James F. O'Brien

Infobox Scientist
name = James F. O'Brien


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ethnicity = Caucasian
field = Computer graphics
work_institution = University of California, Berkeley
alma_mater = Georgia Tech College of Computing
doctoral_advisor = Jessica Hodgins
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prizes = SIGGRAPH Impact Award, Sloan Fellowship, FIU Torch Award,GVU 15 Impact Award
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James F. O'Brien is a computer graphics researcher and professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.

Education

O'Brien received a BSc in 1992 from Florida International University. He then did his graduate work under the supervision of Dr. Jessica Hodgins at Georgia Tech's GVU Center. He received his doctorate in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing in 2000 for a thesis entitled "Graphical Modeling and Animation of Fracture". [J. F. O'Brien, [http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~job/Papers/obrien-phdthesis.pdf Graphical Modeling and Animation of Brittle Fracture] . PhD thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, Aug. 2000.]

Berkeley

He joined the faculty of Berkeley's Computer Science Department in 2000. Prof. O'Brien runs the Berkeley Computer Animation and Modeling Group and his research focuses primarily on physically based animation, 3D modeling, and audio simulation. [cite news|first=Chris|last=Taylor|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1013226,00.html|title=What Does Wind Really Look Like?|work=Time Magazine|date=2005-01-02|accessdate=2007-10-10]

Awards

* SIGGRAPH Impact Award (1999)
* Technology Review TR100 (2004) [cite news|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/13811|title=2004 TR100: Computing|work=Technology Review|accessdate=2007-10-10]
* Sloan Fellowship (2004) [cite web|url=http://www.sloan.org/report/2004/research_fellowships.shtml|title=2004 Sloan Research Fellowships|publisher=Sloan|accessdate=2007-10-10]
* College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni, FIU (2006) [cite web|url=http://fiualumni.com/2006_torchawards.htm|title=FIU 2006 Torch Awards|publisher=Florida International University|accessdate=2007-10-10]
* GVU 15 Impact Award [cite web|url=http://gvu.cc.gatech.edu/what/gvu15main.php|title=GVU 15 Anniversary Celebration and Symposium|accessdate=2007-11-01]
* Jim and Donna Gray Endowment Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2008) [cite web|url=http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Faculty/Awards/teaching.shtml|title=EECS Faculty Awards|accessdate=2008-03-03]

Research and Professional Activities

Prof. O'Brien has published an extensive collection of research papers on topics such as surface reconstruction, human figure animation, mesh generation, physically based animation, surgical simulation, computational fluid dynamics, and fracture propagation. [cite web|url=http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~job/Papers/|title=James F. O'Brien Publications|accessdate=2008-09-12]

Prof. O'Brien served as a consultant on the development of the game physics engine Digital Molecular Matter (DMM). [cite news|url=http://www.dailycal.org/article/102165/professor_helps_bring_reality_to_video_games|title=Professor Helps Bring Reality to Video Games|work=The Daily Californian|accessdate=2008-09-12] To date, this game engine has been used in and is slated for use in Indiana Jones.

References

External links

* [http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~job/ Home page at U. C. Berkeley]
* [http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/b-cam Berkeley Computer Animation and Modeling Group]
* [http://news.fiu.edu/fiumag/fall_2000/alumni-profile.htm Article in FIU Magazine]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1013226,00.html Article in Time Magazine]