Leveraging the potential of immersive technologies for education, community, and industry in an equitable and sustainable way.
Strategic Units
News & Media
Wnukoski, Joseph John2022-09-01T15:39:26-04:00
VAR Lab Debuts at STEAM FAIR
VAR Labs has been up for almost a year now, and although there have been many visitors to the lab
Lauren Cass2023-03-27T17:32:40-04:00
Media Mention: STEM Education
Thank you to The Corry Journal for publishing this article about STEM education in the local school district. The article
VAR at a Glance
Research, teaching, partnerships, and funding impact through January 2026.
Realized Value
$2.32M
Total Value Generated
$2.32M
Labor | Facilities | Visiting Scholars
Grants, Awards and Gifts
$1.35M
38 grants funded
Student Positions
247
115 unique | 74% paid
Partnerships
150+
Academia | Industry | Nonprofits
Open Lab Deliverables
196
47% by lead contributor
Return on Investment
$18K
Seed Grant | 2019
12,800%
Conservative ROI
Excludes speculative value
$2.32M
Realized Value | 2026
XR Classroom | 2,715 Total
60
FA21
172
SP22
625
FA22
706
SP23
1,152
FA24
Individuals engaged per semester
2nd-Year Retention Rate
98.6%
VAR Lab Researchers
vs
75.4%
Behrend Average
+23.2 pp above college average
Student Composition
Humanities and SS
45%
Engineering
42%
Business
9%
Science
4%
Undergrad
80%
Graduate
20%
Paid Roles
74%
Funding Breakdown
Grants (38)
$1,185,796
Faculty Effort
~$630,818
Facilities
~$228,249
Visiting Scholars
$162,283
Corporate + Private
$65,895
Student Awards (14)
$41,700
+ $198,654 in proposals under review
AI and Tech | 20+ Tools
ChatGPT / OpenAI
Google Gemini
Claude
GitHub Copilot
Adobe Firefly
DaVinci Resolve
ElevenLabs
NVIDIA NeMo
PyTorch
Hugging Face
YOLO
ComfyUI
Convai XR
Skydio Drones
Unitree Go2
Topaz Labs
Runway / Pika
LLMs | Generative Media | Vision | Speech | Autonomous Systems
Penn State
7+ campuses | TLT | ICDS | All 4 schools
Higher Ed
USC | Michigan | CMU | Korea | Brazil
Industry
US Steel | Erie Insurance | Adobe | STERIS
Community
Carnegie Science | Hagen | Girl Scouts
Grants and Federal
ECGRA | Fish and Wildlife | Erie Fdn
Projects & Events
Our Partners
