How is computer graphics influencing the visual world around us?
From the special effects in Jurassic Park to flight
simulators, from random dot stereograms to remote medical consultation,
computer graphics is creating exciting new opportunities for visual
thinking and communication.
The 1995 Summer Workshop in 3D Geometric Modeling and Computer Graphics seeks to foster an interdisciplinary understanding of how concepts from computer graphics and 3D geometry can be included in high school education by providing high school teachers with an introduction to the basic concepts and mathematics of computer graphics, with a focus on 3D geometric modeling.
Lectures by Professor Andries van Dam, a pioneer in the field of Computer Graphics and co-founder of Brown's Computer Science Department, Anne Spalter and John Hughes cover the history of computer graphics, 3D geometry and matrices, perspective and rendering, and then the more complicated applications of these concepts in current computer graphics research. Guest lecturers Don Greenberg, Tom Banchoff, Richard Riesenfeld, and Henry Fuchs are important figures in computer graphics research. They introduce topics such as photorealistic rendering, computer-aided design and manufacturing, the cutting edge in virtual reality research, and computer aided research in multi-dimensional geometry.
Lectures are complemented by daily hands-on studio lab sessions with a variety of software packages. All paticipants create at least two 3D models using Macromedia's Macromodel and Caligari's trueSpace. There are basic introductions to several other important applications dealing with gaphics (this year the participants spent one lab session using Adobe Photoshop, and several sessions using Netscape to explore the World Wide Web) and interactive illustrations of matrices and geometric functions. For a great example of projects in public schools which have been influenced by our outreach, please see Dick LaCivita's student's work at http://www.ici.net/cust_pages/lacivita/lacivita.html.
If you, or someone you know, has similar pages on the Web, please let us know. We'd love include you in our listing.
The 20 participants are instructors at nearby high schools, and teach subjects including math, computer science, biology, chemistry, literature, studio art, and multi-media production. Past participants have developed computer graphics courses for in-service training, created computer graphics sections of programming classes, and used the concepts and materials of the Workshop in a range of disciplines including multi-media, chemistry, physics, and art.
The workshop requires full day commitments and a high level of motivation and curiosity. There is no stipend and no cost for participation. This workshop may be taken by Massachusetts and Rhode Island teachers for NCTA in-service credit.
6 of last year's participants have returned to become "Mentor Teachers." They attend lectures and labs, offer assistance to participants and feedback to the instructors.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Home | Research | Outreach | Televideo | Admin | Education |