CV

Ph.D. in Computer Science

• Advisor: Dr. Jacob Biehl
• Research Focus: Spatial computing and human–computer interaction for clinical applications, including mixed reality surgical guidance and computer vision pipelines for XR.
• NSF Graduate Research Fellow

B.Phil. in Computer Science

• GPA: 4.00 — Summa Cum Laude
• Thesis: Untethered Displays: The Effects of Mixed Reality on Split-Attention in Fine-Motor Tasks
• Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award, Department of Computer Science (2024)

Open-Source Machine Learning Computed Tomography Scan Segmentation for Spine Osteoporosis Diagnostics

• Akshay Sankar, Michael R. Kann, Samuel Adida, Shovan Bhatia, Regan M. Shanahan, Jhair A. Colan, Griffin Hurt, Nikhil Sharma, Nicolás M. Kass, Joseph S. Hudson, Nitin Agarwal, Peter C. Gerszten, Jacob T. Biehl, Andrew Legarreta, Edward G. Andrews, David J. McCarthy

Optimizing the Workflow of Superficial Temporal Artery Mapping in Extracranial-Intracranial Bypass Surgery Using Mixed Reality: A Proof-of-Concept Study

• Shovan Bhatia, Aaron Huynh, Regan M. Shanahan, Michael R. Kann, Adway Gopakumar, Nikhil Sharma, Nicolás M. Kass, Griffin Hurt, Rishi Basdeo, Nicole Don, Michael J. Lang, Jacob T. Biehl, Edward G. Andrews
• PDF

MR-MDEs: Exploring the Integration of Mixed Reality into Multi-display Environments

• Griffin J. Hurt, Talha Khan, Nicolás Matheo Kass, Anthony Tang, Edward Andrews, Jacob Biehl
• Investigated the impact of large screens, tablets, and mixed reality display modalities on performance and perception in multi-display, multi-task environments. Demonstrated MR's capability to integrate into information-dense spaces without impacting performance, cognitive load, or situational awareness.
• PDF

SurrealityCV: An Open-Source, Cross-Platform Unity Library for Mixed Reality Computer Vision

• Griffin J. Hurt, Calvin Brinkman, Ethan Crosby, Akshat Dhamale, Edward Andrews, Jacob Biehl
• Presented an open-source, cross-platform Unity library for common computer vision workflows in mixed reality applications, written in C++ with an OpenCV backend and C/C# APIs.
• GitHub

814 Evaluation of Mixed Reality for Burn Margin Visualization and Surgical Planning

• Christopher Fedor, Griffin Hurt, Edward Andrews, Jacob Biehl, Francesco Egro
• Demonstrated a mixed reality system overlaying deep burn margins onto a simulated anatomical surface, providing a proof-of-concept for MR-assisted surgical excision planning.

EndovasculAR: Utility of Mixed Reality to Segment Large Displays in Surgical Settings

• Griffin J. Hurt, Talha Khan, Michael Kann, Edward Andrews, Jacob Biehl
• Explored transforming physical OR monitor displays into holographic windows using mixed reality to reduce split-attention cognitive load on surgeons.

• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP)
• Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award, Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh

• Best Capstone Talk Award, Department of Computer Science, University of Pittsburgh
• Chancellor's Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship, Frederick Honors College
• Dean's List, School of Computing and Information, University of Pittsburgh

PhD Researcher

• Part of the technical team for the first mixed-reality-mediated endoscopic endonasal skull base surgery performed at UPMC Presbyterian (February 2026)
• Designed and implemented stereo video capture on Apple Vision Pro (AVPStereoCapture) and deployed RAFT-Stereo via CoreML for real-time neural disparity matching (~135ms on AVP).
• Building SurrealityCV — a cross-platform C++/C#/Python XR computer vision library with Unity integration and an OpenCV backend, with HoloLens 2 support in development.
• Architecting low-latency video streaming systems using intraframe compression and WebRTC for surgical video streaming and presentation interfaces.
• Authored proposal to the NSF GRFP exploring mixed reality needle guidance for arterial line placement.

Research and Development Intern

• Contributed to R&D on the SurgicalAR Ultrasound add-on — an AR-enabled ultrasound visualization system supporting wireless POCUS probes (Clarius) and wired probes with spatial tracking and situated holographic views.

Undergraduate Research Assistant

• Designed and built mixed reality systems for Microsoft HoloLens 2 to study display modality effects on user sentiment and task accuracy.
• Led study design evaluating MR effects on cognitive load and situational awareness in split-attention tasks (LEGO assembly as model fine-motor task).

High School Research Assistant

• Investigated spatial tumor–fibroblast interactions in HER2+ breast cancer and their effects on proliferation.
• Wrote software that has since been used to analyze nearly 1 million microscopy images in the lab's AI image analysis pipeline.
• Studied trade-offs between classical and random-forest-based ML approaches to cellular image segmentation.

STEM Through Games — Course Designer and Instructor

• Designed, piloted, and iteratively evaluated a high school game design and development curriculum introducing computational thinking, programming fundamentals, and STEM research methods.
• Taught Unity (GameObjects, C#, Components) to ~11 students per cohort.
• Collected longitudinal data on the efficacy of game-based STEM education.

CS 0449: Introduction to Systems Software — Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

• Led recitation (~20 students) covering C programming, compiling/linking, multithreading, and synchronization.

CS 0441: Discrete Structures for Computer Science — Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

• Led recitation (~20 students) selecting and presenting worked example problems.

CMPINF 0010: Big Ideas in Computing and Information — Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

• Taught lab section (30–35 students) covering Python, Pandas, Linux CLI, and Git.
• Awarded Chancellor's Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship to redesign lab curriculum to align with lecture content.

Resident Assistant

• Supervised a group of 8 students during a 7-week immersive cancer research program, ensuring a safe and enriching living environment.
• Provided mentorship, mental health support, and academic guidance.

Student Mentor

• Designed and taught Python curriculum to a cohort of students.
• Mentored student teachers in delivering lessons and building software projects.
• Developed proprietary EdTech tooling to streamline CS distance learning.

Software Intern

• Contributed to Vue.js UI development for the company's Stable Value product.
• Analyzed and documented legacy C# codebases.

AVPStereoCapture

• Swift, ARKit, AVFoundation
• Stereo video capture on Apple Vision Pro with calibrated intrinsics and extrinsics.

VisionProDisparityMatching

• Swift, CoreML, RAFT-Stereo
• Neural stereo disparity matching on Apple Vision Pro via CoreML. ~45ms on M3 Max; ~135ms on AVP.

SurrealityCV

• C++, C#, Python, CMake, OpenCV, Unity XR
• Cross-platform XR computer vision library with Unity-compatible bindings and OpenCV backend. HoloLens 2 support in development.

Schedule++

• JavaScript, GraphQL, CORS, Web App Manifest
• Open-source browser extension adding scheduling features to Pitt's course portal. Led a team of 3.

• Presenter and Student Volunteer, ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI 2025)

• Student Volunteer, ACM Interactive Surfaces and Spaces (ISS 2023)
• Undergraduate Presenter, Zervantonakis Lab, LEAD Program, University of Pittsburgh
• Student Panelist, Early Experiences in Undergraduate Research, School of Computing and Information

• Student Representative, SCI Academic Council, School of Computing and Information, University of Pittsburgh
• High School Research Presenter, Zervantonakis Lab, LEAD Program, University of Pittsburgh