, by Joomi Lee, @baldwin-j-a.bsky.social @lindsayhahn.bsky.social Glenna Read @sunjooahn.bsky.social Read here: doi.org/10.1093/joc/...

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Featuring an all-star team with @joomi.bsky.social, Joshua Baldwin, @lindsayhahn.bsky.social, and Glenna Read!

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

✅ However, the selfish decisions dissipate when participants are made aware of the moral dilemma involved in selecting the pieces of wood. ✅ Participants are not *intentionally* harming others when making ego-centered moral decisions. Read article here; DM if behind a paywall: tinyurl.com/273yzukz

academic.oup.com

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

✅ Yes, the virtual pit is scary/arousing (if you haven't tried it yet, highly recommend!) ✅ The arousal reduces the extent to which participants think about the fact that self-serving decisions (i.e., taking more wood) can harm others. ✅ This leads to more selfish decisions in the moral dilemma.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

a wider plank ensures safety for themselves but harms the next participant, a narrower plank helps the next participant but would be very scary/dangerous for themselves. Through physiological assessments and self-reported surveys, we find that:

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

We introduce a moral dilemma in the virtual pit simulation by asking participants to divide 20 pieces of wood between themselves and the next participant who is waiting for the study to build the plank that would be used to cross the pit:

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

We explore this egoism-altruism dilemma in the well-known virtual reality simulation: the virtual pit. The task involves participants crossing a 30-feet deep virtual pit over a wooden plank and is often used in VR demos to demonstrate the experience of "being there" in #VR.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

📣New publication in the Journal of Communication @journal-of-comm.bsky.social. #VirtualReality now allows us to take a deeper look at 'in-the-moment' moral decision-making (e.g., trolley dilemma). But what if the threat in the moral context includes your own safety?

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

We have partnered with Danny Pimentel and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry out on the West Coast to work on #wildfire preparedness. We also have advisors from The Weather Channel, U of South Florida, National Wildfire Coordinating Group, and Keep Oregon Green to provide expert guidance.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

For this project, Marshall Shepherd (@drshepherd2013.bsky.social), Kyle Johnsen, and I will be working with the National Hurricane Center and the Broward County Public Library System (36 branches) to really become embedded into the #community with actionable plans for #hurricane #preparedness.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Things were a bit uncertain at times, but... I am elated that this grant finally received the Notice of Award today and excited to continue our work with @noaa.gov on community-level #disaster preparedness!!

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Spent the past few days on the Hill with colleagues at @emoryuniversity.bsky.social to advocate for children’s health research and NIH support! We shared “Weather the Storm” #VR during the Congressional briefing and held a demo 😎 #communication #research #children #health #metaverse #translational

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Super excited to share this podcast with you! In this episode of #WeatherGeeks, I had a wonderful chat with host Jen Carfagno about Weather the Storm, our #VR integrated training package for communicating #hurricane and storm surge risks for #disaster #preparedness.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

UGA Research write up of some of the cutting edge research on education and training taking place on campus - featuring our recent @noaa.gov project where I got to get into a little more detail about the motivations behind the #VR hurricane experience. research.uga.edu/news/brains-...

research.uga.edu

Brains, games, and VR frames: How UGA researchers are rewriting the rules of learning - UGA Research News

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

We are working with the legal office to also upload the application to the Meta store for easier downloads. P.S. Eek, live interviews are always nerve wracking 😱

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

www.foxweather.com/watch/fmc-mb... Recent Fox Weather coverage on our “Weather the Storm” virtual reality application. If you’re interested in trying it out and have access to a Meta Quest headset, please visit www.ugavr.com/weatherthest....

foxweather.com

Researchers using virtual reality to simulate dangers of storm surge | Latest Weather Clips | FOX Weather

Researchers from the University of Georgia in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are using virtual reality to show just how d

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Weather the Storm was collaboratively produced by CACHE at @universityofga.bsky.social, Clemson University, South Carolina Sea Grant, and Georgia Sea Grant. Please share widely to anyone who may be interested! Registration link provided here: www.noaa.gov/regional-col...

noaa.gov

2025 Hurricane Awareness Webinars

2025 Hurricane Awareness Webinar Series - Southeast and Caribbean Regional Collaboration Team (SECART)

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

#Hurricane season 2025 is almost here! 🌧️ ☔️ Join @ugavr.bsky.social CACHE and our project partners at the @noaa.gov 2025 Hurricane Awareness Webinars Series to learn about "Weather the Storm," a training package for hurricanes and storm surge events that combines #VR w/ PPT, videos, handouts.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Every day, I am blessed to be able to work with these brilliant people who are the best of the best at what they do, and also genuinely care about CACHE's vision and goal to make the world a better place, one project at a time ❤️ grady.uga.edu/news/cache-r...

grady.uga.edu

CACHE receives Presidents’ Award of Distinction from Georgia CTSA - Grady

A team from the Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems is the recipient of the Presidents’ Award of Distinction from Georgia CTSA.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Although I often represent @ugavr.bsky.social, I cannot emphasize enough how much teamwork goes into all we do. It is a collaborative effort among the Colleges of Journalism & Mass Communication, Engineering, Public Health, and the colleges of all of our faculty affiliates, students, and staff.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

We are proud to serve @universityofga.bsky.social University of Georgia's land and sea grant missions and humbled to be recognized for our research impact in the state of Georgia.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

We are thrilled to be awarded the President's Award of Distinction from the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance (CTSA), recognizing our efforts to engage community members and orgs, helping to build capacity and establish strong partnerships that evolve into long-term friendships.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Community-based work has been at the core of our vision at @ugavr.bsky.social Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems(CACHE). Even when we work with cutting-edge tech, we have strived to direct our findings back to communities so that they may benefit from critical scientific advancements.

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Reposted by Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn

Bree McEwan @mcewan.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Includes fireside chat with @sunjooahn.bsky.social and VR demos following the talk!

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Described as "..incredibly realistic and well-done..." The VR experience and supplementary education materials are available to anyone who has access to a Meta Quest headset. winknews.com/2025/03/21/s...

winknews.com

Storm surge VR from NOAA shows hurricane danger to teach safety

NOAA introduced a new VR simulation called "Weather the Storm," designed to immerse people in the experience of a hurricane's storm surge.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Chief Meteorologist @mattdevittweather.bsky.social of WINK News reviews "Weather the Storm," a life-saving #VR simulation we developed and tested at the @ugavr.bsky.social, in collab with @noaa.gov, Clemson University, the National Hurricane Center, Georgia Sea Grant, and South Carolina Sea Grant.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Our study on IEEEVR2020 was one of the craziest but exciting field studies we were able to pull together miraculously during the early days of COVID. Thanks to @drlauralevy.bsky.social for being such an amazing partner-in-crime 😎 Let's do it again soon! URL to the paper & findings in Laura's post!

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Special thanks to all of my partners and collaborators on this project at Clemson University, Georgia Sea Grant, South Carolina Sea Grant, NOAA @noaa.gov, and the National Hurricane Center. We couldn't have done this without their expertise, wisdom, and guidance.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

The package contains two versions of the #VR experience (a quick demo with fast throughput, and a longer one for education) and supplementary slides/videos/handouts. Instructions and video manuals on how to download and use the VR experience are provided on the website.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Delighted to share the results of our 3-year partnership with NOAA and the National Hurricane Center! "Weather the Storm," a training and education package for hurricanes and storm surge events, is now available for public use (download link in the article). wpo.noaa.gov/bringing-sto...

wpo.noaa.gov

Bringing storm surge to virtual reality - NOAA Weather Program Office

A new virtual reality simulation funded by WPO shows people why coastal evacuation orders are so important during storms.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

In Paris to give a talk at Université Paris Nanterre 🇫🇷 This is a three university inter-laboratory collaboration, where the labs are interested in exploring the use of #VR in the psychological mechanisms that shape and drive embodiment and ensuing behavior change. If you're in Paris, swing by!

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Federal employees, academics, private sector leaders have come together to figure out how to navigate the future of communities facing extreme weather. People got us in this mess but we need to remember that people will get us out of it ❤️

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Here for a social behavioral & economic sciences summit at @noaa.gov. It is incredibly reassuring to see hear and discuss how each person at this summit is contributing to holding the line the best they can, bravely leading organizations in their corners of the world in these very uncertain times.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

One of the best things about working on federally funded projects is getting to know the people behind the scenes. What used to feel like just numbers and calls for proposals is now filled with friends and familiar faces and that really changes what the job feels like.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

✅ Strong emotional responses (e.g., fear, excitement) elicited in VR is useful to capture attention ✅ VR content should represent wide variances in specific communities and lived experiences to increase utility & relevance ✅ VR may be useful because it is novel... but novelty is a double-edged sword

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

We knew that community leaders (decision-makers, opinion leaders, includes industry professionals, engineers, civil servants, educators) were key drivers of VR adoption. Some themes from community leader interviews on opportunities and challenges of VR as a tool for extreme weather preparedness:

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

[NEW PUBLICATION] This is the first in a series of pubs coming up from our @noaa.gov project in partnership with the National Hurricane Center, using #VR to communicate the risk of storm surge/flooding. One of the first Qs to address was, can we scale the use of VR as a risk communication tool?

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

To our own CACHE graduates (@ugavr.bsky.social)— you’ve left your mark here, and we are so excited for you to Press Start 👾 on your next adventure. Chase those dreams, change the world, and never forget: Once a Dawg, Always a Dawg! 🐾❤️🎉 #UGA #UGAGrads #Graduation2024 #GoDawgs

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

CACHE is celebrating all the incredible students graduating this season — both from within our center and beyond! Your hard work, passion, and perseverance have paid off, and we can’t wait to see the amazing things you’ll achieve. 🎓 🌟

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

But I've had some time to internally process these emotions and would like to make this note: there is a ton of press coverage on the president's ill-fated decision to launch the coup but perhaps less coverage on HOW RAPIDLY citizens responded to uphold and fight for democracy.

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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn @sunjooahn.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

This is me after submitting a multi-institutional grant proposal with just 45 minutes left on the clock 😮‍💨 Everything that could possibly go wrong... did go wrong. Surprise. But we successfully crossed the finish line!!

media.tenor.com

an older woman is making a funny face and says `` i 'm old '' .

ALT: an older woman is making a funny face and says `` i 'm old '' .

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Reposted by Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn

Jason Chein @mindimager.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

go.bsky.app/Fsz1TyW

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