Philip Rosedale – Founder, Second Life and High Fidelity: Often dubbed the “pioneer of virtual worlds”, Philip Rosedale created Second Life, one of the earliest and most successful virtual worlds. His newer venture, High Fidelity, focuses on virtual reality (VR) social spaces.
Mark Zuckerberg – CEO, Meta Platforms (previously Facebook): With the rebranding of Facebook to Meta, Zuckerberg emphasizes building the “metaverse”, a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality.
Tim Sweeney – CEO, Epic Games: Leading the company behind the massively popular Fortnite game, Sweeney's work also explores virtual environments, economies, and social interactions beyond gaming.
Palmer Luckey – Founder, Oculus VR: By developing Oculus Rift, Luckey made VR accessible to the masses. His insights into VR hardware development are crucial for the creation of immersive virtual worlds.
Rony Abovitz – Founder, Magic Leap: Abovitz's company, Magic Leap, which focuses on mixed reality experiences, has been at the forefront of bridging the gap between the real and the digital world.
Jeremy Bailenson – Founding Director, Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab: Bailenson's academic work offers deep insights into the psychological and societal implications of virtual worlds, examining how we perceive ourselves and others in virtual spaces.
Jessica Outlaw – Cultural Anthropologist, The Extended Mind: Outlaw investigates user behavior in virtual spaces. Her research offers unique insights into the social dynamics and cultural norms of virtual worlds.
Jaron Lanier – Computer Scientist and VR Pioneer: Often referred to as the “father of VR”, Lanier's work in the 1980s and 1990s set the groundwork for many of today's virtual worlds concepts.
Brenda Laurel – VR Designer and Researcher: A veteran in the field, Laurel's work in gender and technology provides critical insights into designing virtual worlds that are inclusive and diverse.
Richard Bartle – Co-Creator, MUD (Multi-User Dungeon): As the co-creator of the first-ever virtual world, MUD, Bartle's foundational work and theories about player types in online worlds have been influential in the design and study of virtual spaces.
