The Association for Preservation Technology (APT) International has named Informatics PhD student Sepehr Vaez Afshar as a 2026 Student Scholar. Established in 1985, the APT Student Scholarship annually recognizes ten students worldwide whose work advances preservation technology through innovative and impactful approaches.
As part of this recognition, Vaez Afshar will present his research project, "From Carving to Digital Heritage: Capturing Material and Craft Knowledge with XR and Photogrammetry," at the APT International Annual Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, this October. His work introduces a method that combines mobile photogrammetry with extended reality (XR) to document and analyze the material and craft knowledge embedded in cultural heritage artifacts.
Building on an earlier proof-of-concept AR framework, his current research develops a scalable workflow that enables multi-scale spatial inspection of artifacts through XR environments. According to Vaez Afshar, this approach reveals patterns of material behavior and craft processes that are not accessible through conventional museum display or standard digital models.
"Rather than treating XR as a tool for engagement alone, this work positions it as a method for reading and understanding artifacts," he said. "It allows us to make craft processes visible and analyzable in ways that support preservation practice."
This research is part of Vaez Afshar's doctoral dissertation, supervised by Laura Shackelford, Informatics faculty affiliate and professor of anthropology. It explores how immersive technologies can support documentation, analysis, and knowledge transmission in preservation. The proposed workflow is designed to be accessible and adaptable, allowing institutions to implement it without specialized equipment, Vaez Afshar said.
Vaez Afshar is an architect and landscape architect with a background in computer science. He serves as the XR lead and associate producer at stu/dio, where he integrates immersive technologies into cultural heritage projects.