Recent developments in virtual reality have created a new boom of interest in 3D immersive displays and experiences. In my talk, I will tell the story of how my research lab at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies helped reignite the field of virtual reality. For example, former lab member Palmer Luckey left the lab to found Oculus VR. Our research, along with some software and hardware hacking, influenced the development of virtual reality displays from Google, Oculus, and Samsung.