Ed Lantz is an entertainment technology engineer, entrepreneur, immersive experience designer and innovator in giant-screen digital cinema. He left aerospace engineering in 1990 to transform old-style planetariums into 360 degree immersive visualization environments, designing over a dozen dome theaters worldwide while at Spitz, Inc. including the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, National Space Center in Leicester, the UK, and the Glasgow Science Center in Glasgow. Ed co-founded Vortex Immersion Media in 2007 to bring VR, immersive and interactive experiences into mainstream arts and entertainment markets. Vortex also operates the Vortex Dome, the first commercial immersive media production studio and events venue located in downtown Los Angeles. The Vortex Dome hosts a wide range of arts and entertainment co-productions. Ed has published numerous articles in journals and trade publications on immersive media and virtual reality and is a regular contributor to ACM. Ed"s personal focus is on the unique cognitive properties of next-generation multisensory sentient environments, the merging of virtual and real storytelling worlds, and the development of full dome theaters as next-generation entertainment and performance venues. Ed has published numerous articles in journals and trade publications on immersive media and virtual reality, is a public speaker on panels and keynote talks including at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ACM/SIGGRAPH. Ed"s personal focus is on the unique cognitive properties of next-generation multisensory “sentient” environments, the merging of virtual and real storytelling worlds, and the development of next-generation entertainment venues. Ed holds two U.S. patents on immersive theater technologies, was awarded a Master"s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Tech University.