MFA Graduate, 2001

Samroeng Thongrong

Former Undergraduate REU, Web Developer

Michael Kmak

MFA Graduate, 2006

Julieta Aguilera

Former MFA Candidate

Mark Akgulian

Research Specialist, 2011-2013 MFA Graduate, 2011

JD Pirtle

MFA Graduate, 2012

Jon Chambers

New Media Arts Graduate, 2013

Joshua Albers

This exhibition presents the work of current and past graduate students of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago. (art)n Laboratory and EVL have collaborated on the development of the first real-time, stereoscopic hardcopy output of virtual reality applications - the ImmersaGram (IGram). 

Since the development of the CAVE Virtual Reality Theatre in 1992, EVL&rsquo;s major area of expertise has been the research and development of software, hardware, networking and communications tools for virtual reality. The results of this research directly addresses a broad range of information visualization issues along a wide spectrum of disciplines from art, architecture and science to medicine, engineering and education. The IGrams are intended to capture the essence of the virtual experience, preserve the sense of immersion and act as an extension of the original artwork into the domain of virtual hardcopy.

ImmersaGram Show Postcard

ImmersaGrams: Virtual Reality Snapshots

The International Grid (iGrid) 2000 exhibit, jointly sponsored and organized by the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology at Indiana University (IU), University of Tokyo and Keio University, provided global connectivity to collaborators from Canada, Germany, Greece, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, USA and the CERN institute. 

iGrid 2000 was composed of 24 application demonstrations requiring high-speed networks, with emphasis on distributed computing, tele-immersion, large datasets, remote instrumentation, collaboration, cultural heritage, digital video, streaming media and high-definition television. An additional 3 proposals represented video teleconferencing enhancements. 

EVL and IU, members of NCSA&rsquo;s National Computational Science Alliance partnership, are working to advance the development of the International Technology Grid. The Grid is a prototype 21st century computational and information infrastructure, integrating high-performance computers, visualization environments, remote instruments, and massive databases via high-speed networks to support advanced applications. iGrid 2000 was a direct outgrowth of these efforts.

The International Grid (iGrid) 2000

EVL will host U.S. <a href="http://www.senate.gov/~durbin/">Senator Dick Durbin</a> and members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation at UIC on Saturday, January 10, 1998. CAVE and ImmersaDesk technologies, advanced applications, and tele-immersion collaborative experiences will be demonstrated. 

This presentation is part of a forum, the Technology Leadership Workshop, organized by Senator Durbin to highlight some of the technologies being developed in Illinois that will take the U.S. into the future.

Technology Leadership Workshop

ALIVE will allow Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas to work on his design for the New Campus Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago without leaving Holland. 

Koolhaas / Office of Metropolitan Architecture won the <a href="http://www.iit.edu/departments/pr/arch.comp/index.html">Richard Driehaus Foundation International Award</a> for the design of the New Campus Center in February 1998. Now the architects in Amsterdam and their clients in Chicago will be utilizing CAVE to CAVE Tele-Immersion technology between EVL and <a href="http://www.sara.nl/">SARA (Academic Computing Services Amsterdam)</a> to perform collaborative design reviews. 

EVL and SARA have developed a collaborative version of the SARANAV CAVE navigation tool. The architects will be using the SARANAV CAVE navigation tool to load three-dimensional CAD models. This allows viewers to navigate through, create and re-play previously recorded animation paths. <a href="http://www.evl.uic.edu/cavern/">CAVERNsoft</a> was used to provide SARANAV with avatars, audio conferencing, and network instrumentation for monitoring bandwidth utilization, latency and jitter of network traffic during collaborative sessions. 

ALIVE gives EVL another opportunity to monitor network utilization in a real world Tele-Immersion application. 

The researchers involved with this project are Edward J. Breedveld, Jorrit Adriaanse, Anton Koning, Paul Wielinga - SARA and Jason Leigh, Dana Plepys - EVL.

Rem Koolhaas Uses the CAVE for Architectural Design

As a part of the lecture series for the AD508 Seminar, Doug Garofalo will present his work and discuss how digital technology is changing architectural practice. 

Doug Garofalo has developed a thriving practice in Chicago that produces architectural work through buildings, projects, research and teaching. The work of Garofalo Architects has been recently recognized as part of &ldquo;The New Vanguard&rdquo; in Architectural Record, and the &ldquo;Emerging Voices&rdquo; program at the Architectural League of New York. Garofalo is Associate Professor and Acting Director at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Architecture, and a Facilitator at Archeworks. 

Garofalo graduated from Yale University in 1987, and was awarded the prestigious Skidmore Owings &amp; Merrill Foundation Traveling Fellowship. 

He graduated from the University of Notre Dame In 1981. For recent work, publications and talks, please refer to his <a href="http://garofalo.a-node.net">home page</a> and the <a href="http://www.archeworks.org">Archeworks</a> website.

Doug Garofalo: Digital Technology in Architectural Practice

The Electronic Visualization Lab&rsquo;s Fall 2003 MFA AD508 Seminar Series meets every Wednesday from 2:00 - 4:00pm. The series begins with presentations of work by first and second year MFA, EVL students and concludes with a group project. This semester&rsquo;s seminar series is moderated by <a href="http://www.evl.uic.edu/drew/">Drew Browning</a>. 

Please check <a href="http://www.evl.uic.edu/seminar/index.php3">Seminar Page</a> for exact location of the weekly meeting.

MFA AD508 Seminar Series

In this advanced technological age, digitally-driven collaborative activities suffer from inadequate multi-user platforms. Few existing computer technologies promote face-to-face interactions and provide simultaneous multiple inputs. Tangible tabletop systems can simulate the richness that traditional collaboration affords, while supporting the technological needs of digital collaboration. 

This thesis describes the architecture and implementation of StorySpace, a new groupware application that supports parallel user input through a tangible user interface. Using radio frequency identification technology to automatically track tokens, or physical embodiments of virtual operations, StorySpace synchronizes activity in the real world with what users see in the digital world. 

Usability studies were conducted in the context of digital media poster design exercises for an 11th grade English class. Preliminary results are promising, in that they reveal that StorySpace promoted interaction and discussion within a small group of students.

Story Space

Janet Kim&rsquo;s M.S. Thesis Defense

The College of Arts &amp; Architecture named EVL REU Michael Kmak as the recipient of the 2004 Professor John E. Walley Memorial Scholarship. 

Each year the College of Arts &amp; Architecture presents awards for academic excellence and outstanding achievement. Student nominees must demonstrate significant artistic merit, be in excellent academic standing and be enrolled in the College during the academic year in which the award is received. This year&rsquo;s awards ceremony was held on Nov. 17th in University Hall, with awards presented by the Dean, Directors, Faculty and Staff. 

Michael Kmak&rsquo;s current work with Professor Ammar Eloueini in the fourth year digital media studio received special attention for this award. The project, created by Michael Kmak and Matthew Majack, can be viewed on <a href="http://www.no-nothingrock.com/arch415/final/">the project website</a>.

Interior Perspective, 3D rendering, 216 W. Chicago Project.

EVL REU Awarded 2004 Walley Memorial Scholarship

Chip shows his portfolio work. Most of this is from his undergrad thesis. 

Mark presents some work done during his previous semester(s) at UIC using his website for that purpose. He also shows a proposed project to be produced during this next semester and possibly into the following one as well.

New MFA Student Presentations

Kapil presents his degree project Titled: &ldquo;Virtual Dyaneshwari&rdquo; in which he explored spiritualism using Virtual Reality as a medium. Kapil also shows work that was done during his bachelors course. 

HyeYun presents her portfolio which includes oriental painting and games done with Flash.

Drew Browning is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the School of Art and Design with an MFA degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has been teaching in the Electronic Visualization and Industrial Design programs since 1976 and is the founder and Director of the Design Visualization Laboratory. Browning has produced numerous video and computer graphic art works and has exhibited internationally. He has authored papers in electronic visualization and design and given lectures on these subjects at various conferences and professional meetings. He has received art and design research grants from agencies such as the Illinois Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Veterans Administration and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. His current research involves art and design work in virtual reality and hyper-media networked communications. 

Presentation: 
Sabbatical Work 
Drew will speak about recent work completed during his sabbatical leave and associated exhibitions. 

Related URL: 
<a href="http://www.unreal-estates.com">www.unreal-estates.com</a>

Screenshot from the installation

Presentation by Drew Browning

Paul Klein has been an art dealer and gallery owner for over twenty years. 

About himself he says: 
&ldquo;Raised in Chicago suburbs and San Francisco Bay Area. Educated in the mountains. I like to push the edges. The perpetual dilemma is how to pursue what resonates while finding a way to make or have money to pursue what resonates. I think that&rsquo;s what I want to talk about too. The bigger picture. Which voice do you listen to? The money voice or the art voice? Can that be one voice? Which one are you: follow the trend, set the trend, miss the trend? Does the trend even matter? At any rate, that&rsquo;s where I usually end up, the relationship between what one cares about and what one does (I like to see people come from themselves to fulfill their potential, not someone else&rsquo;s).&rdquo; 

About Klein Art Works he says: 
&ldquo;We present art we believe in, art that is stimulating, art that not only brings pleasure and satisfaction to your world, but art that generates growth, fosters change, and encourages creativity. The art we exhibit is not about answers. It isn&rsquo;t even really about agreement. We like to think it asks questions, questions that don&rsquo;t have specific answers. As a result, you the viewer participate in the aesthetic experience and complete the dialogue that has been begun by the artist. Without you the artwork is not complete.&rdquo; 

The Chicago Tribune said (excerpt - September 5, 2003): 
&ldquo;Tough times put art galleries in experimental mood&rdquo; Paul Klein, who runs Klein Art Works, is poised to take perhaps the biggest leap of all. Having represented local and international painters and sculptors for 30 years, Klein decided earlier this year to add artists working in new media, namely digital and computer-generated art. He is looking to sell his West Loop gallery, complete with large sculpture garden and skylights, in favor of a space more conducive to showing digital art. He has formed a relationship with Sony, which has agreed to supply him with equipment in exchange for help in developing their digital business. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not forsaking paint and sculpture,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m adding digital and computer works. I&rsquo;m thinking that one can integrate.&rdquo;

Paul Klein

Presentation by Paul Klein

Franz Fischnaller is scheduled to hold a lecture about VR and Architecture and speak about his projects related to architecture. The lecture is part of the School of Architecture&rsquo;s new initiative called Wednesdays @ One, which hopes to expand and enrich the relationships with the professional community, with colleagues from diverse disciplines, and with projects of note in the Chicago area. 

PART I 
1.) Why Virtual Reality is an intelligent tool for architecture and design. 

2.) New concepts and challenges in architecture: How digital media and Virtual Reality can be incorporated in architectonic structures and buildings? 
<ul>
<li>Designing high tech intelligent multi-purpose buildings</li>
<li>Incorporating and integrating digital media and high-end technology into design and architecture</li>
<li>Exploring new forms in design and architecture</li>
<li>Implementing innovative technological expressive forms</li>
<li>Overlapping functionality and fantasy in its highest expression with a new system of living and interacting with the impossible</li>
<li>Examples: &ldquo;Cyber Space Theme Park&rdquo;, &ldquo;Stargate Hotel&rdquo;, &ldquo;Space Entertainment Center&rdquo;, &ldquo;Space Atrium Hotel&rdquo;, Space Hotel, designed by Franz Fischnaller</li>
</ul> 

PART II
3.) Presentation of Virtual Reality applications in the new VR facility of the Art Department.

CityCluster

Franz Fischnaller Lectures on VR and Architecture

Architect and interactive media artist, born in Vienna, Austria, Petra has received her master&rsquo;s degree in architecture from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, and has completed her Master of Fine Arts at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA. In her virtual environments Petra explores the issues of presence and identity formation in relation to computer controlled systems. Her works have been exhibited internationally at venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Ars Electronica Center in Linz, Austria, the Siggraph 2002 art gallery in San Antonio, TX, and the InterCommunication Center in Tokyo, Japan and have been featured in magazines such as &ldquo;Archis&rdquo; and &ldquo;Computer Graphics World&rdquo;. Petra is a lecturer in Media Practice and Theory at the University of Sussex. Petra teaches a postgraduate (MA) course in Political Economy of the New Media and a postgraduate (MA) option in Science, Technology, and Culture. In addition she has a university teaching position for &ldquo;Reactive Architecture&rdquo; at the Vienna University of Technology. 

Topics Petra will cover: 
<ul>
<li>Experience as a student in EVL: How and what was useful for her while in the MFA program at EVL</li>
<li>Goals and accomplishments since graduating</li>
<li>Major difficulties, if there were any, that she has faced in the professional world and eventually how she overcame these difficulites</li>
<li>Critical analysis of the path that goes from being a &ldquo;student&rdquo; to becoming an active professional in the &ldquo;real&rdquo; world</li>
<li>Petra&rsquo;s virtual reality art works and research projects: Concepts, motivations, goals, production process, and implementation</li>
<li>Difficulties in exposing her digital work in museum, galleries, and cultural institutions</li>
<li>Position of the contemporary museums and galleries in Europe toward Electronic Art</li>
<li>Opinions about the actual market tendency for Digital / Electronic Art</li>
</ul>

Netmeeting with Petra Gemeinboeck - EVL MFA Alumni

San Francisco based new media artist and writer Shirley Shor&rsquo;s work involves real-time computer generated environments that challenge our time and space perception. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Recent shows include the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, Singapore Art Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts San Francisco, and Ars Electronica, Linz. Shirley received the 2003 Bay Area Murphy Award in Fine Arts. Shirley got her BA in Art History and Philosophy from the Tel-Aviv University, and is currently an MFA candidate at the Conceptual Information Art in the San Francisco State University. 

Recent Work: 
<ul>
<li>Split #2, 2003</li>
<li>Software Art Installation</li>
<li>Bang the Machine</li>
<li>Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco</li>
<li>Jan 17 - Apr 4, 2004</li>
</ul> 

&ldquo;From lines of division and separation to nomadic &lsquo;lines of flight&rsquo; - lines that carry us away, a flow of deterritorialization&rdquo; - Deleuze 

&ldquo;The piece is about spaces construction. The time component activates and transforms these spaces by challenging our perception of boundaries - constantly shifting the boundaries causes space to become temporal. In this real-time animation I strived to create a notion of liquid architecture. The environment is generated by code that creates an on going changeable grid, and unstable structure in motion that the viewer can walk through.&rdquo; - Shirley Shor

Shirley Shor

NetMeeting with Shirley Shor

Poliana Tassini presents the comparative analysis traced in Angela Ndalianis&rsquo; book &ldquo;Neo-Baroque Aesthetics and Contemporary Entertainment&rdquo; between the baroque aesthetics from the 17th century and the neo-baroque era in the Contemporary Entertainment of 20th / 21st centuries. According to Ndalianis, &ldquo;the neo-baroque shares a baroque delight in spectacle and sensory experiences, a spectacle that, in our time, often relies upon computer technology.&rdquo; Using examples from video-games, CGI movies and theme-park attractions in VR, we will understand how the contemporary entertainment media reflect the new &ldquo;neo-baroque logic&rdquo; as a result of the technological advancements of our time.

Pietro da Cortona&rsquo;s Divine Providence

Parallels between Baroque Art and Neo-Baroque Aesthetics in Contemporary Entertainment

Kapil&rsquo;s presentation will focus on the utility of large displays (i.e. tile display) not only in scientific visualization but also as an emerging technology in the world of art and performances. 

Kapil will also discuss how creativity shaped itself from stone in the early ages to pixels in today&rsquo;s digital age. Various issues like art, commercial art, new media, and mass media will also be addressed in the presentation.

Presentation by Kapil Arora

EVL&rsquo;s Postdoctoral Research Associate, Xi Wang participates in the Third International Conference on Broadband Communications, Networks, and Systems (BROADNETS 2006) - presenting EVL&rsquo;s OptIPuter project optical networking research findings. 

October 4, 2006 [Wednesday] 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM 
Wang&rsquo;s presentation is part of the &ldquo;Distributed Computing over Overlaid Optical Networks - A Reality Check&rdquo; session, chaired by Hiroaki Harai (National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Japan) 

&ldquo;LambdaBridge: A Scalable Architecture for Future Generation Terabit Applications&rdquo; is authored by Xi Wang, Venkatram Vishwanath, Byungil Jeong, Ratko Jagodic, Eric He, Luc Renamnot, Andrew Johnson, Jason Leigh (Electronic Visualization Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA) 

IEEE Communications Society / CreateNet BROADNETS 2006 is an international conference focusing on broadband communications, networks, and systems and covers the entire gamut of next generation networks, communications systems, applications and services.

LambdaBridge: A Scalable Architecture for Future Generation Terabit Applications

Broadnets 2006 Conference

Kizhi - Passing Excellence is a research project sponsored by OVCR-AAH grant to develop a real-time large scale high-resolution visualization of the world famous architectural ensemble Kizhi. 

The Kizhi Pogost is located on an island in Lake Onega in northern Karelia in Russia. It is an authentic museum of an ancient wood building tradition, an outstanding example of medieval and post-medieval orthodox settlements, which presents a unique artistic achievement. This ensemble preserves a concentration of masterpieces of the Russian heritage and is included in the List of Most Endangered Sites of the World Monuments Watch protected by World Heritage List of UNESCO. 

The focus of this project is to create an interactive visualization of the history of Kizhi beginning at the 14th Century and going through today in the 21st Century. The project will be created using an application development environment Electro designed for use on both cluster-driven tiled displays and desktop systems. Electro provides an easy-to-use scripting system for interactive 3D and 2D applications spanning multiple processors and displays.

Kizhi Island, Karelia, Russia

Kizhi - Passing Excellence

UIC alumni, students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the annual UIC MFA Open Studio on Friday, October 13th from 5:30-9pm. 

Tour the facilities and meet the faculty and students of the School of Art and Design&rsquo;s MFA programs, including electronic visualization, graphic design, industrial design, moving image, photography, and studio arts. 

5:30pm Introductions and refreshments in the School of Art and Design&rsquo;s Great Space 
6:00pm UIC MFA Open Studio 
6:30pm Faciltieis Tour 
9:00pm Studios Close 

University of Illinois at Chicago 
College of Architecture and the Arts 
School of Art and Design

Annual UIC MFA Open Studio

Julieta Aguilera, an Alumni of EVL&rsquo;s MFA program, has had her thesis project cited in a recent publication by Routledge Press; From Models to Drawings: Imagination and Representation in Architecture, edited by Marco Frascari, Jonathan Hale, Bradley Starkey. 

Unfolding Space, Aguilera&rsquo;s thesis project, is cited in the section titled &lsquo;Higher&rsquo; Being and &lsquo;Higher&rsquo; Drawing: Claude Bragdon&rsquo;s &lsquo;Fourth Dimension&rsquo; and the Use of Computer Technology in Design. The text is recommended by the the publisher as &ldquo;key reading for all students of architecture and architectural theory.&rdquo; 
 
<a href="http://www.routledgearchitecture.com/books/From-Models-to-Drawings-isbn9780415431132">Please click this link to view the book&rsquo;s Routledge webpage</a> 

From the Publisher: 

This edited collection addresses the vital role of the imagination in the critical interpretation of architectural representations. By challenging the contemporary tendency for computer-aided drawings to become mere &ldquo;models&rdquo; for imitation in the construction of buildings, the articles explore the broader range of methods and meanings at stake in the creation and interpretation of architectural drawings, models, images and artifacts. 

These critical - and often practice-led - investigations are placed alongside a range of historical studies considering the development of representational techniques such as perspective, orthography and diagramming. 

By also addressing the use of visual representation in a number of related disciplines such as visual arts, film, performance and literature, the book opens up debates in architecture to important developments in other fields.

Julieta Aguilera&rsquo;s Unfolding Space Cited in a New Publication on Architectural Theory

<a href="http://www.chicagoideas.com/events/203">Chicago Ideas Week (CIW) 2013</a> 

EVL TOUR SOLD OUT 

Date: Monday, October 14 
Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm 

Location of EVL CAVE2&trade; Tours: 
EVL TOUR SOLD OUT 

EVL showcases the world of the future. Attendees registered for Chicago Ideas Week will see the EVL Cyber-Commons and CAVE2 - rooms where the surfaces are wallpapered with 3D TVs and seamlessly connected to phones or tablets. Note: Last year, Channel 7 (ABC) covered Chicago Ideas Week; EVL was featured in the <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&amp;id=8839408">segment (fast forward to 1:24)</a>.

EVL hosting industry collaborators in the CAVE2.

Chicago Ideas Week (CIW) 2013

This is a white paper outlining a methodology for employing collaborative, immersive virutal environments as a high-end visualization interface for massive data-sets.

Artist&rsquo;s Rendition of CAVEscope System

A Tele-Immersive Environment for Collaborative Exploratory Analysis of Massive Data Sets

Attendees of SIGGRAPH 94 experienced the actual use and future direction of scientific visualization in computational science and engineering in VROOM - the Virtual Reality Room. 

Over 40 projects involving over 200 researchers and programmers were demonstrated in CAVE and BOOM areas for four days of the conference held in Orlando this past July.

SIGGRAPH &rsquo;94 Visual Proceedings - VROOM

SIGGRAPH &rsquo;94 Visual Proceedings

This paper discusses the process of reconstructing a unique and remote site such as Chav&iacute;n de Hu&aacute;ntar in Peru, focusing on the choices made in designing the user interface and the difficulty of translating archaeological / anthropological information into a visual and information-rich tool for the teaching of art history. Peru contains hundreds of sites that can be easily ignored due to the lack of visual resources that can help evaluate a site and culture. 

This paper explains why it is difficult to evaluate Chav&iacute;n de Hu&aacute;ntar and how a virtual reconstruction was done in order to provide a useful and user-friendly resource for art historians and their students in order to help appreciate the importance of this site and rescue it from being forgotten. The project is compared to an existing reconstruction done by Stanford University using Zoom by Live Picture and contrasted with the technology used for this reconstruction (VRML, HTML, JavaScript, and Metastream), which delivers a richer visual guide and more immersive experience. The paper discusses plans to create a fully immersive reconstruction of Chav&iacute;n de Hu&aacute;ntar using CAVE&trade; technology, Iris Performer and OpenWorlds and the issues concerning the maintenance of two tools for teaching: one that is more portable and one that is more immersive.

Reconstructing Chav&iacute;n de Hu&aacute;ntar (Peru): Designing an Educational Tool for Art Historians

The StorySpace project studies the role new interface technologies might play in high school education. Unfortunately, technology often seizes center stage in the classroom, becoming itself the topic of instruction. We argue that learning in general and learning about technology in particular will be most successful when technology is used in the service of learning, rather than learning in the service of technology. Certainly, outside of the classroom, technology is rarely an end in itself;  application gives technology its power. The classroom should be no different.

StorySpace

StorySpace: Technology Supporting Reflection, Expression and Discourse in Classroom Narrative

This paper describes the development of a generic framework for implementing realistic cross-platform haptic virtual reality applications. Currently, freely available Software Development Kits (SDKs) deal with a single Haptic Interaction Point (HIP), i.e. the tip of the haptic probe. However, many applications as path planning, virtual assembly, medical or dental simulations, as well as scientific exploration require object-object interactions, meaning any part of the complex 3D object attached to the probe collides with the other objects in the virtual scene. Collision detections and penetration depths between 3D objects must be quickly computed to generate forces to be displayed by the haptic device. In these circumstances, implementation of haptic applications is very challenging when the numbers, stiffness and/or complexity of objects in the scene are considerable, mainly because of high update rates needed to avoid instabilities of the system. The proposed framework meets this high requirement and provides a high-performance test bed for further research in algorithms for collision detection and generation of haptic forces.

Phantom Transform Node

Realistic Cross-Platform Haptic Applications Using Freely-Available Libraries

LambdaGrid applications as typified by data-intensive collaborative visualization are likely to be the first users of terabit-level networking. This paper features a main enabler of collaborative visualization over LambdaGrid, the Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment (SAGE) in particular, and anticipates the future needs of LambdaGrid applications in general. We present a scalable architecture called LambdaBridge to &ldquo;bridge&rdquo; LambdaGrid applications with the terabit optical core networks. 

LambdaBridge will provision and control predictable-performance networks for end-systems (i.e. Grid clusters) using on-demand lambda / VLAN provisioning and end-system traffic shaping. 

The chief contribution of LambdaBridge is a deep understanding of how to synergistically bridge provisionable networks, end-systems, and future generation distributed terabit applications. This paper also introduces Scalable Visualcasting - a multicasting service for LambdaGrid that incorporates IP multicasting and optical multicasting.

LambdaVision driven by SAGE.

Ice cores drilled from lake and ocean floors, continents, and ice sheets provide geoscientists with the most extensive and accurate picture of the Earth&rsquo;s climate history. For decades, these stratigraphic records have been locked in core repositories around the world. Now, aided by modern information technologies and advanced equipment like high-resolution color line-scanners and multi-sensor data loggers, core data can be digitized to create large amounts of high-precision digital images and numerical data. 

Corelyzer allows geoscientists to collaborate over huge data visualizations in a desktop workstation using single or multiple monitors with great interactivity and scalability. The main user-interface was developed in Java with native methods for efficient rendering with the OpenGL implementation on Mac OS X. A multiple level-of-detail texture paging system is implemented inside Corelyzer that allows scientists to load and interact with thousands of meters of geological cores, for which approximately one kilometer produces 30 GB of raw imagery. 

With the ability to display core sections in high resolution, Corelyzer is best viewed on tiled 30 inch Apple Cinema Displays. Corelyzer can scale to display on multiple large displays run by a single computer all the way down to the new MacBook. Future development will incorporate the use of a table of Apple displays driven by a cluster. 

Extensibility is also a priority of Corelyzer, so that the visualization tool can be customized. Examples by individual organizations include: heterogeneous database access, image analysis and Persistent Multi-user Online Collaborative Scientific Visualization (PMOCSV). 

In October 2006, Corelyzer will be deployed at the ANDRILL project&rsquo;s McMurdo expedition station. ANDRILL is the newest geological drilling program to recover stratigraphic records from the Antarctic region. 

Corelyzer is being developed by the University of Illinois at Chicago&rsquo;s Electronic Visualization Laboratory with funding provided by the National Science Foundation.

Corelyzer running on 17

Corelyzer: Scalable Geologic Core Visualization using OSX, Java and OpenGL

This paper describes the research and development of a virtual reality visualization project &ldquo;Passing excellence&rdquo; about the world famous architectural ensemble &ldquo;Kizhi&rdquo;. 

The Kizhi Pogost is located on an island in Lake Onega in northern Karelia, Russia. The building housing the museum is a historical structure that was constructed in the ancient wood-based architecture tradition which is native to the region. The structure is a particularly fine example of the traditional wood architecture of medieval and post-medieval orthodox settlements, and is considered to be a unique artistic achievement, preserving a concentration of masterpieces of Russian heritage. The site is currently included in the List of Most Endangered Sites of the World Monuments Watch protected by World Heritage List of UNESCO. 

The Kizhi Project strives to create a unique virtual observation of the dynamics of the architectural changes of the museum area beginning from the 15th Century up to the 21st Century. The visualization is being created to restore the original architecture of Kizhi island based on the detailed photographs, architectural and geometric measurements, textural data, video surveys and resources from the Kizhi State Open-Air Museum archives. 

The project is being developed using Electro, an application development environment for the tiled display high-resolution graphics visualization system and can be shown on the virtual reality systems such as the GeoWall&trade; and the C-Wall. 

Keywords: Art, historical restoration, visualization, computer graphics, Virtual Reality (VR)

3D Model of Kizhi Belfry in Maya

Passing Excellence

In this paper, the effects of three visual factors: scene complexity, stereovision and motion parallax on correct perception of a virtual object&rsquo;s size were analyzed in an immersive virtual environment. 

We designed a controlled experiments set to incorporate visual conditions that reflected all twelve different configuration combinations of the three visual factors. Under each visual condition, subject performed the task of making judgments of the sizes of a virtual object displayed at five different distances from him / her. A total number of eighteen subjects participated in our study. The subjects&rsquo; judgments and the corresponding actual sizes of the virtual object were recorded. 

Based on the colleted data, two quantitative measures of subjects&rsquo; performance were derived and analyzed. The results of our experiments were consistent across the majority of the subject population and suggested that scene complexity and stereovision could have significant impact on the performance of a user of virtual environments to make correct judgments on a virtual object&rsquo;s size. On the contrary, motion parallax, either produced by the virtual environment or by the observer, might not be a significant factor in determining that performance.

Virtual Environment Setup

The Effects of Scene Complexity, Stereovision, and Motion Parallax on Size Constancy in a Virtual Environment

This paper describes the development of an artistic visualization project that restores the architectural history of the world famous wood churches and architectural museum, Kizhi. 

Kizhi is the architectural complex located on an island in Lake Onega in northern Karelia, Russia. The Church of Transfiguration, the Church of Intersession and the Belfry form the central part of the complex. 

The churches were built in harmony with the surrounding landscape and contain a priceless collection of icons and relics of Russian heritage. This historically important site is included in the List of Most Endangered Sites of the World Monuments Watch protected by World Heritage List of UNESCO. 

This project aims to restore the original architecture of Kizhi museum and to visualize the architectural changes of the museum area over the last 300 years. The visualization is being developed based on high resolution photographs, video surveys, textural data obtained during the initial visit of the site and resources from the Kizhi State Open-Air Museum archives. 

The project strives to capitalize on the advances of computer graphics technology and stereoscopic high-resolution display technology to advance the development of historical restoration in an artistic direction.

Figure 8. The 3-D model of the Belfry. Perspective view

Passing Excellence, The Interactive Art Visualization Of the Kizhi Ensemble

LambdaRAM is a high-performance, multi-dimensional, wide-area, distributed cache that takes advantage of massively available memory from multiple clusters interconnected by ultra high-speed networking to provide data-intensive scientific applications with rapid access to both local and remote data without suffering the latency bottlenecks often associated with large storage systems and wide-area data access. 

LambdaRAM has been demonstrated to yield significant performance speed-ups for Geophysical and Bioscience applications accessing extremely large datasets. Currently, LambdaRAM is being integrated by NASA for the Modeling, Analysis and Prediction (MAP) Program applications to study tropical cyclones. Formal verification of LambdaRAM is important to NASA to ensure that LambdaRAM operates reliably in real-time mission critical deployments. 

We present our preliminary steps towards full formal verification of LambdaRAM. We first give an abstract description of the system and then verify several of its properties. Most of the proofs are accomplished by automatic techniques, while some require deductive steps.

Client-Server Pair Abstraction

Specification and Verification of LambdaRAM - A Wide-Area Distributed Cache for High Performance Computing

Data-intensive scientific applications require rapid access to local and geographically distributed data, however, there are significant I/O latency bottlenecks associated with storage systems and widearea networking. LambdaRAM is a high-performance, multi-dimensional, distributed cache, that takes advantage of memory from multiple clusters interconnected by ultra-high-speed networking, to provide applications with rapid access to both local and remote data. It mitigates latency bottlenecks by employing proactive latency-mitigation heuristics based on an application&rsquo;s access patterns. We present results using LambdaRAM to rapidly stride through remote multi-dimensional NASA Modeling, Analysis and Prediction (MAP) 2006 project datasets, based on time and geographical coordinates, to compute wind shear for cyclone and hurricane and tropical cyclone analysis. Our current experiments have demonstrated up to a 20-fold speedup in the computation of wind shear with LambdaRAM. 

Keywords: Data-intensive computing, Multi-dimensional remote data striding, Climate modeling and analysis, Distributed data caches, LambdaGrids, Tropical cyclone analysis, Hurricane analysis 

&copy; 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

LambdaRAM encompassing the memory of nodes of a single cluster

Accelerating tropical cyclone analysis using LambdaRAM, a distributed data cache over wide-area ultra-fast networks

The Chicago-based architectural firm, Space Management Consultants collaborated with the Electronic Visualization Laboratory to create architectural design concepts for the redesign of The Chicago Mercantile Exchange trading floor. 

Rather than present concepts as traditional models, Space Management opted to create virtual renditions of their designs to allow for client preview within EVL&rsquo;s CAVE&trade; virtual reality theater. 3-dimensional scale models were created in Alias | Wavefront, then ported to the CAVE&trade;. 

The final results allowed the clients to review the space in &ldquo;walk-through&rdquo; or &ldquo;fly-through&rdquo; mode, examining sight lines, pit location and simulated traders in a naturalistic way. Without the benefit of examining the &ldquo;life-size&rdquo; model, accurate sight line assessment would not have been possible. 

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange infrastructure renovation / upgraded was required in order to accommodate new technology to the trading pits - cable distribution systems, life safety systems and new enlarged IDF spaces; trading pit renovation, enlargement and steep tiering surrounding the trading complexes were also part of the design concepts. 

Using virtual reality as a pre-visualization tool proved extremely valuable in altering original design concepts based on client feedback and making the final design proposal.

Still of Mercantile Exchange Virtual Design

Chicago Mercantile Exchange

This project involved a collaboration between historians, artists and computer scientists to create a virtual cultural and artistic exhibit of the Mogoa Grottoes of Dunhuang. Dunhuang, one of western China&rsquo;s ancient cultural sites, is considered the gateway to the well-known Silk Road - the East-West trade route between Asia and Europe. 

The Mogoa Grottoes are located in the Gobi desert. It consists of 492 caves with murals covering 25,000 square meters (approx. 269,097 square feet), wall fresco paintings, and more than 3000 painted sculptures. These caves span a period of one thousand years, from the forth century to fourteen century. Each cave and each mural has its own story. 

The 3-D models of the Grottoes have been accurately created using data from researchers at Northwestern University. These models have been imported into <a href='http://www.evl.uic.edu/cavern/cavernsoft/limbo.html'>LIMBO</a> as a quick collaborative evaluation and brainstorming tool. This piece was the first collaborative, virtual exhibit of a historic site in the world - demonstrated at Supercomputing 1998 in Orlando Florida.

Silk Road Cave Interior

The Silk Road Cave Shrines

In this advanced technological age, digitally-driven collaborative activities suffer from inadequate multi-user platforms. Few existing computer technologies promote face-to-face interactions and provide simultaneous multiple inputs. Tangible tabletop systems can simulate the richness that traditional collaboration affords, while supporting the technological needs of digital collaboration. 

This thesis describes the architecture and implementation of StorySpace, a new groupware application that supports parallel user input through a tangible user interface. Using radio frequency identification technology to automatically track tokens, or physical embodiments of virtual operations, StorySpace synchronizes activity in the real world with what users see in the digital world. 

Usability studies were conducted in the context of digital media poster design exercises for an 11th grade English class. Preliminary results are promising, in that they reveal that StorySpace promoted interaction and discussion within a small group of students.

STORYSPACE:  A Collaborative Tangible Design and Presentation System

&ldquo;Passing Excellence&rdquo; is an artistic visualization research project centered on the world famous architectural ensemble <a href='http://kizhi.karelia.ru/'>Kizhi</a>. 

The Kizhi Pogost, located on an island in Lake Onega (Karelia, Russia) is a historically significant architectural complex with a valuable collection of artifacts and icons, built in harmony with the surrounding landscape as an authentic museum of ancient wood building tradition. 

The Kizhi Pogost is an outstanding example of medieval and post-medieval orthodox settlements, preserving a concentration of masterpieces of Russian heritage. The site is currently included in the List of Most Endangered Sites of the World Monuments Watch protected by World Heritage List of UNESCO. 

The &ldquo;Passing Excellence&rdquo; research project focuses upon developing interactive visualizations of the deteriorating site - both capturing the current state of the ensemble, as well as attempting to reconstruct historical architectural stages of building exteriors and interior elements / artifacts beginning from the 15th Century up to the 21st Century. 

The &ldquo;Passing Excellence&rdquo; visualization is based on detailed photographs, architectural and geometric measurements, textural data, video surveys and resources from the Kizhi State Open-Air Museum archives; 3-dimensional models are being constructed using Autodesk Maya. The application development uses Electro, an easy-to-use scripting system for the development of interactive 3-D applications spanning multiple processors and displays such as tiled display devices or desktop systems. 

This project hopes to preserve the Kizhi ensemble&rsquo;s cultural heritage and historical significance by creating a virtual reconstruction of the site and sharing the application with cultural institutions, museums, researchers and educators worldwide. 

The project is being developed in collaboration with a computer science researcher Robert Kooima, a specialist in the field of data visualization and real-time 3D graphics in Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL).

The Church of Transfiguration in 2006

Homes or buildings that utilize technology in order to be &ldquo;smart,&rdquo; computer augmented, automated, &ldquo;intuitive,&rdquo; energy efficient, or just convenient, have been in existence since the mid-1980s. The technology used has ranged from simple timers that control household appliances at designated times during the day, to computer control of office environments. 

In the latter, the goal has been to hide the computers in the environment while providing support for humans in their everyday activities. There are already many instances where humans have used computers in this manner. These computers have been hidden inside everyday appliances and equipment like automobiles and VCRs. However, it is interesting to observe that the most difficult to use appliances are typically those that have the most computer-like interface (e.g., VCRs and microwave ovens), whereas the ones easiest to use are those that hide the computer interface (e.g., cars and refrigerators). Beyond the management of &ldquo;creature comforts&rdquo; for homes, &ldquo;smart&rdquo; environments can be invaluable aids in the work environment. 

One environment we have been considering is the computer augmentation of the beamline control system at Argonne&rsquo;s Advanced Photon Source. The beamline is a resource for scientists who conduct xray crystallogrphy. The operation of the beamline hardware and software requires a complex series of specific steps that result in the gathering and analysis of gigabytes of data. Since the beamline is a time-shared facility, users operate under strict time constraints that require them to work 24 hours a day for a period of about four days. These stringent conditions, in the least, lead to user fatigue. However, fatigue can lead to user error in the handling of hardware that can result in costly damage of equipment. For example, forgetting to place a beam stop before firing the beamline can destroy a $100,000 detector. In addition, mistakes caused by fatigue can induce errors in data collection, which may eventually corrupt entire experimental results. It is these types of errors which we propose could be avoided through the implementation of computer-augmented environments. 

We believe the CAVE is a fascinating possibility for use as a prototyping tool for these types of environments. As we all know, architectural walkthroughs are considered the &ldquo;killer application&rdquo; for virtual reality, and the CAVE is one of the better ones for this. We decided it would be interesting to take the next step in architectural walkthroughs, and put some intelligence inside the architectural models - in essence providing a virtual-reality testbed for designing and debugging &ldquo;smart&rdquo; environments. 

The first prototype of CASA was displayed recently at EVE4 (Electronic Visualization Event 4) in Chicago. The prototype featured a tour through a virtual &ldquo;smart&rdquo; home, depicting a house of the future. The prototype served as a means to experiment with a number of enabling technologies, one of which included CAVE-to-CAVE collaboration.

Prototype of CASA

CASA: Computer Augmentation for Smart Architectonics

Sudden Loss is a projected software work created with Processing. 

At the beginning of the ideation portion of this project, I became intrigued by the notion of a single primitive 3d form multiplied over a large architectural space. The cube, as it is represented in Sudden Loss, is multiplied such that the projected surface of the Jackman Goldwasser Catwalk Gallery becomes a single low-resolution membrane. In certain modes of the piece, the cubes are enlarged voxels, or 3d pixels. Algorithms that mimic natural movements, such as waves, are passed to the array of cubes, causing phenomenon of undulating movements and moir&eacute; patterns. In other modes of Sudden Loss, the character of the cube is multiplied into itself, generating a recursive form that resolves as an ever changing, multifaceted hypercube. 

The various states of Sudden Loss are generated in real-time using software, as opposed to traditional playback of a time-based work that has been previously created, edited and recorded. Based on the time of day or night, the piece changes dramatically every hour - each of these larger changes is augmented subtly throughout the 60 minutes of each hour. Duration is another point of investigation with this piece; the overall duration is seven hours, which is beyond the scope of most works of film or video. The implications of this duration is that the viewer cannot get a true sense of the work in its entirety without multiple visits or an extended time spent in the gallery.

Sudden Loss

The CAVE2&trade; System is a hybrid environment that enables users to mash-up a number of 2D and 3D images at the same time using SAGE&trade; software (Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment) developed by EVL. Users can display related digital media side by side for information analysis and insight. In this application, EVL&rsquo;s SAGE software is used to display 3D models of a prospective hospital design in the CAVE2. 

The pre-visualization is especially useful during the design phase of building a new hospital, as clients can virtually walk the hospital corridor and view what the hospital floor layout looks like in a 3D mock-up of the nurses&rsquo; station and patient rooms.

Hospital design lay-out as displayed in EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2

Hospital Architecture Study

Participants walk through an architectural model of University of California, San Diego&rsquo;s recently dedicated Structural and Materials Engineering (SME) building in the CAVE2&trade; System. The Graphics, Visualization and Virtual Reality Laboratory (GRAVITY) at the Jacobs School of Engineering produced the SME model. Calit2&rsquo;s CalVR software is used to display the 3D model in the CAVE2 System.

Structural and Materials Engineering building model in the CAVE2

Architectural Design of a UCSD Engineering Building

Participants walk through a 3D model of an 80x60x20-foot section of the rebar cage of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Note that this model is not the entire bridge, but only the footing of the tower, which anchors it onto the sea floor. The model was created by engineers from American Bridge Company / Fluor Enterprises Inc. Andre Barbosa, then a graduate student in the Structural Engineering Department of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), converted the model from Microstation to VRML, which was then visualized by UCSD Computer Science professor Jurgen Schulze. Barbosa&rsquo;s advisors were Schulze and structural engineering professors Frieder Seible (UCSD) and Karl Beucke (Bauhaus Univ. Weimar, Germany). Calit2&rsquo;s CalVR software is used to display the 3D model in the CAVE2&trade;.

Rebar Cage

Representatives from <a href="http://www.forumstudio.com">Forum Studio</a> and <a href="http://mudaidesign.com/">Mu/Dai</a> present their company&rsquo;s projects, as well as a collaborative research project focusing on the intersection of digital UX space and Architecture. Of particular interest is the use of collaborative technologies, tools and workspaces - such as SAGE2 to support this research and associated workflows. 
SPEAKERS 
Joel Putnam 
Project Designer at Forum Studio, and Adjunct Professor at Illinois Institute of Technology 
As a Project Designer with more than 10 years of experience, Joel is responsible for the initial concept design and inspiration gathering. For him, it&rsquo;s all about the inspiration and analytics. He has demonstrated a creative approach to crafting building design solutions that are innovative and logical. Within these indefinable, arguably unmeasuarable, and in many cases contested kernels of complexity, you will find creativity and stimulation. Through his creative process, he has designed a number of complex mixed use and institutional projects, including master planning, throughout the United States and Asia. 
Patrick DiMichele 
VP, Experience Design, at Mu/Dai 
Patrick has spent his 15-year career connecting organizations and audiences. To make that happen he sketches ideas and stretches ideas; makes stuff and fakes stuff; combines things and refines things. Resulting in work that generates meaningful impact. Most recently he was director of user experience at Manifest.

Joel Putnam

Forum Studio and Mu/Dai discuss the intersection of digital UX space and Architecture

EVL PhD candidate Arthur Nishimoto has developed a virtual reality representation of the proposed new College of Engineering (COE) building for display in the CAVE2. Participants can navigate through and explore the virtual COE building and surrounding UIC campus. This rendition consists of models converted to Unity3D from the AutoDesk Revit model provided by the architecture firm Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture LLC (LVDA). Additional Chicago city buildings were added to show how the downtown Chicago and other areas around UIC would look from the perspective of the new building. 
Using EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2 Unity simulator and Mechdyne&rsquo;s getReal3D plugin, the Unity scene was exported for use in the CAVE2 Hybrid-Reality Environment. Within the virtual COE building users can explore rooms within the proposed building including collaborative classrooms, the winter garden, and laboratories. Other 2D elements and renderings provided by LVDA are integrated into the virtual walk-thru. 
Model Credits: 
Chicago city model by Andrew Lock 
<a href="http://arthurnishimoto.blogspot.com/2015/10/uic-science-and-engineering-offices.html">UIC Science and Engineering Offices by Arthur Nishimoto</a>

EVL PhD candidate Arthur Nishimoto navigates through the proposed virtual COE building in the CAVE2.

Proposed UIC College of Engineering Building Rendition in the CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment

DECEMBER 4, 2017 - The evening of November 28, 2017, the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at University of Illinois at Chicago was the location of an Open House hosted by its industrial partner Mechdyne Corporation for the Chicago Urban River Edges Ideas Lab. The Ideas Lab consists of nine architectural firms with extensive experience designing award-winning riverfronts, public spaces, and parks around the world. Launched by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD), and the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) earlier this year, the Ideas Lab was tasked with helping the city create new concepts and guidelines for extending Chicago&rsquo;s current and successful Riverwalk. 
Each of the nine firms submitted formal concept design proposals to the city in June 2017, which are currently on public display at EXPO 72, 72 E. Randolph, across the street from the Chicago Cultural Center. Along with the physical exhibition, WSP, a buildings engineering firm, with support from Comcast, produced digital exhibition components that included augmented and virtual reality experiences (viewed via cell phones). Additional installations used California company Owlized&rsquo;s virtual reality technology. 
Mechdyne, who has worked with UIC and EVL for decades, and licensed its CAVE&trade; and CAVE2&trade; virtual environment systems, is also involved with the Ideas Lab. They wanted the participants to see the city of Chicago, and their architectural designs, in a large collaborative virtual environment. Hence, the Open House at EVL and continual demos in CAVE2. Over 40 people attended from architectural and engineering firms as well as MPC. The 3D views of Chicago and their renderings, shown at scale, were very well received, and attendees also appreciated learning more about EVL and understanding how they might make use of both the Lab&rsquo;s technology and its talented students. 
More information on <a href="https://www.mechdyne.com/3d-visualization-and-virtual-reality.aspx">Mechdyne</a>. 
More information on the <a href="https://archpaper.com/2017/03/chicago-urban-river-edges-ideas-lab/
">Chicago Urban River Edges Ideas Lab</a>. 
More information on the public exhibition: 
<a href="https://archpaper.com/2017/09/future-chicago-river-lab/#gallery-0-slide-0">https://archpaper.com/2017/09/future-chicago-river-lab/#gallery-0-slide-0</a> 
<a href="https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/expo_72.html">https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/expo_72.html</a> (visitor information)

Mechdyne Corporation showing proposed Chicago riverwalk concept in the CAVE2 environment at the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory.

Mechdyne Open House at UIC/EVL Showcases expanded riverwalk concepts for Chicago

We developed a collaborative virtual environment for architectural planning that facilitates groups of people to work together using three different interfaces. These interfaces enable users to interact with the scene with varying levels of immersion and different interaction modalities. We conducted a user study to gauge the general usability of the system and to understand how the different interfaces affect the group work. In this paper we present the architecture of the system along with its different interfaces. We also present the user study results and the insights we gained from the study. 
Keywords: group work, collaborative environments

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