University of South Carolina Chapter of UPE Presents Two Great Talks

USC Engineering Grads Making a Dent in Video Games and Movies 

and 

One Great Developer is Worth a Thousand Good Ones: Tips for Starting
Down the Right Path

The UPE Keynote Address by
Christopher L. King and Michael J. Sechrest 
Interactive Data Visualization Inc.

4:00 PM
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Faculty Lounge, Swearingen Building

ABSTRACT 

Follow the path of two USC computer engineering students as
they move from undergraduates to founding a company through USC's high
technology incubator.  After numerous false starts, the company
creates a software product for the video game industry which is
adopted by hundreds of companies including Electronic Arts,
Activision, Microsoft, and Sony.  The software crosses over into
cinematic applications with its debut in James Cameron's Avatar.

Development teams at all levels from graduate school research projects
to large corporations share a common trait: a small fraction of the
developers are responsible for almost all of the code that is
shipped. Some of what makes these developers great is natural talent
and education.  Most of it isn't.  Here we present a collection of
tips to put rookies on the right track.  

Chris King and Michael Sechrest founded Interactive Data Visualization
in 1999 with both sharing technical and administrative roles equally.
IDV was initially formed as a software services company but the
development and successful launch of SpeedTree® in 2002 set the
company on a new direction.  SpeedTree® is used to create virtual 3D
foliage and allows a game designer to easily create images ranging
from individual plants to entire forests or grasslands, including the
effects of wind in the foliage and the breaking of limbs.

Chris and Michael both completed both their bachelors and masters
degrees in Computer Engineering at USC.

Sponsored by: The University of South Carolina Department of Computer
Science and Engineering