Welcome to the 2019 VR Academy Panels & WorkShops by VR FEST

You must be 21+ with Valid ID to attend all VR FEST events.

Welcome to Season 5 of VR FEST® in Las Vegas presented by Planet 13 and Hakkasan Group featuring three days of top rated VR/AR/MR/XR programming from January 8th to 11th on the Las Vegas Strip.  

Sponsored by Alienware, Hologate, 3opolis, VR Arcade, XR Magazine, Nevada Film Commission and Extreme Tech Challenge

VR FEST panels feature top industry speakers from the global immersive entertainment community.

Date: Wednesday, January 9th
Time: 11am to 8pm
Panel Location: Planet 13 Las Vegas*
Address: 2548 W Desert Inn Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Description: VR FEST and Planet 13 * are teaming up to host a series of VR/AR speaker panels that will debut at Planet 13 ’s beautiful facility located one mile from the Las Vegas Strip.

PANEL SCHEDULE & LINE UP FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9th (11am to 8pm)

FIRESIDE CHAT: #1: Mixed Reality presented by MixCast
Time: 11:00am - 11:30am
Speakers: Tarrnie Williams, Bob Cooney

PANEL #2: Women in VR/AR - Content is Queen
Time: 11:45am to 12:45pm
Moderator: Sandra Cannon
Speakers: Nikki Roth (Google), Dulce Baerga (Dulce.com), Leila Amirsadeghi (OneDome), Samantha Wolfe (PitchFWD), Maria Montenegro (Magic Leap), Jenna Seiden (Beat Games)

FIRESIDE CHAT #3: Nolan Bushnell presented by Modal
Time: 1pm - 1:20pm
Moderator: Jenna Seiden (Beat Games)
Speaker: Nolan Bushnell (Modal)

FIRESIDE CHAT #4: Augmented Reality
Time: 1:30pm to 2pm
Moderator: Dulce Baerga (Dulce.com)
Speakers: Cathy Hackl (Magic Leap), Sahin Boydas (Leo AR), Rene Amador (ARwall), Matt Kulig (Aisle411), Ziggy Kormandel (Augmently)

PANEL #5: Experiential Holograms
Time: 2pm to 2:45pm
Moderator: Christina Heller (Metastage)
Speakers: Natascha French (VNTANA), Ronnie Lee (Holocryptics), David Nussbaum (Hologram USA), Eric Hungerford (Mousetrappe)

PANEL #6: Location Based Virtual Reality Entertainment #1
Time: 3pm to 3:45pm
Moderator: Joanna Popper (HP)
Speakers: Leif Petersen (Hologate), Jason Crawford (Modal), Pearly Chen (HTC Vive), Michael Festa (Survios), Sam Wang (SkyLimit Entertainment), Aaron Pulkka (Two Bit Circus), Ilya Kuzyuk (PlatformaVR)

FIRESIDE CHAT #7: XR Med Tech: How Immersive Technology is Impacting the Healthcare Industry
Time: 4pm to 4:30pm
Moderator: Sandra Cannon (New Reality Labs)
Speakers: Shauna Heller (AiSolve), Chris Brickler (MyndVR)

PANEL #8: Special Presentation: Virtual Microscopy in Cancer Research presented by PassmoreVR
Time: 4:40pm to 5pm
Speakers: Greg Passmore & Sabine Bredow (PassmoreVR)

PANEL #9: Special Presentation:
Convergence: The Path Forward For Consumer VR
Time: 5pm to 5:20pm
Speaker: Charlie Fink (Author / Columnist)

FIRESIDE CHAT #10: Vive Focus and Viveport Arcade presented HTC Vive Time: 5:30pm to 6:00pm
Speakers: Pearly Chen  (HTC Vive)

PANEL #11: Special Presentation: WebXR
Time: 6:05pm to 6:25pm
Speaker: Dulce Baerga (Dulce.com)

PANEL #12: Special Presentation presented by SVVR
Time: 6:30pm to 7pm
Speaker: Karl Krantz (SVVR)

PANEL #13: Closing Keynote presented by Studio Lightship
Time: 7pm to 7:30pm
Speaker: Brett Leonard (Co-Founder STUDIO LIGHTSHIP Producer/Director/Writer Futurist/VX Expert-Creator)

PANEL SCHEDULE & LINE UP FOR THURSDAY, JANUARY 10th (11am to 2pm)

PANEL #14: Location Based Virtual Reality Entertainment #2
Time: 11:00am - 12pm
Moderator: Bob Cooney
Speakers: James Ram (WePlayVR), Tammy Brandt (Dreamscape Immersive), Phillip José Steinfatt (VR Nerds), Baba Uppal (Secret Location), Gregg Katano (Hologate), Doug Griffin (Nomadic), Dorothy Ferguson (Two Bit Circus)

PANEL #15: Virtual Reality Storytelling
Time: 12pm to 1pm
Speakers: Brett Leonard (Studio Lightship), Jeff Olm (VFX Artist/Director).

PANEL #16: Virtual Reality E-Sports
Time: 1pm to 2pm
Moderator: Louisa Spring (Sam-i)
Speakers: Tim Shiner (Sam-i), Parzival Ninja (VR League). Dorothy Ferguson (Two Bit Circus)

*”PLANET 13 IS A NEVADA LICENSED DISPENSARY. REGARDING ANY PRODUCTS FROM THAT SPONSOR: KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. FOR USE BY ADULTS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER.”

DATES, TIMES AND LOCATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGES