Pittsburgh Review

Carnegie Mellon University has appointed Derek Ham as the new director of its Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), effective September 1. Ham is currently the head of the Department of Media Arts, Design and Technology at North Carolina State University. His research encompasses game-based learning, algorithmic thinking, and immersive storytelling, focusing on virtual reality and augmented reality technology.

“You can tell a lot about an institution by its foundations, the way it was formed and who formed it. The origin of the ETC as a place founded between the School of Computer Science and the College of Fine Arts is one that resonates with me tremendously,” Ham said. “The work I do and lead in immersive storytelling has as much to do with aesthetics and visual communication as it does with responding to leaps in hardware and software that enable us to tell stories in completely new ways. The ETC is situated perfectly to continue its leadership in these areas, and so much more. I’m beyond excited to be a part of it.”

Carnegie Mellon’s ETC is a professional graduate program for interactive entertainment focused on educational goals and creative development. Ham highlighted its interdisciplinary nature: “It’s interdisciplinary in the way it brings together people from diverse backgrounds: game design, film, animation, computer science, sound and light engineering, and so on,” he said.

Ham also emphasized what he termed the center’s “un-disciplinary” nature. “When I say it’s undisciplined — and this is a good thing — the center and the degree program are set up in a way that allows us to explore storytelling and technology in the broadest sense here, outside the traditional rules of filmmaking and the standard practices found in the game design profession.”

Institutionally, the center operates under Keith Webster, Dean of University Libraries and Director of Emerging and Integrative Media Initiatives. This positioning allows for innovative approaches unbound by traditional academic disciplines.

“Rules impact the way we design, and we use them to push designs further by what we do with them,” Ham stated. “At times rules are followed religiously, other times creatives will remix and remake them. But rules can also be broken, sometimes discarded altogether. It’s all part of the innovation process.”

Ham envisions significant innovation for ETC's future: “The entertainment industry is going through a lot of change right now. We are seeing a shift in consumer behavior... Animation, video games, and CGI-created content are all going through [a] big AI invasion... Immersive screens...are being created at rates faster than [the rate] content is created for them,” he explained.

He believes ETC can address these challenges through innovative practices: "As we continue to push boundaries on matters of storytelling, design, and play, we do so in ways to make the world a better place."

Ham expressed his appreciation for ETC's hands-on approach: “Students and faculty are not satisfied with creating mockups or simple wireframes that communicate ideas,” he said. “They are actually making tangible things that can be experienced.”

In his vision for ETC's next few years, Ham foresees not only providing examples of innovative experiences on next-generation headsets but also creating new forms of entertainment.

Ethics and inclusion form core components of Ham's pedagogical approach: "Oftentimes there have been great leaps in technology that have done harm to certain populations or left them out completely... I believe both ethics and inclusion should be a core concern."

Before joining NC State’s College of Design faculty, Ham earned his Ph.D. from MIT in design computation. He holds a master’s degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University.

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