Student Researcher, Google DeepMind
PhD Candidate, Media Arts and Technology, University of California, Santa Barbara
Architect-Engineer (TEE/Technical Chamber of Greece)
Co-Founder, Metaesthetica (https://metaesthetica.xyz/)
Nationality: Greek, American
Santa Barbara, California, USA
Chania, Crete, Greece
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Iason N. Paterakis is an artist and licensed Architect–Engineer (TEE/Technical Chamber of Greece) whose research investigates artificial intelligence as an agent in its own right — a force that shapes behavior, perception, aesthetics, and the design of built space. Working at the intersection of neurobiology, cognitive science, and creative AI, he develops biodata-driven immersive installations that translate signals from living brain organoids into real-time generative environments and responsive cyber-physical architectures across XR, real-time audiovisual environments, and large-venue projection.
He is a Student Researcher at Google DeepMind. He is pursuing a PhD in Media Arts & Technology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he works in transLAB under Professor Marcos Novak. Since 2012, he has also been a researcher at the Transformable Intelligent Environments Laboratory (TIE Lab) at the Technical University of Crete, collaborating with Dean Professor Konstantinos-Alketas Oungrinis.
His research takes shape through collaborative initiatives such as the Global Organoid Orchestra (Q.GOO), which links laboratories internationally and uses brain-organoid data as living "conductors" for distributed media-art performances. He has led creative development on large-scale works, including the Synaptic Time Tunnel at SIGGRAPH 2023, a 130-foot Autodesk-funded installation, and, in 2021, one of Europe's largest projection-mapping initiatives, realized simultaneously across 18 Greek cities. He is co-founder of Metaesthetica, a research-driven design collective; Art Director of Brave New Work, a symposium on AI and urban projection in public space; and an Artist-in-Residence at the Santa Barbara Center for Art, Science & Technology.
Work from these collaborations has been exhibited internationally at the ACM SIGGRAPH Art Gallery, Currents New Media, Ars Electronica, and ISEA, and his scholarship has been published in the International Journal of Architectural Computing (IJAC) and presented at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), among other conferences. His ongoing research includes a project in Antarctica developing AI-driven countermeasures to the psychological strain of isolated, extreme environments, with direct relevance to long-duration space missions.
PUBLICATIONS
Journal articles
[1] N. Manoudaki, I. Paterakis, D. Flatley, and M. Novak, “Digital morphogenesis and bioAffective data: A computational framework for multisensory design,” International Journal of Architectural Computing, 2025.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14780771251356527
PDF: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14780771251356527
[2] I. Paterakis and N. Manoudaki, “Osmosis: Generative AI and XR for the real-time transformation of urban architectural environments,” International Journal of Architectural Computing, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 821–836, 2025.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14780771251356526
PDF: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/14780771251356526
Conference proceedings
[3] N. Manoudaki, M. Toka, I. Paterakis, and D. Flatley, “Simulacra Naturae: Generative Ecosystem driven by Agent-Based Simulations and Brain Organoid Collective Intelligence,” arXiv preprint, 2025.
arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02924
PDF: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2509.02924.pdf
[4] I. Paterakis, N. Manoudaki, G. Wakefield, H. Ji, D. Flatley, R. Millett, W. Qiu, and M. Novak, “Composing Complexity: A Case Study of Integrating Multi-Layered Audio-Visual Systems in Large-Scale Interactive Installations,” in Proc. ISEA 2025, 2025.
PDF: https://isea-symposium-archives.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025_Paterakis_Composing-complexity.pdf
[5] S. H. Ahn, N. Manoudaki, R. Millett, I. Paterakis, and Y. Oh, “Exploring Human Emotional Perception Through the Gut Microbiota,” in Proc. ISEA 2025, 2025.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.23362/KOEN2025.07.25.2.174
[6] C. Balomenaki, K. Chamilothori, K. Biniakou, I. Paterakis, N. Manoudaki, et al., “Enhancing Psychological Well-being in Extreme Environments: Customized Environmental Projection System applied at the ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ Bulgarian Base in Antarctica,” in Proc. 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), 2025. Link: IAF Astro Directory
[7] C. Balomenaki, I. Paterakis, N. Manoudaki, K. Biniakou, K. Chamilothori, and K.-A. Oungrinis, “Emotional Landscapes: Enhancing Well-Being in Antarctica Through Personalized Audio-Visual Projections and Generative AI,” in Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) Conference, 2025.
Link: TU/e Research Portal
[8] I. Paterakis and N. Manoudaki, “Osmosis: Designing immersive urban environments using generative Artificial Intelligence,” in Proc. SIGraDi 2024 (Biodigital Intelligent Systems), 2024, pp. 2659–2670.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.sigradi.2024.2659
PDF: https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/sigradi2024_382.pdf
[9] N. Manoudaki, I. Paterakis, D. Flatley, and M. Novak, “Alloplex BioAffective Worlds XR ‘Hydnum’,” in Proc. SIGraDi 2024 (Biodigital Intelligent Systems), 2024, pp. 2671–2682.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.sigradi.2024.2671
PDF: https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/sigradi2024_513.pdf
[10] M. Christoulakis, N. Manoudaki, I. Paterakis, M. Liapi, and K.-A. Oungrinis, “Hybrid Environmental Projection Platform (HEPP). An extended reality platform that combines the sense of place with the palimpsest of the city’s space to promote local cultural heritage,” in ArchitectureMPS / AMPS: Urban Futures – Cultural Pasts (Proceedings Series 40.3), 2024.
Proceedings PDF: https://amps-research.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Amps-Proceedings-Series_40.3-1.pdf
[11] M. Liapi, N. Manoudaki, I. Paterakis, M. Christoulakis, M. Ioannidis, and K.-A. Oungrinis, “Interfacing Heritage and Technology: The ‘Desire for Freedom’ Project as a Paradigm of Extended Reality in Architecture,” in ArchitectureMPS / AMPS: Urban Futures – Cultural Pasts (Proceedings Series 40.3), 2024.
Proceedings PDF: https://amps-research.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Amps-Proceedings-Series_40.3-1.pdf
[12] S.-F. Neamoniti, M. Pavlopoulou, A. Argyraki, M. Ioannidis, N. Manoudaki, I. Paterakis, and K.-A. Oungrinis, “A Connectionist Approach in Creating Cultural Heritage Content: The Open City Museum App,” in CONNECTIONS: Exploring Heritage, Architecture, Cities, Art, Media (AMPS Proceedings Series 20.1), pp. 344–354, 2021.
Proceedings PDF: https://amps-research.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Amps-Proceedings-Series-20.1.pdf
[13] G. Kallergis, M. Christoulakis, A. Diakakis, M. Ioannidis, I. Paterakis, N. Manoudaki, M. Liapi, and K.-A. Oungrinis, “Open City Museum: Unveiling the Cultural Heritage of Athens Through an Augmented Reality Based Time Leap,” in Culture and Computing (HCII 2020), pp. 156–171, 2020.
Springer (chapter): https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-50267-6_13
Book: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-50267-6
[14] M. Christoulakis, M. Liapi, I. Paterakis, N. Manoudaki, and K.-A. Oungrinis, “Interactions in Spatially Augmented Places,” in Proc. S.ARCH 2020, 2020.
PDF (ResearchGate): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342880601_INTERACTIONS_IN_SPATIALLY_AUGMENTED_PLACES
[15] I. Paterakis, N. Manoudaki, M. Christoulakis, M. Liapi, and K.-A. Oungrinis, “VISUAL NARRATIVES: A methodology for layering and deconstructing digital projections,” in Proc. S.ARCH 2020, 2020.
PDF (ResearchGate): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342880767_VISUAL_NARRATIVES_A_METHODOLOGY_FOR_LAYERING_AND_DECONSTRUCTING_DIGITAL_PROJECTIONS
[16] K.-A. Oungrinis, M. Liapi, M. Christoulakis, I. Paterakis, and N. Manoudaki, “HYBRID ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTION PLATFORM (HEPP). AN ENHANCED-REALITY INSTALLATION THAT FACILITATES IMMERSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES,” in Proc. EDULEARN, 2018.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2018.1914
[17] K.-A. Oungrinis, M. Liapi, M. Christoulakis, S. Ntzoufras, E. Lionaki, I. Paterakis, and O. Bannova, “Fabrication and Self-Assembly processes on the Mars surface,” in Proc. IAC 2015, 2015.
PDF (ResearchGate): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334173628_Fabrication_and_Self-Assembly_processes_on_the_Mars_surface
[18] K.-A. Oungrinis, M. Liapi, M. Christoulakis, A. Klothakis, I. Paterakis, et al., “Hybrid Environmental Projection Platform: An Interactive Educational Tool,” in Architecture, City and Information Design | EuropIA.14, 2014.
PDF (Academia): https://www.academia.edu/14728240/Hybrid_Environmental_Projection_Platform_An_Interactive_Educational_Tool
[19] K.-A. Oungrinis, I. Paterakis, A. Klothakis, D. Vidalis, M. Dimopoulou, G. Voradaki, and A. Tralo, “The Airpotition Project,” in Proc. SGEM 2013 (Nano, Bio and Green Technologies), 2013.
PDF (ResearchGate): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269058004_THE_AIRPOTITION_PROJECT