2022 Titan of Tech: Aviv Elor

After a variety of experiences such as optimizing autonomous drones with NASA Researchers, working security for Super Bowl 50, creating efficient traffic management systems, assembling high voltage electric car circuits, coaching K-8 judo, fiddling around with robotic exosuits, building robotic doggos, and designing interactive virtual environments and tearing his elbow in a national judo match, Aviv became a passionate developer for assistive technology and personalized experiences. Aviv is the Co-Founder and Principal Investigator of Immergo Labs which aims to redefine physical rehabilitation telehealth for therapists and patients through off-the-shelf virtual reality headsets.

Why Aviv is a Titan

“Aviv has co-founded Immergo labs. This is a startup looking to make healthcare surrounding physical therapy and eventually other medical experiences more accessible via tele health. His company is looking to make healthcare more equitable and accessible for all kinds of marginalized people. The company has immense potential to address healthcare disparity not only in the US but around the world by connecting people and clinicians anywhere and any time. Additionally, Aviv is extremely knowledgeable in his file of user experience research and VR technology which he has demonstrated with his various publications and leadership in multiple projects centered around human centered design.” -Adrian Parrales

“Aviv has been a great mentor and friend, helping me begin my research career and supporting my journey toward getting a Master's. Aviv deserves to be selected for this award as he is one of the most hardworking and impressive researchers I have met. He completed his Ph.D. in two and a half years while authoring numerous research papers and providing mentorship to several undergraduates while working on a startup. His startup Immergo was a continuation of his work as a researcher, creating a platform in virtual reality to help make physical therapy more accessible. The work at Immergo is commendable and will allow people from different backgrounds to have easier access to physical therapy. Aviv has also been a mentor to me, helping me create a virtual reality game aimed at improving the eyesight of patients who have trouble with their vision. I have had the opportunity to work on numerous conference papers with Aviv. He is an exceptional writer with a highly nuanced understanding of the research literature and the ability to explain it in the simplest ways possible. Aviv has also been a lecturer for the Mechatronics class at UCSC. When talking to a student who took the course with him, they had nothing but positive things to say about him. Aviv's hard work, dedication, and exceptional talent as a tech researcher make him a candidate genuinely worthy of this nomination.” - Rohan Jhangiani

“I believe Aviv should be nominated for his immense impact from his research UC Santa Cruz, innovation at Immergo Labs, and mentorship throughout the broader Santa Cruz community. I've literally never met anyone as passionate, generous, and dedicated to creating tech for good. I've known Aviv since 2015 when he was an undergrad at UC Santa Cruz (before he did is crazy speed run of a 3 year robotics engineering undergrad to a 2.5 year PhD in computational media) and have seen him grow from student to researcher to professor to startup co-founder. During this short time period, he has mentored over 14 students (3 of which one research awards and went on to go do their own PhDs), published over 25 peer reviewed scientific articles on utilizing immersive technologies to support healthcare, won over 4 grants that led to funding undergraduate students, and worked for over 7 companies including the National Institutes of Health, Meta, Google, Walt Disney Imagineering, and Warner Bros Entertainment. He has always come back to Santa Cruz to share his learning, mentor the next generation of students from UCSC (and has consistently volunteered with MESA, Girls in Engineering, the Pajaro Valley High School, and Cruzhacks from activities such as mentoring, providing tours, demoing programs, and speaking on panels). I could go on and on, but in short I think Aviv is a Titan of Tech as he is a rising star in using immersive tech for healthcare, has literally helped tens of hundreds of students towards creating tech for good, and has taken his diverse learning and background towards creating a truly transformative startup that has the potential to help millions of americans get access to physical therapy.” -Samantha Conde