About Dan

I am a software engineer and game designer focused on user experience research. I investigate emerging technologies to find novel ways to solve human problems. I have used games both as a form of creative expression and a way to explore a variety of human computer interaction problems.

Most recently, I worked as a senior software engineer at Meta's Reality Labs Research lab in Toronto. Our primary focus was on developing infrastucture to accelerate the work of HCI research scientists. I developed infrastructure to support large scale data collection for prototype hardware. Additionally, I led teams of engineers and designers to build executive demonstrations to illustrate the value of our research. These demos were presented to several levels of executive leadership and influenced Meta's prioritization for products such as the Quest 3 and Ray-Ban Display's EMG band.

Prior to this, I was a co-founder of Chatham Labs where I worked as a lead prototyper. I developed prototype user input devices to explore novel user input techniques. Specifically, I developed a collection of gloves and wristbands to explore user interactions in augmented and virtual reality.

My research has been focused on game design and accessibility. In my graduate research, I did work with children with cerebral palsy, exploring ways to incorporate rehabilitation exercises into social video games. We found this, coupled with some aim assistance algorithms, makes rehab not only more accessible but more enjoyable.

I continued my work in aim assistance and accessibility research with Chatham Labs, where I published and presented papers on the Trillium algorithm for assistive pointing in VR.

Under my Bear Cloud Games label I have also worked with researchers across multiple disciplines including psychology, psychiatry, and medicine. With Queen's University and St. Francis Xavier University, I developed a VR variant of the Cyberball game to research bullying in children. With Queen's University's School of Medicine I developed a HoloLens based AR simulator for trauma surgeons.

I work well in multidisciplinary teams and always appreciate an opportunity to develop new skills. I have experience leading and working with large teams in corporate environments. As well, I am in tune with the needs of smaller teams and startups. It's my primary goal to make games more accessible for everyone. My passion is solving the challenging user interaction problems and using technology to improve human lives.

Outside of work and research, I enjoy working on carpentry projects, practicing my soldering with electronics projects, and spending time with my dog Juno.