Scientific storytelling has been an integral part of Dr. Iyer’s work for over 15 years, where he, as a science communicator, has used innovative storytelling strategies including use of multimedia tools, and experiential and immersive media technologies to tell complex stories and disseminate research and scientific information, to transcend demographic barriers, foster empathy and solidarity, and enabling individuals to perceive realities from varied perspectives pertaining to social and environmental issues.
In 2009, Dr. Iyer pursued his first scientific storytelling project titled, ‘The Curse of the Sickle’ in the Western Ghats of India where he explored the indigenous Soliga tribe’s lifestyle, beliefs, and customs while examining the pressure exerted on the tribal way of life by officialdom and the role of non-profits in striking a balance between their age-old medicinal customs and modern western medical treatments for Sickle Cell Anemia. He later turned the insights from the multi-year project into a documentary and a book.
Similarly, in the past, he has reported and published a book on the intriguing stories from the natural world, where he highlights stories such as the mysteries of certain species of frogs that appear to have adapted to their surroundings, giving birth to fully developed froglets and entirely bypassing the three-month life cycles of tadpoles, transforming into frogs in the water.
Traveling is a passion that influences the stories that he tells. As part of his multi-year ‘Project 3 Lenses: Documenting Wildlife, Wild Places and Human Journey’, Dr. Iyer has filmed and photographed in the rainforests of Madagascar, the Himalayan Mountain Kingdom of Bhutan, the Eastern coast of Japan, the temple city of Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the USA.
Since 2018, Dr. Iyer has also been exploring the uses of experiential and immersive media technologies. He was an integral part of a project funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pertaining to the immersive use of AR, VR, and 360 video for interactive ways of storytelling related to energy efficiency in collaboration with the Life on the Edge Interpretive Center at the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Dr. Iyer’s Ph.D. research explores the role of the virtual reality (VR) first-person perspective in climate change knowledge outcomes and pro-climate social actions. He investigates the impact of VR’s first-person perspective on climate communication, assessing whether it facilitates knowledge of climate change, feelings of hope, fear, and self-efficacy, and encourages pro-environmental actions compared to non-first-person VR experiences. Findings from Dr. Iyer’s work highlight how allowing people to embody their virtual avatar through a VR first-person perspective while taking climate-friendly actions might empower participants and increase their confidence (i.e., efficacy) in taking real-world action to reduce the impact of climate change.