Oculus, the virtual reality company owned by Facebook, has a new hire: Google X's Mary Lou Jepsen.
Jepsen, a respected computer scientist who ran the the research lab's Display Division for three years, joins the Oculus team this month although, at this time, it's unclear what her new role will be.
"We can confirm Mary Lou has joined the team," an Oculus spokesman said in a statement. "We continue to seek out the best and brightest from around the world to help push VR to the next level.”
The hire is a big one for Oculus, regardless. Ranked by the Anita Borg Institute as one of the top 50 female computer scientists of all time, Jepsen remains best known as CTO of One Laptop per Child, the non-profit she cofounded with Nicholas Negroponte that developed a low-cost laptop for children in developing countries.
On Jepsen's LinkedIn profile, the MIT graduate said she invented the laptop's core architecture. Jepsen also said she created a new kind of screen, which helps explain how she landed her next gig as head of Google X's Display Division.
All that experience with display technology also explains Jepsen's move to Oculus. The fast-moving VR startup, acquired by Facebook for a reported $2 billion, made buzz with the Rift, a head-mounted display due out later this year. Jepsen, no doubt, will play a key role in improving Oculus Rift's display as it nears launch.