CS 551/651: Advanced Computer Graphics

Bio Sheet

Name:_______________ Preferred Name:______________ Major:____________

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. Please 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. I invented C, wrote UNIX, and created C++ as a bad joke.

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. I had algebra in high school and can draw straight lines, if that’s what you mean
  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 understand

  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. Antialiasing
  8. The standard (e.g. OpenGL) rendering pipeline
  9. Scene graphs (instancing, modeling transforms, etc.)
  10. BSP-trees
  11. Shadow maps
  12. Ray tracing
  13. Radiosity
  14. Shading languages (e.g., Renderman)
  15. Computational geometry
  16. Levels-of-detail (LODs)
  17. Visibility or occlusion culling (cells and portals)
  18. Graphics hardware architectures
  19. BRDF (Bi-directional Reflectance Distribution Function)
  20. Signal theory (e.g., FFT, frequency domain, etc)

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. If you don’t feel like answering, that’s fine.

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 worked 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. (I’m a Tar Heel fan unless they’re playing the Hoos)

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.