SOA Virtual Reality Course Taught @ MIX
A Special Topics course on Virtual Reality proposed by new SOA sculpture faculty member Assistant Professor John von Bergen, is being taught this Spring 2026 in the MIX Media Lab Horizon Hall 1410 on Mondays 10:30-1pm weekly.
Professor John von Bergen holding a Meta Quest 3 headset in the MIX Media Lab next to the VR Cabinet for his course.
Lots of prep work has been done to get ready for this course including working with John to install a new cabinet in the MIX Media Lab dedicated to the many VR headsets for his students use. Student staff member Micah Weisenberger assisted Professor von Bergen with setting up an admin account to manage the headsets and ensure all of the charging stations were set up in an easily accessible way for students to use. Computer Science Professor that researches AR/VR multiuser spaces and experiences Dr. Craig Yu loaned the course four of his Meta Quest 2’s to user for the course, and Professor von Bergen raised some funds for the purchase of the remaining four Meta Quest 3’s to support the course needs.
Professor von Bergen who was hired by GMU’s School of Art last Spring 2025 is known internationally for his provocative sculptures. One of his large scale sculptures “Wandlung” (2023) was comissioned by the German government and installed in the The German Bundestag in Berlin.
See link: https://publicartarchive.org/art/Wandlung/35a0ee40
See Professor von Bergen’s website post about the installation >
Also, the MIX talked with Professor von Bergen in a MIX Podcast.
Listen to the MIX It Up podcast with Professor John von Bergen here >
