Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Science Foundation's Division of Computer and Network Systems awarded a five-year CAREER grant totaling $339,622 to the University of California, Irvine effective July 1, 2026, under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) program (CFDA 47.070). This project delivers foundational research and development of security and trust mechanisms for collaborative immersive systems that utilize augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality technologies. The primary products include a principled formal framework that models multi-layered interactions unique to collaborative immersive environments and integrated mechanisms for trust establishment among participants, secure provenance tracking of shared interactions, and adaptive security and privacy policy enforcement. These deliverables address critical security and privacy vulnerabilities that arise when multiple users interact simultaneously in shared three-dimensional spaces through natural actions such as gaze, gestures, and spatial manipulation.

The research addresses security risks that existing traditional computing approaches cannot adequately mitigate, particularly those posed by malicious participants who can manipulate user experiences, impersonate trusted users, or exploit sensitive biometric and spatial data. The project's outcomes will contribute to industry-wide security standards for immersive collaboration platforms and support workforce development in securing next-generation computing technologies. Research activities are organized across three coordinated thrusts designed to enable trustworthy immersive collaboration suitable for high-stakes applications in healthcare, education, and workforce training sectors.