I am a third year PhD student at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities studying computer science under the advisement of Daniel Keefe. My research fits broadly under the area of computer graphics and specifically within the fields of scientific visualization and human-computer interaction. I study novel interaction metaphors in the domains of fluid flow, scalar datasets, and design/artistic modeling through the use of virtual reality, multi-touch, haptics, pen-based, and many other fluid, high-bandwidth input devices. Through my interdiscipinary work I've also become very familar with medical imaging, medical device design, and computational fluid dynamics.

Rapid technological advances in high performance computing are fundamentally changing the way we do engineering and scientific research. We are able to produce datasets with unprecendented levels of physical accuracy. In addition, these advances allow data to be rapidly simulated, with the ability to generate many datasets that in the not too distant past would take weeks to simulate. However, with this ability there come many inherent challenges in handling the data resulting from both the complexity (high resolution) and scope (shear numbers). New methods are needed to allow scientists and engineers to fully explore and analyze the massive amount of potential information available at their fingertips. My research targets these challenges through the use of emerging display and user interface technologies, such as immersive virtual reality and multi-touch surfaces. Visuals alone are not enough to solve these problems, the ability to sucessfully and fully analyze these data is intrinsically tied to the user's ability to interact with the data.