Newsletter of the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University
The Department of Visualization at Texas A&M’s College of Architecture is forging into the future with the help of its Visualization Industry Partners (VIP), an advisory board consisting of computer animation, simulation, architecture and gaming firms on the cutting edge of the use of computer graphics for visualization.
“This is an extremely fast moving field,” said department head Tim McLaughlin. “Our visualization partners provide feedback from the industry about the way the program is operating, what our graduates are doing, and how we can direct our research and teaching in ways the that fit with industry’s vision of the future,” he said.
The inaugural VIP meeting took place fall 2008 with the following charter members:
“The first meeting was an introduction to the program,” said McLaughlin, “but they know our Master of Science in Visualization graduates very well, because these companies have been hiring them for years.”
He said VIP members are eager to see the latest creations of the department’s graduate students, so the next meeting is scheduled during Viz-a-GoGo 16, the annual showcase of graduate visualization student work scheduled May 4-9 at the university’s Rudder Exhibit Hall and Theatre.
“The spring meeting is going to be about what the Department of Visualization does in terms of research and creative, scholarly work, and how that applies to the internal work these companies do,” said McLaughlin.
For instance, he said, a computer animation company might need a more efficient way to render shadows in an environment filled with synthetic characters.
“You could cast a shadow from every character based on each light source — that would be realistic, but also computationally expensive. Or, you could cleverly determine an approximation method that quickly produces a result that is visually indistinguishable from the expensive method. That’s a classic research topic,” he said, “and our thesis students and faculty members work in those areas as well as areas that are just beginning to gain exposure in scholarly circles.”
He said industry members also appreciate the opportunity provided by Texas A&M to gather in an informal way.
“They rarely have a chance to get together themselves and talk about what’s going on, and this is just as much a venue for that as anything,” said McLaughlin. “When they see each other it’s typically in passing at a conference or industry event, but this is a chance to sit down and discuss things about education and the direction of the industry in what is hopefully a noncompetitive environment.”
Since the department is a fertile ground for employers in the digital animation world, the VIP gatherings also help bring them closer to the training ground of future employees.
“They recognize that there’s a benefit to being involved with us for more than just walking in once or twice a year to interview our students,” said McLaughlin. “They have a vested interest in what our students’ experience is here, and this gives them the opportunity to have a conversation with us about it, see what we’re doing and comment on it.”
