Graduates

So Yamaoka

/*---- bio ----*/ 'So', My first name means conceive, think and imagine. I like it. My research interests are the unity of interactive computer graphics and audio signal processing (i.e., Visual Music), human-computer interaction, affective computing, ubiquitous computing, brain science, fancy electronic music devices. So Yamaoka has received B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Aizu, Japan. He is currently pursuing an M.S. in Information and Computer Science / Art Computation Engineering concentration at University of California, Irvine. /*---- end bio ----*/

Sky Frostenson

Sky Frostenson is an artist / designer / aesthetic programmer, originally from Los Alamos, New Mexico. He is currently a researcher and teacher affiliated with the UC Game Culture & Technology Lab (http://ucgamelab.net/) and Cal(IT)2 (http://www.calit2.net/), and also manages the the UC Digital Arts Research Network site (http://ucdarnet.org/). His main project development focus includes (but is certainly not limited to) iconoclastic iconographies, floating signifiers, and their tactical implementation in a wide variety of cultural software and new media agitprop endeavors, with a special emphasis on gaming and interactive design. He holds a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Computing in the Arts, both from the University of California, San Diego. He periodically posts projects, links, and other digital detritus at http://illinest.net.

(Harmony) Shan Jiang

Harmony is a second year ACE student in the ICS department of UCI. She has a B.E. in Electronic Information Engineering at Tianjin University in China. She is also a musician who plays the piano, cello and erhu. Her main research interests include human-computer interaction, signal processing, algorithmic composition and electronic music devices.

 

Adrian Herbez

Adrian Herbez is an aesthetic programmer concerned primarily with the creation and evolution of real-time interactive spaces and generative systems. He studied digital and electronic media at Carnegie Mellon University, graduating in 2001. Since then he has worked professionally producing both real-time and pre-rendederd content and teaching 3d animation. He has been part of the OmniCircus theater since 2000, where he builds and operates Virtual Puppets (VRpits) that integrate with live performance. He is currently persuing a Masters of Fine Art in the ACE program at the Univeristy of California, Irvine while continuing to teach Maya at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. His work can be viewed at http://www.purplestatic.com.

Pearl Ho

Pearl Ho is a second year ACE student in the engineering degree path. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin achieving a BS in electrical engineering. Her interests are in biomedical devices, MEMS, wireless devices, women’s studies, and science studies. Her artworks will challenge the engineering industry to expand research and development to uncultivated utilities. Pearl's past research has been in biomedical instrumentation. She is always in search of new transdisciplinary collaborations.

Cina Hazegh

Cina Hazegh is a graduate of the ACE program, affiliated with the department of engineering. His current interests include social networks, self-organizing systems, ubiquitous/pervasive computing, and the study of human computer interaction. His engineering objectives include the study of low cost wireless information devices with an additional focus on industrial design. Cina is responsible for flashmob.com and is a collaborator in the xflashmobs.com project. His website is considered a primary source of information on the flash mob phenomenon and has been cited by international media organizations including the BBC and PC Magazine. URLs: http://flashmob.com http://xflashmobs.com http://cinahazegh.com

Eric Kabisch

Eric Kabisch is a media designer/programmer who is pursuing an MFA in the ACE program. He is also working as a research fellow for the California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology (CalIT2). Eric's research interests include network and social visualization, dynamic music generation for interactivity, spatial perception and embodiment, game space vs. real space, and sustainable living. Past work experience includes art direction, music performance and production, application/game development, and motion design/animation. He holds a B.A. in Telecommunications and Music from Indiana University (1996), along with an A.S. in Audio Technology (1993).

Garnet Hertz

Garnet Hertz is a Fulbright Scholar, Research Fellow at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, and is also completing the Critical Theory Emphasis at UCI. Hertz's current thesis work consists of developing hybrid insect/machine systems, taking cybernetic-inspired forms as an origin to analyze contemporary developments in "cyborg" existence: artificial life, body modification, biorobotics, genetic engineering and posthuman theory. He has shown this work at SIGGRAPH, and also is founder of Dorkbot-Socal, a monthly lecture series. Popular press about his work is widespread, disseminating through 25 countries including The New York Times, I.D. Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, NBC, CBS, ZDTV and CNN Headline News.

Delvin Charles Hanson

Del is an artist pursuing an MFA in the Arts, Computation, Engineering. He is a researcher at the UC Game Culture & Technology Lab. Prior to his return to academia, Del was the former chief executive of a California based consulting company specializing in enterprise systems installations at fortune 500 company's including Hewlett-Packard, Sempra Energy and Tyson Foods. Del integrates technology into his art to sculpt in complex behavior and imagery. His art has been seen at the FILE Electronic Language Festival, Sao Paulo, Brazil; California State University, Fullerton; Arkansas Art Center; and the University of Southern Oregon, among others.

Angela Willcocks

Metal Hearts, Botox. numbering. Eternal youth, skin, mines, Prozac, mapping. Biological manipulation, sociology, antibiotics, media. Sequencing, manipulation and the beautification of disease. Mapping those pregnant moments essential to contemporary human life, my luscious segments of synthetic biomorphic imagery document the untenable, yet emotive experiences evident in science, society, art and the self today Her multimedia installations have been exhibited in major museums, and she has been an artist in residence at The Contemporary Arts Center in Atlanta and the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos.

Margaret Watson

Margaret Watson is currently pursuing an MS in Engineering in the ACE program. Her graduate research focuses on the exploration of sensor and computer vision systems, spatial sound and human-centered interaction as components in creating interactive art installations. Related areas of study include Image Processing, Ubiquitous Computing, Interactive Sound and Human Perception. Prior to ACE, Margaret has received a MFA in Electronic Visualization from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a BSGS in Art with minors in German and Computer Information Systems from Delta State University in Mississippi. Since moving to Southern California, she is also an avid sailor.

Greg Elliott

Greg Elliott is a 2nd year ACE student in the Informatics & Computer Science department. He has a B.S. in Cognitive Science & Computation from UCSD. Interested in shaping the way design both dictates and allows for more effective interaction, his current focus is on creating systems that are both functional and emotionally fulfilling. Lately, he has branched into the design of ubiquitous devices. A musician and philosopher at heart, he enjoys returning to his roots by framing and exploring them in a software/hardware medium.

His past work includes:

• E-Learning System - in collaboration with David Kirsh, this "from scratch" system has replaced WebCT/Blackboard for many courses taught at UCSD
  
  
• MediaReviewer - a tool for the ethnographic study of multiple videos/subjects sponsored by CalIT2, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, and funded by the NSF and the ONR
  
  
• Synchronization - thesis project to support & improve how people 'get on the same page'

Greg is still employed by and closely tied with the Interactive Cognition Lab @ UCSD.

Ryan Schoelerman

Ryan is an artist/researcher pursuing his MFA in the Arts, Computation, Engineering. He has completed and shown work in various analog/digital medias to include electronic music, video, robotics, interactive installation and public performance via tactical media practices. Ryan has a BA in Media Study from the MediaRobotics Lab, State University of New York at Buffalo.

Kevin Ponto

Kevin Ponto is a graduate of the ACE program. A 2004 graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison, in Computer Engineering, his background is strongly technical. Seeking to expand his knowledge to combine fine arts and computers, the ACE program was a seemingly perfect fit. Kevin has worked professionally designing and programming various websites for several different educational institutions. In the future, Kevin would like to pursue his interests in digital video and special effects, computer simulations, and artificial intelligence.

Erik Conrad

Erik Conrad has a M.S. in Information Design and Technology from Georgia Tech where he was a member of the Topological Media Lab. His work is an experiment in embodied thought through interaction and is manifested through studies in phenomenology. He attempts to engage proprioception - the ability to sense the position, location, orientation and movement of the body and its parts - and acknowledges its importance to human thought/experience. This overarching theme runs through the two main branches of his research: 1.) experiments in the phenomenology of reading that explore form/content relationships and 2.) the design and anaylsis of dynamic media spaces exploring how people perceive, understand and navigate space.