Johnny Carson Center for EMA

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The Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts is an interdisciplinary academic and creative research facility that's re-envisioning artistic education for the 21st century.

From Professors Dan Novy - Reason #8421 I love my job at the Johnny Carson Center for EMA!On Thursday, EMA student Wren...
10/17/2026

From Professors Dan Novy - Reason #8421 I love my job at the Johnny Carson Center for EMA!

On Thursday, EMA student Wren Ahlers and I developed a workflow that involved using a USB microscope to capture high-resolution images of the head of a praying mantis, then using novel machine learning-assisted photogrammetry to create an editable, printable, or machinable 3D mesh of the object.

The mantis head was so small that no current scanning technology available to us could capture it, but we did it!

Johnny Carson School

10/14/2026

Members of the Johnny Carson Foundation recently paid us a visit and we made sure to carve out some time in their schedule to connect with students across the Carson Center and Carson School. At a lunch and showcase hosted at the center, students majoring in Emerging Media Arts, Entertainment Design, Acting, and Theatre highlighted their creative and innovative projects, standout performance opportunities, and the remarkable hands-on learning experiences and trips they’ve enjoyed thanks to the foundation’s ongoing generosity and support!

We are deeply thankful to the Johnny Carson Foundation for the support - and laptops 💻️ - that help our students keep creating and chasing their dreams.

Johnny Carson School

10/14/2026

Members of the Johnny Carson Foundation recently paid us a visit and we made sure to carve out some time in their schedule to connect with students across the Carson Center and Carson School. At a lunch and showcase hosted at the center, students majoring in Emerging Media Arts, Entertainment Design, Acting, and Theatre highlighted their creative and innovative projects, standout performance opportunities, and the remarkable hands-on learning experiences and trips they've enjoyed thanks to the foundation's ongoing generosity and support!

We are deeply thankful to the Johnny Carson Foundation for the support - and laptops 💻️ - that help our students keep creating and chasing their dreams.

Meet our new faculty: Matt LondonAssistant Professor of Emerging Media ArtsWhat drew you to Nebraska?I was inspired by t...
10/09/2026

Meet our new faculty: Matt London
Assistant Professor of Emerging Media Arts

What drew you to Nebraska?
I was inspired by the incredible array of creative opportunities the Carson Center is providing students. Coming from the game industry, it’s clear that now, more than ever, creative professionals need an understanding of many different art forms and technologies. The multimodal nature of the EMA program gives students the tools to use what’s in demand now and set them up for what comes in the future. That forward-thinking perspective drew me in.

What are you most excited to teach, create or explore with our students?
As an Assistant Professor of Storytelling, I am most excited to teach students that whatever your passion is, storytelling is a part of it, and understanding the narrative elements of your work, whether that’s film, game design, wearable tech, VR, or anything else, will help you view your art in a new dimension.

What experience or accomplishment from your career has had the biggest impact on you?
The publication of my first original novel, “The 8th Continent,” had a huge impact on me. It was extremely gratifying to fulfill a lifelong dream, but it also taught me something about tenacity and the circuitous path artists often must take to create their work.

What are you working on currently that you’re excited about?
I am currently in active development on an independent video game. It’s a narrative-driven Sci-Fi Roleplaying Game that is different every time you play. The game examines the impact of mega-corporations in an interstellar age.

What is one thing students might be surprised to learn about you?
One thing people might be surprised to know is that in high school I performed in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a trained DANCER of all things. (Movement is also narrative, you know.)

Johnny Carson School

It’s INFLATABLES DAY for and class! Exploring the possibilities of stage design to soft robotics to space architectu...
10/06/2026

It’s INFLATABLES DAY for and class! Exploring the possibilities of stage design to soft robotics to space architecture! Johnny Carson School

Meet our new faculty: Daniel JungeAssistant Professor of Emerging Media ArtsWhat drew you to Nebraska?In my years of te...
09/28/2026

Meet our new faculty: Daniel Junge
Assistant Professor of Emerging Media Arts

What drew you to Nebraska?
In my years of teaching, I’ve never seen a more innovative program. When I first walked into the building and bumped into someone in a motion capture suit, I thought “Oh, this place is different!” It’s also a growing program, and that spirit permeates everything at the school — our mantra is “yes, AND…”

What are you most excited to teach, create or explore with our students?
My forte is documentary, and my hope is to introduce documentary classes, or at least shepherd those students looking to make their first documentary films.

What experience or accomplishment from your career has had the biggest impact on you?
Winning an Oscar! I’ve been fortunate to be nominated twice, and as they say, it’s an honor to be nominated…but it’s better to win.

What are you working on currently that you’re excited about?
I’m currently finishing a new textbook on documentary filmmaking, and we are currently signing with a publisher; it will be released in 2027. I’m also researching new documentary films that I can shoot from my new home in Lincoln.

What is one thing students might be surprised to learn about you?
I’m originally from Wyoming, and as a kid spent plenty of time playing baseball in western Nebraska.

Johnny Carson School Daniel Junge

Assistant Professor of Emerging Media Arts Dan Novy presented his paper titled “Virtual Production as a Programmable Fid...
09/27/2026

Assistant Professor of Emerging Media Arts Dan Novy presented his paper titled “Virtual Production as a Programmable Fidelity Substrate for Analog Missions” at SpaceChi, the world’s first conference dedicated to advancing human-computer interaction in space exploration, at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California.

Novy completed an analog astronaut mission simulating Mars exploration last year in Armenia. Johnny Carson School Dan Novy

Meet our new faculty: Nolan TredwayAssistant Professor of Practice in Emerging Media ArtsWhat drew you to Nebraska?When...
09/25/2026

Meet our new faculty: Nolan Tredway
Assistant Professor of Practice in Emerging Media Arts

What drew you to Nebraska?
When I was a student at UNL, the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts did not yet exist, but it represents exactly the path I would have loved to have explored. Finding new ways to incorporate technology into artistic experiences has since become central to my practice. I have long admired the work being done by the Center’s students and faculty, and I am honored to now be part of it.

What are you most excited to teach, create or explore with our students?
I am most excited to explore how students can work collaboratively to imagine and build a better future. Participatory art opens the door for others to help envision new possibilities, which will be critical to addressing the challenges ahead. I want students to discover how art, technology, and experience design can bring people together and give them a meaningful role in shaping our collective future.

What experience or accomplishment from your career has had the biggest impact on you?
Years ago, I created an experience in which two animated creatures guided participants through a meditation with a stranger. People left the experience crying, hugging, and exchanging phone numbers. Seeing those connections form showed me that art and experience design can create something that extends far beyond a single event. That realization continues to shape how I approach my work and teaching.

What are you working on currently?
In addition to developing several immersive art spaces, I am working on an interactive mural for children with a wide range of developmental and medical needs. This is part of a broader effort to make interactive art more accessible and welcoming to everyone.

What is one thing that students might be surprised to learn about you?
I used to play bass and sing in a metal band, but I stopped to instead take a marionette show on tour as an opener for metal bands.

Johnny Carson School

Meet our new faculty: Carlos VilchisAssistant Professor of Practice in Emerging Media Arts (Animation and Rigging) What ...
09/18/2026

Meet our new faculty: Carlos Vilchis
Assistant Professor of Practice in Emerging Media Arts (Animation and Rigging)

What drew you to Nebraska?
I had been looking for a university with the ambition, resources and kind of projects that are difficult to find in most academic environments. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the Johnny Carson Center immediately stood out because they bring together technology, storytelling, research and creative production in a very unique way. It felt very close to the kind of place I had been hoping to find.

What experience or accomplishment from your career has had the biggest impact on you?
One of the most important experiences in my career was working at Lucasfilm / Industrial Light & Magic and having the opportunity to be part of the innovation happening around virtual production. Being involved during such an important period of change in filmmaking/Virtual Production had a huge impact on the way I think about technology and production. Now, being able to bring some of that experience back into education and share it with a younger generation of artists is especially meaningful to me.

What are you working on currently?
I’m very excited about continuing to explore emerging production technologies and new workflows for film, animation, visual effects and virtual production. I’m particularly interested in how different technologies can be combined to solve real production problems, and in creating environments where research can directly connect with industry practice.

What is one thing that students might be surprised to learn about you?
Students might be surprised by how much of my work has involved traveling around the world to help companies and creative teams solve technical and production challenges. I’ve had the opportunity to work on projects and collaborations in places such as UK, Netherlands, Canada, Florida, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. A lot of my career has been about understanding how new technologies can actually work in very different production environments and cultures.

Johnny Carson School

09/18/2026

Meet our new faculty: Carlos Vilchis
Assistant Professor of Practice in Emerging Media Arts (Animation and Rigging)

What drew you to Nebraska?
I had been looking for a university with the ambition, resources and kind of projects that are difficult to find in most academic environments. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the Johnny Carson Center immediately stood out because they bring together technology, storytelling, research and creative production in a very unique way. It felt very close to the kind of place I had been hoping to find.

What are you most excited to teach, create or explore with our students?
What excites me most is helping students get closer to their own goals and ambitions in the creative industries. I want to share what I have learned from working in industry and help students understand the skills, workflows and professional profiles that studios are actually looking for. If my experience can make that path a little clearer and easier for them, that is incredibly rewarding.

What experience or accomplishment from your career has had the biggest impact on you?
One of the most important experiences in my career was working at Lucasfilm / Industrial Light & Magic and having the opportunity to be part of the innovation happening around virtual production. Being involved during such an important period of change in filmmaking/Virtual Production had a huge impact on the way I think about technology and production. Now, being able to bring some of that experience back into education and share it with a younger generation of artists is especially meaningful to me.

What are you working on currently?
I’m very excited about continuing to explore emerging production technologies and new workflows for film, animation, visual effects and virtual production. I’m particularly interested in how different technologies can be combined to solve real production problems, and in creating environments where research can directly connect with industry practice. I’m also excited to work alongside people who are just as passionate about animation, VFX, film, and emerging media as I am.

What is one thing that students might be surprised to learn about you?
Students might be surprised by how much of my work has involved traveling around the world to help companies and creative teams solve technical and production challenges. I’ve had the opportunity to work on projects and collaborations in places such as UK, Netherlands, Canada, Florida, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. A lot of my career has been about understanding how new technologies can actually work in very different production environments and cultures.

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Lincoln, NE

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(402) 472-2615

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