Student Talk Series: Tony DeRose, Pixar Animation Studio, September 18th @ noon in Olin 268

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Title: Wavelets in computer graphics


Abstract: Wavelets are an important mathematical tool that has found uses in many scientific and engineering disciplines. They are an important technique for use in computer graphics and the closely related field of image processing. In this lecture I’ll provide an introduction to the theory of wavelets, and I’ll highlight their use to solve a variety of computer graphics problems.

Speaker biography: Tony DeRose is currently a Senior Scientist and lead of the Research Group at Pixar Animation Studios. He received a BS in Physics in from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. From 1986 to 1995 Dr. DeRose was a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington. In 1998, he was a major contributor to the Oscar (c) winning short film “Geri’s game”, in 1999 he received the ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award, and in 2006 he received a Scientific and Technical Academy Award (c) for his work on surface representations. In addition to his research interests, Tony is also involved in a number of initiatives to help make math, science, and engineering education more inspiring and relevant for middle and high school students. One such initiative is the Young Makers Program that supports youth in building ambitious hands-on projects of their own choosing.