Awarded: Immersive Environments Lab Fellowship

The Stuckeman School in the College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State has announced Megan Young as the inaugural Immersive Environments Lab (IEL) Fellow. Young’s research explores why the everyday items we keep matter so much to us — and why technology still struggles to understand that emotional connection.

While contemporary digital technologies can easily recognize the shape or surface of an object, it cannot capture the personal memories and lived experiences that give it meaning. Using 3D scanning and virtual reality, “Line Notes” bridges this gap by inviting people to contribute meaningful personal items along with their stories, notes and reflections. Together, these pieces form a growing digital archive that reveals how objects connect us through shared memories, history and even loss.

Stuckeman School students are invited to help shape this project through workshops, object collection and exhibitions. As the first group of contributors, students will bring in personal items and learn how digital tools and storytelling build an interactive archive. Through sketching, using 3D scanners, and collaborating in virtual reality (via the Hyve-3D system in the IEL), participants will create and annotate digital models of their items. This project highlights underrepresented personal histories and creates a framework to welcome stories from the wider community.

09/2026 — University Park, PA