
Staff Spotlight: Patrick Dudas
Posted on January 28, 2025Patrick Dudas, associate director of the Penn State Center for Immersive Experiences (CIE) has worked under the Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS) for approximately eight years, working on data visualization, research and design.
When Dudas first started at ICDS, he worked a lot on one-on-one research to visualize data sources that the researchers needed for their studies. He was also heavily involved in student engagement and passing on information to the next generation. Being a part of CIE, his scope and interests have broadened to enhance the positive impact of immersive technologies and interdisciplinary research as well as human-computer interactions.
Through his role at CIE, he works with project developers to make sure that all parts are moving properly, as well as finding grant funding and development for projects.
“Right now, we have a cool project through the Richard King Mellon Foundation to work with small and medium manufacturers in the Mon Valley region in Pittsburgh,” Dudas said. “We are looking at topics such as workforce development, digital twins and trainings.”
Digital twins are virtual models of physical objects that can be used for real-time monitoring of systems, for training purposes or to create simulations for research.
The project is a collaboration between Megan Nagel, chancellor and chief academic officer at Penn State Greater Allegheny, and Jessica Menold, director of CIE and associate professor in the Penn State College of Engineering.
Dudas, as part of this project, commutes to Pittsburgh to meet with manufacturers, educate them about virtual reality headsets and work on building out ideas for projects to enhance workforce development. The research team is also doing outreach at community events and offering training and jobs in the area.
“We are trying to connect a lot of dots,” Dudas said. “We have these headsets, and we have ideas; we are working on making it actionable for the manufacturers to utilize and have success.”
In 2025, the research team aims to develop some of these projects and make them a reality. At that point the researchers will be able to deploy this technology and train manufacturers.
Dudas has had the opportunity to work on projects that span a variety of disciplines.
He is currently working on a project with the Penn State College of Health and Human Development on topics such as portion control and nutrition education. The center is also working closely with Josh Stapleton, the director of the Materials Characterization Lab, through a Materials Research Institute seed grant to build digital twins of microscopes within the lab to develop training for students.
In many of CIE’s projects, Dudas has a hand in helping students get exposed to training and education about future workforce pathways such as medicine and research, including an effort with Dr. Scarlett Miller, Paul Morrow Professor of Engineering Design and Manufacturing and director of the Cocoziello Institute for Real Estate Innovation, in Hershey to help surgeons working in laparoscopic surgery using virtual reality headsets.
“Broader impacts on the community… that’s where CIE shines,” Dudas said. “We have had a very successful year and in 2025, we hope to continue to expand and to bring in more students.”
Dudas appreciates his life outside of work with his wife and three kids, who are 2, 6, and 9 years old. This includes supporting his kids’ dreams of becoming an engineer (9), a dog (2), and mayor of the moon (6).
At ICDS, Dudas is working on leading a group to give students an outlet to learn more and engage with high-performance computing and immersive technology.
Interested in learning more about the Center for Immersive Experiences or the upcoming ICDS student group? Contact Patrick at pmd19@psu.edu.
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