Class Activities
In ConE 2220, undergraduate students participate in a VR session where they review and navigate the railway station 3D models developed for their term projects. By experiencing their designs at full scale in a VR environment, students can identify design flaws, assess functionality, and evaluate spaces for usability and constructability. Similarly, in CE 5940S, graduate students develop 3D models, explore them through VR, and have opportunities to implement more advanced controls within the VR system. In CE 3060, students experience VR as part of a broader introduction to emerging construction technologies, including eye tracking, 3D scanning, and wearable systems.
Project Examples
Extended Reality-based Education for Promoting Energy-Saving Behavior in Buildings
Divine Agbobli, a PhD candidate in CCEE, is using the SIVL to research how immersive technologies can encourage energy-saving behaviors in residential buildings. He develops and tests virtual reality (VR) educational experiences that immerse occupants in realistic residential environments, enabling them to interact with energy-consuming components, such as thermostats and appliances. He uses these VR experiences to make occupants more aware of how their everyday decisions affect energy use in buildings and promote energy-saving behaviors and habits.
Eye-Tracking for Human-Centered Smart Home Interfaces
Jinmog Han, a PhD candidate in CCEE, uses eye-tracking technology in the SIVL to study how people perceive, interpret, and interact with building systems and smart home interfaces. His research examines how users visually attend to and understand information presented through building interfaces, with the goal of improving interface design to better support informed, energy-saving decisions. This work helps inform the development of more intuitive, energy-efficient, and human-centered building technologies.
Virtual campus-wide 3D Model for Energy Visualization and Outcome Prediction
Ahmad Yaseen, a recent master’s graduate, developed a virtual campus-wide 3D model to support energy data visualization and outcome prediction. His work integrated InfraWorks-based 3D models with historical, multi-building electricity consumption data, enabling dynamic analysis, cloud-based visualization, and predictive capabilities through Autodesk Platform Services and real-time cloud databases. He also developed an interactive interface that allows users to view building-level statistics and energy data directly within the 3D campus model.
Other Projects
Funded by ISU CIRAS, Dr. Mo’s group developed a 360° image-based construction safety training module that integrates large language model (LLM)-based analysis of historical construction accident reports. The online module can be used with VR headsets to provide immersive and interactive safety training. Building on these technical methods, Dr. Mo’s interdisciplinary research team will apply 360° image-based VR to STEM education through an ISU Miller Grant-funded project. Students in CCEE, education, and veterinary medicine at ISU will design immersive VR learning modules that support active exploration of complex, spatially rich concepts that are difficult to teach through traditional instruction, thereby enhancing their spatial reasoning and digital self-efficacy.
About the Surprenants
The Surprenant Interactive Visualization Laboratory is named for Chad and Tara Surprenant. Their generosity enabled this space to have the advanced technology that drives research and carves new industry pathways. Chad Surprenant earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Iowa State University in 1993, and was selected as a CCEE Distinguished Alumni in 2025. He was selected for “Outstanding entrepreneurship, business leadership and dedication to engineering excellence and innovation.” Chad has been visionary leader for ISG and in the business community, and this lab pushes the future of visualization in CCEE industries forward.
