Dr Nadine Aburumman
Associate Dean EDI/Lecturer in Computer Science

Topics

I am interested in supervising research in but not restricted to:

• Computer graphics and animation
• Geometry processing
• Computer vision
• Real-time 3D Reconstruction for Mixed-Reality Hologram
• Physics-based simulations
• Feature detection, pattern recognition, structure from motion, and visual learning
• Interdisciplinary research projects that include neuroscience, social interaction, training, and rehabilitation using VR/AR/XR

PhD projects for research students

- Conventional Virtual Humans for Virtual Reality Driven by Large Language Models (LLMs) algorithms.

- Real-time 3D Reconstruction for Animated Mixed-Reality Hologram.

-Assistive tool to help vision-impaired people access and navigate a metaverse experience.

PhD Scholarships and Bursaries:

• Doctoral Researcher funding opportunities (see here)

• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships at a UK institution: Although there are no open calls available right now, please reach out to plan early. More information: https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/about-us/scholarships-and-fellowships/

PhD projects for research students

• Remote VR-Enabled Interpersonal Coordination for Perceptual-Motor Rehabilitation
• PhD opportunity in AI-powered social virtual humans for children’s immersive experiences
• Telecontrol with XR for Remote Human-Robot Interaction

Research supervision

Ph.D. students

Principal Supervisor:

• Ademola Emiabata (2026 -2030): Telecontrol with XR for Remote Human-Robot Interaction
• Chelsey Wickmark (2025 -2029): AI and the Absorbent Mind - Understanding and Mitigating the Impact of Ambient AI Exposure on Early Childhood Emotional Development.
• Mingzhao Zhou (2023 -2026): Real-time Visual and Haptic Feedback of Grasping Movements in Virtual Reality (Ming has been awarded the Turing Mobility Fund to support his research visit for 3 months to the TAUCHI Research Center at Tampere University).
• Rania Xanthidou (2021-2024): PhD Awarded Date: 02/2025, Thesis title: The Impact of Haptic Feedback Vibration in Single-User and Collaborative VR Learning Environment. Rania also has won the Vice-Chancellor’s Conference Prize in 2024 (see here). Rania's PhD thesis can be accessed here (http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/30773).

Second Supervisor:

• Yamama Shakaa (2025 -2029): AI in Education

Research Development Advisor (RDA):

• Gerard Doran (2022-2025): Improving Human-Agent Interaction Using EEG, Virtual Reality, and the Interactive Brain Hypothesis 

Research assistants:

• Hossein Keshtkar (Doctoral Researcher at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) is working on a research project that simulates droplet–solid interactions.
• Sunny Kumar (Postgraduate Student at the Computer Science Department) is working on a research project that addresses a digital emotion training intervention for alexithymics.
• Ben Holland (Work Placement - Research Assistant) is working on remote virtual reality enabled interpersonal coordination assessment and intervention platform in the health sciences.

Doctoral Examination

• Wei Ning, Sep 2026, Multi-point thermal haptics for immersive VR: design and dissipation optimisation of a ring-based modular system for perceptual fidelity, External Examiner, University of the West of Scotland.
• Kawsar Arzomand, Jun 2026 (An Evidence-Based Framework for Evaluating Generative AI in Cultural Heritage Reconstruction: Bamiyan, Palmyra and Bounded Generalisation), Internal Examiner, Brunel University. Kawsar's thesis can be found (here).
• Nicole Hooker, Sep 2022 (Negotiation Skills Training Intervention Based on Automated Recognition of Human Emotion and Nonverbal Behaviour), Internal Examiner, Brunel University. Nicole's thesis can be found (here).