Princeton, NJ, USA
Rolando Masís-Obando, PhD., is a computational neuroscientist at Princeton University. He is interested in how contexts (like those in VR/AR) shape how we think and remember our day-to-day experiences. He has scanned dozens of people’s brains (and effectively read their minds) to understand further how the brain represents spaces and concepts. Given the intersection of AR/VR with neuroscience, Rolando’s recent interests revolve around how we can shape a future internet to be more human-centered and grounded under ethical principles. He recently directed a cinematic educational video on the history of the Metaverse and its ongoing issues with privacy and agency.
Rolando graduated from Yale University with a focus on Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. During his studies, he co-founded Shuflix with his brothers, the largest activity search engine (at the time), to help people interact with their environment in a playful alternative way while helping small businesses get more exposure. Since then, he has co-founded PhDx, a platform to help incoming Ph.D. students with guides and insider knowledge of the unspoken rules in academia, and Neuroethics & the Future of Reality, a conference that brings together academic and industry leaders to discuss the consequences of AI, BCI, and XR at the individual and societal level. In his free time, Rolando is a filmmaker, composes films, creates augmented reality tutorials for his YouTube channel, and does pro-bono marketing consulting for personal brands and small businesses.
