CS 651: Modern Research in Computer Graphics

Bio Sheet

Name:_______________ Preferred Name:______________ Dept:____________

Email:___________ Phone:____________ Year:____

The purpose of this sheet is to give me a feeling for the amount of preparation that you have coming into this class, not to scare you into dropping the class. This class is going to survey the current frontiers of computer graphics, so the focus will be on breadth rather than depth. We will spend the first few sessions going over background material; the below questions are primarily to help me gauge the level and amount of this material. Circle the answer that best describes your level of knowledge in each subject.

C, C++, and UNIX

  1. I think I got a C++ on a speling test wunce
  2. I know C or C++ but haven’t used UNIX
  3. I’m a good C/C++ programmer but only on PCs
  4. I’m good at C/C++ and UNIX
  5. I dream in C++ classes and rule the UNIX world with an iron fist
  6. Pleased to meet you, my name’s Kernigan

The OpenGL Graphics Library

  1. I wouldn’t know an OpenGL if it bit me
  2. I’ve used OpenGL a little (perhaps in a programming course)
  3. I’ve done a fair amount of OpenGL programming (perhaps in a graphics course)
  4. I’ve implemented a subset of OpenGL (a common project in graphics courses)
  5. I could comfortably write a pretty sophisticated OpenGL program
  6. I earn a few bucks on the side writing OpenGL drivers for graphics cards

Linear Algebra

  1. Lydia who?
  2. I know what vectors and matrices are
  3. I think I remember how to multiply and invert matrices
  4. I know about different matrix types (diagonal, symmetric, etc) and their properties
  5. I know about eigenvectors, LTR decomposition, etc.
  6. I eat Eigenvector Crunch for breakfast and can invert singular matrices

Graphics Fundamentals: ü topics you’ve heard of, circle topics you know well

  1. Geometric transformations (translate, rotate, scale, etc.)
  2. Raster displays (pixels, frame-buffers, scanlines, etc.)
  3. The Z-buffer or depth buffer
  4. Rasterizing a polygon
  5. Gouraud shading
  6. The Phong lighting model
  7. The standard (e.g. OpenGL) rendering pipeline
  8. Scene graphs (instancing, modeling transforms, etc.)
  9. BSP-trees
  10. Shadow maps
  11. Ray-tracing
  12. Radiosity
  13. Shading languages (e.g., Renderman)
  14. Image-based rendering
  15. Computational geometry
  16. Levels-of-detail (LODs)
  17. Visibility or occlusion culling (cells and portals)
  18. Graphics hardware architectures

Name three things you expect to get out of this class

 

The rest of this is to help me get a feel for who you are and why you’re taking the class.

Name some of your interests outside of class

 Where did you grow up?

Where else have you gone to school?

What is your main academic interest or thesis topic?

Just to play fair, here are my answers to the above questions:

Name some of your interests outside of class

  1. Sports: Ultimate, racquetball, disc golf, rollerblading
  2. Reading: Sci-fi, Victorian literature, British detective novels
  3. Video games: Nintendo64 (I was on the design team)

Where did you grow up?

Pueblo, Colorado

Where else have you gone to school?

Undergrad: Colorado College. I studied chemistry.

Grad: University of North Carolina. Go Tar Heels!

What is your main academic interest or thesis topic?

Computer graphics (surprise).

My dissertation was on dynamic polygonal simplification, a new technique for interactive rendering of very large and complex models.