Ana Herruzo is an artist and researcher, specializing in emerging and computational media. Her work focuses on the real-time integration of media with physical environments to enhance and transform human experiences. Grounded in environmental, social, and cultural values, her research focuses on creating immersive spatial experiences. These experiences span a diverse array of applications and audiences, encompassing art installations, live events, film, and public space and urban interventions.
Ana's interdisciplinary research extends into academia, where she concentrates on experiential design, extended realities, and the ethics of emerging media. She serves as an Associate Professor at Arizona State University within their new Media and Immersive eXperience research center (MIX) and is the Director of the MEDIAtedX research Laboratory. The laboratory explores communication mediums within immersive experiences and interactive environments, focusing on their ideation and production pipelines. These pipelines utilize various emerging computational media tools, such as real-time graphics, computer vision, machine learning algorithms, and new XR technologies. Additionally, Ana is the Co-director of the Master of Science in Design (Immersive Experience Design) at ASU, where she helps guide the next generation of designers in the field of immersive media.
Before her current roles, Ana was the Chair of the Applied Computer Science - Media Arts department at Woodbury University. She has also taught at multiple institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Los Angeles. Ana holds a PhD in Architectural Communication and a Master of Architecture from ETSAM (Madrid, Spain), as well as a Master in Design Research in New Media-Arts from SCI-Arc (Los Angeles, CA). Her research has been widely funded, exhibited and published.
With over 10 years of professional industry experience in new media tools, she provides not only creative vision but also the technical direction and engineering expertise needed for multidisciplinary projects. Previously, she worked as an Interactive Engineer for at Obscura Digital (now part of the Madison Square Garden Sphere), leading the development of large-scale productions. These ranged from immersive experiences and real-time visuals to audio-reactive event pieces and interactive multi-display installations. Ana has also worked directly with clients such as NASA, Google, Nike, Spotify, and Warner Brothers, among others. Her leadership in projects like the “Emergence” for the opening of the new Exploratorium Museum, which won “Best Public Art” at the SF Guardian’s ‘Best of the Bay 2013’, and the LUMINA Panoramic Gallery Display, awarded the “Internationalist Award for Innovation in Media”, underscores her significant contributions to the field. Ana’s work continues to be recognized and celebrated globally across numerous prestigious platforms.