Maria Aufheimer


PhD Student



I am a visiting researcher / PhD student from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. After completing my B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Media Informatics at Ulm University, Germany, I initially held a position as PhD researcher at the eMedia Lab at KU Leuven, Belgium, but have since transferred my studies to Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. There, I now focus on the possibilities games offer in supporting rehabilitation, physical, and occupational therapy for children, centering patient self-determination. While at UVic, I am working under the supervision of Dr. Regan Mandryk to explore ways in which mimetic AI agents can be used to support social connectedness in multiplayer games.

When not working, I am a hobby hoarder and like to go with the flow, which currently means lots of reading, needlework, TV shows, and the occasional hike. And video games, always video games.