University of Wurzburg | Germany
Carolin Wienrich is an accomplished academic leader and researcher in the Psychology of Intelligent Interactive Systems, with strong interdisciplinary expertise spanning psychology, human–technology interaction, computer science, and extended reality (XR). Since 2022, she has served as University Professor for Psychology of Intelligent Interactive Systems at the Faculty of Human Sciences, Julius-Maximilians-University (JMU) Würzburg, and since 2020, she has co-led the XR HUB Würzburg, strengthening research, innovation, and collaboration in XR across academia, industry, and society. Her career reflects continuous academic excellence, including a W3 Deputy Professorship in Computer Vision at JMU Würzburg from 2019 to 2021 within the faculties of Mathematics and Computer Science, and a Positive Interim Evaluation of her Junior-Professorship in 2019, confirming its equivalence to the German Habilitation. From 2016 to 2022, she held the Junior-Professorship for Human-Technology-Systems at JMU Würzburg, following her role as Postdoctoral Researcher in New Media and Methodology at the Technical University of Berlin, where she also earned her PhD in Science in 2015. Earlier, she contributed to major BMU and DFG-funded projects as a Research Assistant at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg and the Technical University of Berlin (2009–2015), after completing her Diploma degree in Psychology in 2009. Her research focuses on XR and Artificial Intelligence as both research methods and objects of study for advancing the psychology of interactive systems, contributing significantly to human–computer interaction, immersive technologies, and human-AI interaction. She has successfully led or co-led eight third-party-funded interdisciplinary research projects and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications. Carolin Wienrich has received multiple prestigious honors, including the 2023 Equality Award of University Würzburg, the 2020 Best Research Award of the Faculty of Human Sciences, the 2019 Best Lecture Award of Bavaria, and the 2019 Best Impact Project Award from the Virtual Reality Institute of Germany, in addition to an earlier scholarship from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes (2006–2010). She actively contributes to academia as a reviewer, grant assessor, program committee member, and supervisor for Bachelor, Master, and PhD theses, and serves as a Scientific Expert on the Advisory Council for Consumer Protection of the German Federal Ministry with a focus on eXtended Realities and Human-AI Interaction.
Profile: Orcid
Featured Publications
Wienrich, C., & Latoschik, M. E. (2022). The potential of immersive virtual reality for human–computer interaction research: Methodological perspectives and applications. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 3, 1–14.
Wienrich, C., & Gramlich, J. (2021). A framework for evaluating user trust in AI-driven interactive systems. Computers in Human Behavior, 125, 106972.
Wienrich, C., Latoschik, M. E., & Moritz, R. (2020). Social presence and embodiment in immersive virtual environments: A psychological perspective on XR technologies. International Journal of Human–Computer Studies, 140, 102429.
Wienrich, C., & Latoschik, M. E. (2019). Towards meaningful human–AI interaction: Designing adaptive and explainable systems. AI & Society, 34(4), 873–888.
Wienrich, C., Döllinger, N., & Latoschik, M. E. (2018). User experience and acceptance in virtual reality learning environments: The role of interactivity and realism. Computers & Education, 123, 23–34.