CV

Eugene Kukshinov, PhD  

(PDF to download: CV Eugene Kukshinov)

EDUCATION:

Degree Institution Year
PhD Temple University, Media and Communication (USA) 2021
MA National Research University Higher School of Economics, Political science/Integrated communications (Russia) 2011
BA State University – Higher School of Economics, Political science (Russia) 2009

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Media psychology (presence, immersion), HCI/UX, emerging media (VR, Social VR, video games, immersive storytelling), critical theory, and hegemony 

DISSERTATION TITLE: ‘It seemed like face-to-face’: Visual familiarity as an uncertainty reduction strategy for social presence (Dissertation committee: Dr. Matthew Lombard, Dr. Bruce Hardy, Dr. Kareem Johnson, and Dr. James Cummings – external)

BASIC SKILLS: R statistics, Unity3D, Blender, Qualtrics, Dovetail, grants writing, major research methods and methodologies (experiments, interviews, questionnaires, content analysis, case study, CDA, etc.) 

FIRST AUTHOR PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS:

  1. Kukshinov, E., Nathan, K. S., Bowman, N., Rooney, B., & Nacke, L. E. (2026). Walking into the Unknown: Manipulating Knowledge of the External Environment to Promote Presence in VR. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2605178
  2. Kukshinov, E. & Nacke, L.E. (2025). Collective Embodiment, or the Social Nature of the Sense of Embodiment in Social VR. ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences, https://doi.org/10.1145/3706370.3727895
  3. Kukshinov, E. (2025). Dual Cognitive Approach. In P. Bédard, A. Thain, & C. Therrien (Eds.), States of Immersion Across Media: Bodies, Techniques, Practices (pp. 81–104). Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.27435710.7 
  4. Kukshinov, E., Gini, F., Mishra, A., Bowman, N., Rooney, B., and Nacke, L., (2025). Seeing is not Thinking: Testing Capabilities of VR to Promote Perspective-Taking. IEEE Conference Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR) https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2025.3549137 [Best Paper Award]
  5. Kukshinov, E., Tu, J., Szita, K., Senthil Nathan, K., and Nacke, L. E. (2025). Widespread yet Unreliable: A Systematic Analysis of the Use of Presence Questionnaires. Interacting With Computers https://doi.org/10.1093/iwc/iwae064   
  6. Kukshinov, E. (2024). It’s (not) me: Dynamic Nature of Immersive Experiences in Video Game Play. Human Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10746-024-09768-9
  7. Kukshinov, E. (2024) Unestablished Boundaries: The Capabilities of Immersive Technologies to Induce Empathy, Tell Stories, and Immerse. Media and Communication. Volume 12 https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.8423
  8. MacArthur, C., Kukshinov, E., Harley, D., Pawar, T., Modi, N., & Nacke, L. E. (2024). Experiential Disparities in Social VR: Uncovering Power Dynamics and Inequality. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 5 https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2024.1351794
  9. Kukshinov, E. (2024). Presence, (re)focused and explicated. The Communication Review, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714421.2024.2366684
  10. Kukshinov, E., Harley, D., Szita, K., Mogavi, R. H., MacArthur, C., & Nacke, L. E. (2024). Disembodied, Asocial, and Unreal: How Users (Re)Interpret Designed Affordances of Social VR. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’24) (pp. 1–12). July 01–05, 2024, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark. ACM, New York, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643834.3661548
  11. Kukshinov, E., Tu, J., Szita, K., Senthil Nathan, K., and Nacke, L. E. (2024). “Never The Same”: Systematic Analysis of the Methodological Issues in the Presence Studies That Employ Questionnaires. In Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’24), Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA,  Article 8, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1145/3613905.3651074
  12. Kukshinov, E. (2023). Experiential Challenges of and Opportunities for Applying Immersive Technologies with Storytelling. PRESENCE: Virtual and Augmented Reality, 1–35.  https://doi.org/10.1162/pres_a_00365 [NOTE: the year can be seen as 2021, but it is 2023]
  13. Kukshinov, E., & Shaw, A. (2022). Playing with privilege: Examining demographics in choosing player-characters in video games. Psychology of Popular Media, 11(1), 90–101. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000378
  14. Kukshinov, E. (2021, March). Presence in VR: Developing measure and stimulus. In 2021 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW) (pp. 709-710). IEEE. doi:10.1109/VRW52623.2021.00237
  15. Kukshinov, E. (2021). Discourse of non-participation in Russian political culture: Analyzing multiple sites of hegemony production. Discourse & Communication. 15(2):163-183. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481320982092
  16. Kukshinov, E. (2015). The Virtual Self and Possible Immersive Consequences of Uncharacteristic Self-Presentation in Virtual Environment. International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology, and Learning, 5(4):73-82. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/IJCBPL.2015100106 

OTHER PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS:

  1. Senthil Nathan, K., Lee, J., Wang, D. M., Smith, G. M., Kukshinov, E., Harley, D., & Nacke, L. E. (2025). Beyond Competitive Gaming: How Casual Players Evaluate and Respond to Teammate Performance. Companion Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, 7–14. https://doi.org/10.1145/3744736.3749343
  2. Tu, J., Kukshinov, E., Hadi Mogavi, R., Wang, D., and Nacke, L.E. (2025). Designing Biofeedback Board Games: The Impact of Heart Rate on Player Experience. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’25). April 26-May 1, 2025, Yokohama, Japan https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713543 
  3. Choong, L., Cmentowski, S., Kukshinov, E., Tu, J., and Nacke, L.E. (2025) Support Autonomy: Exploring Player Perspectives on AI-Supported Onboarding in Video Games. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’25). April 26-May 1, 2025, Yokohama, Japan https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713576 
  4. Wang, D., Cmentowski, S., Hadi Mogavi, R., Senthil Nathan, K., Kukshinov, E., Tu, J., and Nacke, L.E. (2025) From Solo to Social: Exploring the Dynamics of Player Cooperation in a Co-located Cooperative Exergame. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’25). April 26-May 1, 2025, Yokohama, Japan https://doi.org/10.1145/3706598.3713937

CURRENT SUBMISSIONS:

  • Entertainment Computing (in review)
  • PRESENCE journal (major revision)
  • International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (in review)
  • Psychology of Popular Media (in review)
  • CHI’26 (to be submitted)

CONFERENCES PARTICIPATION AND INVITED TALKS:

  1. Kukshinov, E., Senthil Nathan, K., Bowman, N., Rooney, B., and Nacke, L., (to be presented). Walking Into the Unknown: Manipulating Knowledge of the External Environment to Promote Presence in VR. International Communication Association (ICA) Conference 2025, Denver, USA
  2. Kukshinov, E. & Nacke, L.E. (to be presented). Collective Embodiment, or the Social Nature of the Sense of Embodiment in Social VR. ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences, 2025, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
  3. Kukshinov, E. (to be engaged). Questioning Reality: Explorations of Virtual Reality conference. The Data Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, April 23-25, 2025
  4. Kukshiniov, E. (2024, August). Unestablished boundaries of immersive technologies. Participation in the Newhouse Impact Summit 2024 “Advances and Opportunities in Immersive Storytelling Technologies”, Syracuse, NY, USA

  5. Kukshinov, E., Harley, D., Szita, K., Mogavi, R. H., MacArthur, C., & Nacke, L. E. (2024). Disembodied, Asocial, and Unreal: How Users (Re)Interpret Designed Affordances of Social VR. In Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS ’24)

  6. Kukshinov, E., Tu, J., Szita, K., Senthil Nathan, K., and Nacke, L. E. (2024). “Never The Same”: Systematic Analysis of the Methodological Issues in the Presence Studies That Employ Questionnaires. In Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’24), Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA,  

  7. Kukshinov, E. (2024, May). Novel Approaches for Understanding and Mitigating Emerging New Harms in Immersive and Embodied Virtual Spaces: A Workshop participation at the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA ’24)
  8. Kukshinov, E. (2022, May). It was like face-to-face: Visual familiarity as an uncertainty reduction strategy for social presence. Paper to be presented at International Communication Association (ICA) Conference 2022, Paris, France
  9. Kukshinov, E. (2022, May). Presence, refocused and clarified. Paper to be presented at International Communication Association (ICA) Conference 2022, Paris, France
  10. Kukshinov, E. (2021, October). Sensorial intervention of ‘immersive’ technologies into mental narrative engagement: cognitive issue with experiencing 360/VR movies. Paper presented at 6th Narrative, Media and Cognition Conference. Virtual
  11. Kukshinov, E. (2021, October). Visual familiarity as a factor of social presence in audio-mediated channel. Paper presented at Association of Internet Researchers Doctoral Colloquium. Hybrid
  12. Kukshinov, E. & Wright G.W. (2021, September). Validation of the behavioral measure of presence in VR. Pre-registered report presented at Media Psychology Conference 2021, Germany. Virtual
  13. Kukshinov, E. & Wright G.W. (2021, July). Developing behavioral measure of presence in VR. Paper presented at 2021 International Conference on Virtual Rehabilitation (ICVR)
  14. Kukshinov, E. (2021, April). On how digital replication of the intersubjective boundaries produces singular subjects: critical and post-structuralist perspective. Paper presented at Digital Worlds: A Virtual Workshop hosted by The Center for Collaboration and Ethics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Virtual
  15. Kukshinov, E. (2021, March). Presence in VR: developing measure and stimulus. Paper and poster presented at Doctoral Consortium at IEEE VR 2021: IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces. doi:10.1109/VRW52623.2021.00237
  16. Lombard, M., Kim, J., Kukshinov, E., Xu, K., & Yang, H. (2021, February). Exploring Visual Collaboration Platforms. Bonus session of PRESENCE 2020, the 18th conference of the International Society for Presence Research (ISPR), Feburary 26, 2021. Virtual conference.
  17. Kukshinov, E. & Lombard, M. (2020, October). Walking into the dark: Cognition manipulation and methodological challenges with behavioral measures of physical presence in the virtual environment. Paper presented at the PRESENCE 2020 conference of the International Society for Presence Research (ISPR), Orlando, FL. Virtual
  18. Kukshinov, E. & Shaw, A. (2020, June). Playing with privilege: Examining demographics in choosing player-characters in video games. Paper to be presented at the The Digital Games Research Association conference (DiGRA), Tampere, Finland (Conference canceled)
  19. Kukshinov, E. (2020, April). Discourse of non-participation in the Russian political culture. Examining multiple sites of hegemony production. Paper to be presented at the at conference of the Popular Culture Association (PCA), Philadelphia, PA. (Conference canceled)
  20. Kukshinov, E. (2019, May) A Savior, a Shopper, a Traveler, a Friend: Intention-Driven Immersive Experience of Video Game Play. Paper presented at International Communication Association (ICA) Conference 2019, Washington, DC
  21. Kukshinov, E. (2019, May) When News Is Immersive Like TV Shows: Russian Media Consumption in Rural Areas in 2014–2015. Paper presented at International Communication Association (ICA) Conference 2019, Washington, DC
  22. Voiskounsky, A.E. & Kukshinov, E.Y. (2014, November). Social Presence in Virtual Environment. Paper presented at the annual meeting of International Conference on Psychology of Speech and Trust, Moscow, Russia.

TEACHING AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE:

POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHER – University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) – HCIgames Lab: Fall 2022 – Fall 2025

  • HCI and media psychology research:
    • Led and managed the entire project life cycle, including project planning, design, and execution; 
    • Coordinated a team of assistants and collaborators, overseeing their tasks and responsibilities;
    • Conducted extensive data collection and analysis, employing various research methods. 
    • Areas of research: Social VR (affordances and experiences), VR (non-technological factors of presence, capacity to induce empathy), video games, computer-mediated communication, gamified simulators, etc. 
  • Mentoring students:
    • Provided guidance and mentorship to undergraduate and graduate students;
    • Advised PhD candidates in their dissertation research.
  • Successfully secured research funding through the development and submission of grant proposals.

RESEARCHER (remote) – Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) – Motion-Action-Perception lab: Spring 2021 -currently 

  • Coordinating the conceptual part of the project on VR presence measure

GRADUATE EXTERN – Temple University (Philadelphia, PA): Fall 2020 – Spring 2021

  • Teaching workshop series “Intro to VR research”
  • Researcher in the VR lab
  • Development of the VR application
  • Administrative work in Scholars Studio

INSTRUCTOR – Temple University (Philadelphia, PA): Fall 2019 – Spring 2020

  • CSI 1111 Introduction to Public Speaking (both offline and online)
  • Guest lectures in Global Communication

TEACHING ASSISTANT – Temple University (Philadelphia, PA): Fall 2017 – Spring 2020

  • The Future of Your TV
  • Media and Society
  • Intro to PR
  • Communication and Social Influence

AWARDS:

  • Seal of Excellence🏅, European Commission – Horizon Europe MSCA proposal
  • IEEE VR 2025, Best Paper Award 🏆
  • Lupina Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022-2024)
  • Meta Research Award, 2022 (70 000 USD)
  • Seed Grant from Games Institute, University of Waterloo
  • 2021 Summer Grant by the Graduate Board Fellowship Committee, Temple University
  • 2021 Würzburg Summer School ‘How Stories Affect our Lives: The Psychology of Narrative Impact’ (SALON 2021, July 5 to July 9, 2021)
  • Graduate externship scholarship by the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio (2020-2021), Temple University

SERVICE:

  • Reviewer:
    • Journal of Media Psychology
    • Psychology of Popular Media
    • Virtual Reality
    • International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
    • International Society for Presence Research (ISPR)/conference
    • ACM CHI
    • ACM CHI PLAY
    • ACM CSCW
    • ACM IMX
    • Ethics and Information Technology
    • Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)
    • International Communication Association (ICA) conference
    • IEEE Conference on Games
  • Conference organizer:
    • International Society for Presence Research (ISPR)/conference, 2020 (organizing committee)
    • CHI PLAY, 2023 (AC, work-in-progress)
    • ACM DIS, 2025 (AC, papers track)
    • XVIII April International Academic Conference On Economic and Social Development, 2017 (organizing committee)

OTHER PUBLICATIONS AND BLOGS:

ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE:

MEMBER OF THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE of the XVIII April International Academic Conference On Economic and Social Development – National Research University Higher School of Economics: January 2017 – June 2017

  • Communication with participants (registration, visa support, grants coordination, fee payments, etc.)
  • Conference program publishing
  • Public relations
  • Support during the conference (volunteers coordination, participants registration, information system support, etc.)