Highlights

  • UCF Pegasus Professor Gregory Welch earned the 2026 ISMAR Career Impact Award for more than three decades of research, leadership and service shaping immersive technologies.

  • Named inventor on 31 patents, Welch turns bold ideas into practical solutions 鈥� from research that helped advance projection mapping to inventions supporting healthcare, situational awareness and smarter homes.

  • Welch is helping the next generation break new ground through mentorship, service and leadership of the Virtual Experience Research Accelerator, which is transforming research using immersive technologies.

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From transforming how images illuminate complex surfaces to creating new tools for healthcare simulation, UCF Pegasus Professor Gregory Welch has spent more than three decades expanding what immersive technology can do.

Now, the field he has helped advance is honoring his lasting influence.

Welch received the 2026 Career Impact Award at the 25th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR), which brings together the world鈥檚 leading researchers, practitioners and innovators shaping the future of extended reality.

The AdventHealth Endowed Chair in Healthcare Simulation at UCF’s College of Nursing and co-director of the Synthetic Reality Lab at UCF鈥檚 , Welch was recognized for his significant and sustained contributions to the field.

鈥淭his award is especially meaningful to be recognized by a community I have been a part of for decades.鈥�

For Welch, that work reflects a deep dedication to both the technology and the people who鈥檒l take it further, especially students and educators.

鈥淭his award is especially meaningful to be recognized by a community I have been a part of for decades,鈥� says Welch. 鈥淚t is also fulfilling to know that all of my efforts, the leadership, service, research and education, not only have been noticed by my peers, but have been judged to have had a long-term impact.鈥�

Throughout his career, Welch has collaborated across disciplines to tackle challenges facing industries ranging from defense to healthcare. His research spans virtual and augmented (VR/AR) reality, virtual beings, motion tracking, displays and healthcare technology. Much of his work focuses on human-computer interaction 鈥� blending analytical thinking and creativity to build effective interactive experiences.

Among his most influential contributions is research on spatial augmented reality that he co-developed in 1998. That work earned the ISMAR Long Lasting Impact Paper Award nearly two decades later, and its impact remains visible today.

Using mathematical equations, Welch and his co-authors created a way to adjust projected imagery to appear realistic on complex surfaces. Their work helped advance projection mapping 鈥� the technology behind spectacles such as the light shows at Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World Resort鈥檚 Magic Kingdom.

鈥淭hat work is still something I鈥檓 deeply proud of 鈥� it was something that came together as a result of a lot of work with a lot of different people. It鈥檚 rewarding to see it now used all over the world,鈥� says Welch.

Turning Patented Ideas into Powerful Solutions

Welch has authored more than 200 publications and is a named inventor on 31 patents. His inventions include a physical-virtual patient simulator, a 鈥渟mart鈥� wound simulator, sterile field detection mechanisms, directional electrodes for deep brain stimulation and tactile telepresence for isolated patients.

His list of inventions continues to grow. Two new patents issued this year build on a record of innovation that has helped place UCF among the top 20 U.S. public universities for utility patents granted.

One new invention provides a system for generating spatially explicit auditory cues 鈥� sounds that convey direction, distance and height 鈥� through devices such as AR/VR headsets or vehicle speakers to enhance a recipient鈥檚 situational understanding.

Potential applications include helping military personnel track the positions and movements of squad members and equipment, improving vehicle navigation and making emergency vehicle sirens easier for drivers to perceive.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about using components of different home automation systems to help each other.鈥�

The most recent patent addresses a gap in home automation: A home automation controller can send a command to a device, but did the intended change actually happen?

A lightbulb could be burned out. A broken sprinkler head could send water over the curb instead of onto the lawn. In either case, confirmation by another nearby device can allow the problem to be detected.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about using components of different home automation systems to help each other, in a sense,鈥� says Welch. 鈥淪uch as using a camera on another device in a room to determine if a light is illuminating or using home security cameras to confirm the sprinkler system worked properly 鈥� and if they didn鈥檛, help the homeowner determine why.鈥�

By connecting devices with complementary capabilities, the system could help users verify that their devices are functioning as intended and identify problems when they鈥檙e not.

Strengthening Future Generations

Welch鈥檚 impact extends beyond his innovations. An active leader, volunteer and mentor in IEEE communities, he has served in numerous board roles and shared his expertise through more than 100 presentations, panels and workshops worldwide.

鈥� My … passion to help others … continues to energize me every day in my work to advance immersive technologies, create solutions and support the next generation of researchers …鈥�

He also leads the , a U.S. National Science Foundation-funded platform designed to transform research using immersive technologies. The project recently reached two major milestones for virtual reality research.

His contributions have earned dozens of awards and honors, including recognition as an IEEE fellow, a National Academy of Inventors fellow and a Pegasus Professor 鈥� UCF鈥檚 highest faculty honor. He received the IEEE Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award in 2018 and the IEEE Virtual Reality Service Award earlier this year.

For Welch, the drive to discover remains inseparable from helping others do the same.

鈥淢y career, in this industry and in academia, is driven by a passion to help others 鈥� that鈥檚 what continues to energize me every day in my work to advance immersive technologies, create solutions and support the next generation of researchers who will make the next discoveries.鈥�