The Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) invites applications for multiple tenure-track faculty positions at all levels, to begin August 2014. All candidates should have (or soon have) a doctorate in Computer Science or a related field and demonstrate significant scholarship in one of the following areas: visualization, computer graphics, human-computer interaction and computer supported cooperative work. Candidates will be expected to carry out world class research, collaborate with faculty from a wide range of disciplines, and teach effectively at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Senior candidates must have an outstanding research record in the computer science topics listed above, a strong record of funded research, demonstrated leadership in collaborative research, and an excellent teaching record at the undergraduate and graduate level. 

Successful candidates will have the opportunity to become part of the research team at the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL). EVL, established in 1973, represents the oldest formal collaboration between engineering and art in the country, specializing in the design and development of visualization, virtual-reality and collaboration systems utilizing high-performance networks. Recent key projects include SAGE&trade; (Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment), the CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment, and the TransLight / StarLight project prototyping innovative 100Gb transoceanic services. 

UIC ranks among the nation&rsquo;s top 50 universities in federal research funding and is ranked the fourth best U.S. university under 50 years old by Times Higher Education. It also is home to the largest medical school in the country. The UIC Computer Science Department is a leading department within the University; it has 24 tenure-track faculty members and offers BS, MS and PhD degrees. It has annual research expenditures of $9.4M, primarily federally funded. The faculty includes two ACM Fellows and nine NSF CAREER award recipients. UIC is an excellent place for interdisciplinary research; Computer Science faculty is engaged in many cross-departmental collaborations with faculty from engineering, health sciences, social sciences, urban planning, education, design, arts, and business. For more information on the Computer Science Department, see <a href="http://www.cs.uic.edu">www.cs.uic.edu</a>. 

Chicago epitomizes the modern, livable, vibrant city. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, it offers an outstanding array of recreational and cultural experiences. As the birthplace of the modern skyscraper, Chicago boasts one of the world&rsquo;s tallest and densest skylines, combined with an extensive system of parks and public transit. Yet the cost of living, whether in an 85th floor condominium downtown or on a tree-lined street in one of the nation&rsquo;s finest school districts, is surprisingly low. 

Applications must be submitted at <a href="http://jobs.uic.edu">jobs.uic.edu</a>. Please include a resume, teaching and research statements, and contact information for three professional references in the online application. Applicants needing additional information may contact the Faculty Search Chair at EVLsearch@cs.uic.edu. For fullest consideration please apply by January 10, 2014. UIC is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer. Salary will be commensurate with experience. The positions will remain open until filled. 

<a href="http://www.cs.uic.edu/Main/ShowJob?name=facEVL">Job Description Posting</a>

Computer Science Graphics Class Held in EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade;

Tenure-Track Faculty Positions, UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory

On December 8, 2013, the Al Jazeera America television station aired a science story on the NASA-funded ENDURANCE project, a collaboration of University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Stone Aerospace, NASA Ames Research Center and Montana State University. The story profiles principal investigator Peter Doran of the UIC Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, co-investigator Andrew Johnson, an associate professor in the UIC Department of Computer Science and director of research of the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), and PhD computer science student and EVL research assistant Alessandro Febretti. 

For ENDURANCE (Environmentally Non-Disturbing Under-ice Robotic ANtarctiC Explorer), project members are analyzing 3D biogeochemical information captured by an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in the extreme environment of West Lake Bonney, a perennially ice-covered Antarctic dry valley lake in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The goal is to further biological research in terrestrial environments analogous to those found on other planets, and to develop technologies that enable remote searches for, and identification of, life in extreme environments. Project members are developing visualizations of the various types of data captured by the AUV and using EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment and SAGE software to view the data and related 2D and 3D images simultaneously for analysis and insight. 

View the <a href="http://youtu.be/RB3UAEIEm1I">Al Jazeera America broadcast</a> 

Learn more about the <a href="http://www.evl.uic.edu/endurance/endurance.html">ENDURANCE project</a>

Researchers analyze ENDURANCE data and visualizations in EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade;.

EVL and NASA ENDURANCE on Al Jazeera America

Stefan Eileman (Polytechnic Federal School, Lausanne, Switzerland) presents his research interest in the Blue Brain and Human Brain Projects. 

The Blue Brain Project and the Human Brain Project build and simulate realistic models of brain tissue. Scaling this to the human brain represents a &ldquo;grand challenge&rdquo; science use case to drive the technological development of supercomputing hardware to the exascale and give guidance for the necessary software components for operating such supercomputers as scientific instruments. 

High Performance Computing is facing multiple technical challenges, such as a &ldquo;power wall&rdquo;, a &ldquo;memory wall&rdquo; and a &ldquo;parallelism wall&rdquo;. Proven paradigms, best practices and software packages have to be re-thought to overcome those obstacles. In this process, other innovative areas such as Big Data, Gaming and others will help to modernize HPC upon a foundation of novel building blocks for future systems. 

We will present our and our partner&rsquo;s visualization software and hardware infrastructure, engineering efforts and future plans. We will motivate our current vision for Interactive Supercomputing and High-Performance Visualization to encourage collaboration with the visualization and HPC communities.

Stefan Eileman

Interactive supercomputing for simulation-based brain research

EVL PhD candidate, Khairi Reda presents his research in visualizing design patterns using ultra-resolution display systems at the VISTech Workshop at SC13 in Denver, CO. Reda explores a new generation of visual analytic tools that are more capable of tackling big-data challenges, looking at commonly used visualization design patterns. Guidelines on how to adapt these patterns to ultra-resolution display environments are given. 

Session organizers include EVL&rsquo;s director Jason Leigh, and Kelly Gaither, Brandt Westing (Texas Advanced Computing Center), Falko Kuester (University of California, San Diego), Eric Wernert (Indiana University), and Aditi Majumder (University of California, Irvine). 

WORKSHOP ABSTRACT: 
Human perception is centered on the ability to process information contained in visible light, and our visual interface is a tremendously powerful data processor. Every day we are inundated with staggering amounts of digital data. For many types of computational research, visualization is the only viable means of extracting information and developing understanding from this data. Integrating our visual capacity with technological capabilities has tremendous potential for transformational science. We seek to explore the intersection between human perception and large-scale visual analysis by studying visualization interfaces and interactive displays. This rich intersection includes: virtual reality systems, visualization through augmented reality, large scale visualization systems, novel visualization interfaces, high-resolution interfaces, mobile displays, and visualization display middleware. The VISTech workshop will provide a space where experts in the large-scale visualization technology field and users can come together to discuss state-of-the art technologies for visualization and visualization laboratories.

VISTech &rsquo;13 Slide Set

Examples of users in tiled display environments.

VISTech &rsquo;13 Workshop: Visualization Infrastructure and Systems Technology

The SAGE&trade; team at the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) is excited to announce that as of November 5, 2013, they have signed an agreement licensing SAGE to Vadiza Inc., for commercial sales, development and use on a global basis. EVL recently received renewed funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to focus on future SAGE innovations, so is turning over day-to-day support responsibilities for SAGE technical support to Vadiza, Inc. 

Vadiza welcomes all SAGE users, contributors and interested parties to contact them to discuss improvements to SAGE, address any outstanding user needs / requests, and to grow the global community supporting and strengthening SAGE in government, academic and commercial settings. Vadiza can be contacted by phone at +1.855.344.8400 or by e-mail at info @ vadiza.com. Or, visit <a href="http://www.vadiza.com">www.vadiza.com</a> to learn more about software, appliances and technical support options. 

A press release announcing the EVL / Vadiza partnership and future plans will be distributed under separate cover. 

Vadiza is participating in the SC13 SAGE BOF, so please attend to learn more. (For those not coming to SC13, additional information will be sent out after the BOF.) 

The SC13 BOF will be held at the Colorado Convention Center, Tuesday, November 19, 12:15PM - 01:15PM, Rooms 501 / 502.

SAGE Logo

Vadiza and SAGE&trade;: Learn more at SC13

This past semester, three Chicago elementary-school students have been apprentices at the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), developing their own project in the CAVE2&trade; and learning what a career in computer science could be like. A story in the November 19, 2013 issue of UIC NEWS profiles how four EVL graduate students mentored these children, and helped them develop a virtual-reality video game based on Fruit Ninja. Each student designed and created virtual 3-D objects, including a house an airplane a chair a banana and a pizza. In the game, each player gets points for slashing his rival&rsquo;s objects and loses points if he hits his own. The computer science grad students and middle schoolers were matched by Spark Chicago, an organization that places students from underserved areas into hands-on apprenticeships with volunteer mentors. 

UIC NEWS story: 
<a href="http://news.uic.edu/students-explore-world-of-computer-science-in-3-d">Middle-school kids create a virtual future in 3-D</a> 
by Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, UIC NEWS 
November 19, 2013 

EVL produced a video about the Spark experience: 
<a href="http://youtu.be/Xorgyc7CPGg">EVL Graduates Mentor Spark Middle School Students 2013</a> 

This is the second year that EVL participated in the Spark program. To learn about EVL&rsquo;s past effort, see: 
<a href="http://www.evl.uic.edu/core.php?mod=4&amp;type=4&amp;indi=814">Spark Student Mentored in Video Game Development at the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory</a>

EVL graduate students Galen Thomas-Ramos, Khairi Reda, Alessandro Febretti and Victor Mateevitsi with Spark students Antwan McBee, Andrew Lewis and Joshua Gartley.

Middle-school kids create a virtual future in 3-D

EVL PhD candidate Hui Buy presents his research in Improving I/O Performance for Sparse Data Patterns with Argonne&rsquo;s Leadership Computing Facility at the 8th Parallel Data Storage Workshop held in conjunction with SC13. 

Session Chairs: Karsten Schwan, Georgia Tech, Dean Hildebrand, IBM 

Monday, November 18, 2013 
Room 503, Colorado Convention Center 
Denver, CO 

I/O is one of the most challenging issues for many current petascale high performance computing systems. The issue is expected to become dire in future systems. In situ analyses has been proposed as a promising solution to glean faster insights and reduce the amount of data to storage. A critical challenge here is the sparse data pattern produced to be written out. We evaluate the performance of current I/O mechanisms on two diverse systems, namely the Mira IBM BG/Q system and the Hopper Cray Xe6 system, for sparse data patterns, and propose an I/O mechanism leveraging topology- aware data aggregation together with necessary abstraction to hide the underlying filesystem complexity to yield multi-fold performance up to 128K cores.

Improving I/O Performance for Sparse Data Movement in Leadership Systems (poster)

SC13 Logo

Improving I/O Performance for Sparse Data Patterns on Leadership Systems at PDSW13

Victor Mateevitsi, a Research Assistant at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), is one of three UIC Computer Science graduate students who are among the 50 winners of this year&rsquo;s annual Fifty For The Future&reg; Celebration. Organized by the Illinois Technology Foundation, this event recognizes exceptional students with an interest in and potential to use technology in innovative ways. 

The Fifty For The Future&reg; Celebration provides encouragement and recognition to students who pursue innovation through technology, provides access to business leaders to showcase their talent, and builds awareness of the talent of tomorrow for Illinois&rsquo; technology ecosystem. Winners are chosen through a rigorous nomination and judging process, focused on high school through university and graduate level programs. 

The formal recognition program will be held at the Chicago Cultural Center on November 12, 2013. In addition to the recognition, each student and their nominating faculty receive a $1,000 scholarship to apply to training at Directions Training (a company that specializes in IT and business skills courses). 

Mateevitsi&rsquo;s name may be familiar to many of you. He has already garnered a great deal of publicity for &ldquo;SpiderSense,&rdquo; his UIC Human Augmentics&rsquo; class project (done in collaborating with students Brad Haggadone and Brian Kunzer under faculty Robert Kenyon and Jason Leigh). Also, in 2013, he was one of five students selected for a summer internship sponsored by the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and worked at Pixar. In Summer 2012, he applied for and received a summer internship to Dreamworks. 

See <a href="http://illinoistechfoundation.org/blog/winners-announced-for-the-2013-illinois-technology-foundation-fifty-for-the-future/">Fifty For The Future</a>.

Victor Mateevitsi, UIC Computer Science graduate student and EVL research assistant.

Victor Mateevitsi one of 50 recognized as Illinois technology industry&rsquo;s best and brightest students

In Fall 2013, Christina Cala, a graduate student at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, spent her four-day practicum at the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), and wrote an article on EVL&rsquo;s asthma project. Excerpts appear below. 

New game app keeps teens on track taking their asthma medicine 
by I. Christina Cala, MEDILL Reports Chicago 
Nov 06, 2013 

Wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath - asthma medicines help keep such symptoms at bay. But you have to take the puffs and many teens forget or ignore the regimen. 

That may seem like no big deal - an emergency inhaler can solve the problem - but missing those daily doses can lead to emergency room visits, hospitalization and even death. 

Now there&rsquo;s a new game app to keep teens on track with their daily doses. 

It&rsquo;s all couched in a basketball game app developed by Rush University Medical Center and the University of Illinois at Chicago&rsquo;s Electronic Visualization Lab. Take your meds and you get a slam dunk&hellip; 

<a href="http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=225653&amp;terms=Christina%20Cala">Read the entire article</a> 

The asthma project was profiled in an earlier article by Mitch Smith of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. 

<a href="http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=210778">Treating asthma? There&rsquo;s an app for that</a> 
by Mitch Smith, Medill Reports Chicago 
November 14, 2012 

Rush University Medical Center also publicized this project in an earlier article. 

<a href="http://www.rush.edu/webapps/MEDREL/servlet/NewsRelease?id=1694">Unique Cell Phone Application Targets Minority Adolescents With Asthma to Reduce Exacerbations, Emergency Room Visits</a> 
Nancy DiFiore, Rush University Medical Center 
June 17, 2013 

Beginning in Fall 2011, the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) pilot project &ldquo;Human Augmentics for Sustained Wellbeing&rdquo; has received funding from the UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), award CCTS-0512-07. The award, to computer science professors Jason Leigh and Robert Kenyon, communications professor Steve Jones, and psychology professor Stellan Ohlsson, in partnership with Giselle Mosnaim of Rush University Medical Center, focuses on the proper use of daily asthma controller medications in urban high-risk adolescents. More generally, the pilot study illustrates how the availability of a compelling &ldquo;health dashboard&rdquo; smartphone application may inform and persuade individuals to lead healthier lifestyles.

The whole point of this app is to get teens to the point where they don&rsquo;t need it, said Robert Kenyon (shown here).

New game app keeps teens on track taking their asthma medicine

Contact Vadiza 
info@vadiza.com 
+1.855.344.8400 
<a href="http://www.vadiza.com">www.vadiza.com</a> 

Newly-introduced hardware / software appliance enables professionals to display and manipulate Big Data analytics, 2D / 3D images in variety of resolutions, formats; professionals to gain additional insights, discoveries 

CHICAGO, IL, NOVEMBER 5, 2013 - Vadiza, the leading provider of advanced, integrated appliances for visualization and collaboration, and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) today announced they have signed an agreement licensing SAGE&trade;, UIC&rsquo;s Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment, for commercial sales, development and use on a global basis. 

Concurrent with the announcement, Vadiza announced today that effective immediately it is providing software, services, integrated hardware / software appliances and technical support for SAGE users around the world. 

The agreement between Vadiza and the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) confirms that SAGE has moved beyond a university-based project with research labs and academic institutions to the boardrooms, meeting rooms, classrooms and offices of Fortune 500 enterprises. Vadiza will provide enterprise-class technical support, a published product roadmap, and commercial features, such as the integration of SAGE with corporate security architectures, connections to cloud storage, system administration upgrades and more. 

As a result of the September 2013 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant renewing EVL&rsquo;s five-year mandate to focus exclusively on leading-edge innovation, the EVL team is turning over the day-to-day support of the global user base and community to Vadiza beginning today. 

&ldquo;Vadiza and EVL have been working together for the past few months to determine the best way to develop and support SAGE as an open source project with a commercial component,&rdquo; said Jason Leigh, EVL Director. &ldquo;The SAGE community has been asking us to create and support an enterprise version of SAGE, but we don&rsquo;t have the resources to support these projects by ourselves. When Vadiza approached us, we decided they were the right partner to take SAGE to the next level.&rdquo; 

Vadiza appliances are a blend of leading-edge hardware and software. Continuing the trend of providing an exceptional experience to users by combining hardware and software into an integrated offering similar to Apple, Oracle and Netezza / IBM, Vadiza makes it easy for subject matter experts like pathologists, chemists, biologist, ophthalmologists, physicists, editors, journalists, cosmologists, and others to select and use large-scale touch enabled visualization and collaboration systems. 

The Vadiza appliance is based on Dell&rsquo;s Precision R7610 rack mount workstation with standard components and the highest available level of processor speed and graphic cards. Vadiza partners with Dell OEM Solutions for manufacturing, global service and support to bring its product to market, and back it with Dell&rsquo;s ProSupport service warranty. 

&ldquo;Dell is pleased to partner with Vadiza to provide leading edge, integrated visualization and collaboration appliances. When we were briefed on how Vadiza was looking to deliver seamless and reliable appliances, we immediately put the process into motion to ensure that Dell was the premier hardware provider for Vadiza appliances,&rdquo; commented Ron Pugh, executive director and general manager, Dell OEM Solutions, Americas. 

Using SAGE, subject matter experts can now share the experience of watching a surgery firsthand with groups of local and remote colleagues while listening to an expert explaining the procedure, to all the different locations. Also, they can display, manipulate and compare a variety of two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional data-intensive (i.e., big data) information - whether high-resolution images and movies, high-definition video-teleconferencing, presentation slides, documents, spreadsheets and/or laptop screens - in a variety of resolutions and formats, from multiple sources, on one or more tiled LCD display walls. These large walls, approximating or exceeding print resolution, let users see minute detail of visual data while maintaining context over entire data sets, in order to glean new insights and discoveries. 

&ldquo;Calit2 has used SAGE for the past 8 years for a wide range of visualization and collaboration environments,&rdquo; said Larry Smarr, Executive Director of Calit2. &ldquo;The Calit2 team is an enthusiastic supporter of Vadiza creating an enterprise version of SAGE and to provide services and appliances to the commercial market. As one of largest users of SAGE, we are also excited about being able to access technical support on a routine and reliable basis,&rdquo; he noted. 

Vadiza has agreed to continue SAGE as an open-source project and will upgrade the current version of SAGE to an enterprise-grade version. Once the upgrade is completed in July of 2014, Vadiza and EVL will make the open source code freely available. 

&ldquo;When IllinoisVentures was introduced to Vadiza and the Vadiza team outlined their vision of taking SAGE to the commercial market on a global basis, we knew that we wanted to support their effort and invest in their future,&rdquo; said Rob Schultz, Managing Director, IllinoisVentures. &ldquo;In the past few months, the Vadiza team has accomplished and surpassed all the objectives we have agreed to. The reception from the existing user base and prospects has been gratifying. We are looking forward to great things from the Vadiza team.&rdquo; 

The Vadiza team is attending SC13. Vadiza welcomes all SAGE users, contributors and interested parties to contact them to discuss improvements to SAGE, address any outstanding user needs / requests, and to grow the global community supporting and strengthening SAGE in government, academic and commercial settings in person at SC13. The SC13 SAGE BOF will be held at the Colorado Convention Center, Tuesday, November 19, 12:15PM - 01:15PM, Rooms 501/502. 

About Vadiza, Inc. 

Vadiza is a leading provider of integrated SAGE (Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment) based appliances for visualization and collaboration. Vadiza collaborates with the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) team at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to create a commercial version of SAGE and to provide support to the global SAGE customer base. Vadiza is committed to the open source heritage of SAGE and to creating a more active community and to connecting all SAGE collaborators. Vadiza is headquartered in Chicago and is funded by IllinoisVentures. 

About the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory 

The Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is an internationally renowned interdisciplinary research laboratory whose mission is to enable scientific and engineering discoveries by designing and developing high-performance visualization, virtual reality, and collaboration systems using global cyberinfrastructure. Established in 1973 as a joint effort of the UIC College of Engineering and School of Art and Design, EVL is the oldest formal collaboration between engineering and art in the U.S. 

SAGE is a trademark of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

SAGE running on EVL&rsquo;s Cyber-Commons tiled display wall.

Vadiza Launches, Licensing Advanced Visualization and Collaboration Software from University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago Ideas Week: Lab attendees visit Mars and Egypt with UIC&rsquo;s EVL 

On October 21, 2013, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE published an article highlighting the participation of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in the annual Chicago Ideas Week (CIW). CIW is a one-week event that serves as a global hub for new ideas, an ecosystem for innovation and a playground of intellectual recreation, and provides the general public with opportunities to explore what happens behind the scenes at some of Chicago&rsquo;s greatest organizations and businesses. This is the second year that EVL participated, and registration, limited to 50 people, quickly sold out. 

EVL showcased both its unique Cyber-Commons and CAVE2&trade; technologies. In her article, TRIBUNE writer Fran Hoepfner quoted both Computer Science / EVL professor Andrew Johnson, who hosted the event, and Computer Science graduate student and EVL research assistant Arthur Nishimoto, who was assisting with demonstrations. Here are several excerpts from the article: 

&ldquo;Using CAVE2, participants were transported from the surface of Mars to Luxor, Egypt to explore hieroglyphics. Graduate student Arthur Nishimoto, 26, also took participants to Star Trek&rsquo;s Starship Enterprise&hellip; UIC&rsquo;s EVL lab works to reimagine the way that not only scientists, but archeologists, architects, and historians, visualize their data.&rdquo; 

&ldquo;Despite the diversity of the projects, the EVL truly has one goal, Johnson said. &lsquo;Creating a space, having a bunch of toys, and doing stuff,&rsquo; he said. And if that &lsquo;doing stuff&rsquo; leads to an impromptu, virtual trip to Mars, then it would seem the EVL is doing something truly innovative and fun, indeed.&rdquo; 

Read the TRIBUNE article, <a href="http://blog.chicagoideas.com/2013/10/lab-attendees-visit-mars-and-egypt-with.html">Chicago Ideas Week: Lab attendees visit Mars and Egypt with UIC&rsquo;s EVL by Fran Hoepfner, Chicago Tribune, October 21, 2013</a> 

NOTE: Last year, Channel 7 (ABC) covered Chicago Ideas Week; EVL was featured in the segment starting at 1:24.

Chicago Ideas Week participants board the StarTrek Enterprise in the CAVE2. Enterprise interior and exterior models by Arthur Nishimoto, Dennis Baily and Eric Clark.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE highlights UIC EVL&rsquo;s participation in Chicago Ideas Week 2013

Though not officially yet launched, the CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment at Monash University is already a centerpiece of the new building that houses Monash&rsquo;s e-Research Centre and is receiving considerable interest from faculty, staff and students. The CAVE2 was developed by the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago and licensed to Mechdyne Corporation, a U.S. company and one of the world&rsquo;s leading providers of innovative visual information technologies. Mechdyne and EVL worked with Monash to install the system. EVL has been involved with the e-Research Centre for many years on other projects, and now that Monash has a CAVE2 system - the second CAVE2 in the world, with the first being at EVL - the two groups are talking about ways to collaborate on research in the future. 

The primary Melbourne newspaper, The Age, recently did a story on Monash&rsquo;s CAVE2 system. Paul Bonnington, e-Research Centre director, and David Barnes, e-Research Centre senior research fellow, are interviewed in both the article and an accompanying video. While the video currently features applications developed by EVL and by UCSD and their collaborators, the e-Research Centre has already identified several campus research groups who want to visualize their data in 3D in the CAVE2 system. 

The article was published in the Monash paper, and reprinted in the Sydney and Brisbane newspapers. View the news coverage: 

&ldquo;Cave&rdquo; men lead scientific way with revolutionary 3D imaging 
by Bridie Smith, Science Editor, October 19, 2013 

<a href="http://www.theage.com.au/technology/sci-tech/cave-men-lead-scientific-way-with-revolutionary-3d-imaging-20131018-2vsik.html">The Age (Melbourne)</a> 

<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/far-out--these-images-will-really-tease-the-brain-20131018-2vs9j.html">The Sydney Morning Herald</a> 

<a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/sci-tech/far-out--these-images-will-really-tease-the-brain-20131018-2vs9j.html">Brisbane Times</a>

EVL&rsquo;s Jason Leigh and Maxine Brown visited Monash University e-Research Centre 10/14/13. Pictured here are Brown, Paul Bonnington (e-Research Centre director), Leigh, and David Barnes (e-Research Centre senior research fellow).

Australia&rsquo;s Monash University introduces world&rsquo;s second CAVE2&trade; System

<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

Professor Jason Leigh, Director of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory presents the latest research in advance visualization instrumentation design, development and deployment at Monash University, Australia, Monday October 14th. 

Abstract: In 1992 EVL invented the CAVE - that created a paradigm shift in virtual reality away from bulky head-mounted displays to light-weight 3D glasses with images projected on walls. This presentation describes EVL&rsquo;s research in visualization instrumentation since the CAVE, and how these advanced visualization instruments are used everyday for research and education around the world. 

Speaker biography: Jason Leigh is a Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory and the Software Technologies Research Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Currently he is a Fellow of the Institute for Health Research and Policy. He has also held appointments at Argonne National Laboratory, and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. His research expertise includes: large scale data visualization; virtual reality; high performance networking; and video game design. In 2010 he initiated a new multi-disciplinary area of research called Human Augmentics - which refers to the study of technologies for expanding the capabilities and characteristics of humans. His work has received widespread press from media including: the New York Times, Popular Science&rsquo;s Future Of, Nova ScienceNow, and NSF Science Now. Leigh also teaches classes in Software Design and he has been teaching Video Game Design for over 10 years. 

A CAVE2&trade; Open House follows the presentation showcasing Monash University&rsquo;s latest large-scale research facility, a hybrid 2D / 3D visualisation space with 80 screens and over 82 million pixels. 

Location: Room 3.34, Level 3, New Horizons (Building 82), Clayton Campus.

New Horizons in Visualisation Poster

Maxine Brown (EVL), Paul Bonnington (director, e-Research Center Monash), Jason Leigh (EVL), David Barnes, (Monash staff scientist)

Seminar: Advanced Visualization Instrumentation

Associate Professor, Andrew Johnson presents EVL&rsquo;s Cyber-Commons technology at the 2013 TechTeach@UIC Conference, Wednesday, October 9th at the UIC Forum. Cyber-Commons Classrooms: Teaching and Learning Spaces beyond the traditional Multimedia Classroom discusses how EVL has been enhancing classroom spaces with increasingly large digital walls and touchscreens in more then 35 local and distance learning classes. This presentation will explore how display-enhanced spaces may provide opportunities to improve the way people teach, learn, and work together to solve problems in the future.

EVL Professor Jason Leigh Teaching a Class in EVL&rsquo;s Cyber-Commons

2013 TechTeach@UIC Conference

<a href="http://tigger.uic.edu/depts/oar/prospective_students/openhouse2013/">UIC Open House 2013</a> 

Date: Saturday, October 5 
Time: Open House 9:00am - 2pm (EVL CAVE2&trade; Tours 10:00am - 2:00pm) 

Location of EVL CAVE2&trade; Tours: 
Tickets for specific times available in lobby of Engineering Research Facility (ERF) building 
842 W. Taylor Street 

UIC will welcome prospective students, families, friends, alumni, and community members to the UIC Open House. This event provides a valuable opportunity to showcase your college, department or program to thousands of special guests in attendance. The open house is an important part of the university&rsquo;s continuing efforts to advance the excellence of our research and educational missions. For many visitors, this will be their first exposure to the diverse programs and opportunities available at UIC. EVL is doing CAVE2&trade; tours every half-hour, starting at 10:00am. Tickets for specific times can be obtained in the lobby of the ERF building.

EVL&rsquo;s Cyber-Commons

UIC Open House 2013

<a href="http://www.chipublib.org/events/details/id/110815/">SpiderSense: CPL Innovation Lab Program</a> 

Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 
Time: 6:00pm 

Location: 
Harold Washington Library Center 
Cindy Pritzker Auditorium 
400 S. State Street 

UIC computer science PhD student and EVL research assistant Victor Mateevitsi is presenting his work on SpiderSense as part of the Chicago Public Library (CPL) Innovation Lab Program. SpiderSense is a UIC prototype wearable suit that enables users to sense (without seeing) obstacles around them. Like the comic book character Spider-Man, whose skin tingles at approaching danger, SpiderSense augments human ability - it can potentially help a pedestrian &lsquo;see&rsquo; hidden dangers, help a fireman entering smoke-filled buildings, or help a visually impaired person navigate his environment. SpiderSense consists of sensor modules, strategically placed on the wearer&rsquo;s body, and uses ultrasound to scan the environment for obstacles within 60 feet which it then translates into tactile signals that stimulate the wearer&rsquo;s skin. Victor Mateevitsi developed SpiderSense as a class project with fellow UIC students Brad Haggadone and Brian Kunzer, under the direction of professors Jason Leigh and Robert Kenyon. Seating for the CPL SpiderSense event is available first come, first served, and reservations are not required.

SpiderSense Deployed

SpiderSense: CPL Innovation Lab Program

In April 2013, the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) &ldquo;SpiderSense&rdquo; project - a prototype wearable suit that enables users to sense (without seeing) obstacles around them - was getting a great deal of publicity. SpiderSense was a project done for the <a href="http://www.humanaugmentics.org">UIC Human Augmentics course</a>, an interdisciplinary class aimed at the research and development of technologies for expanding the capabilities and characteristics of humans. 

SpiderSense caught the public&rsquo;s attention (and imagination) after Victor Mateevitsi, a PhD student in the UIC Computer Science Department and a Research Assistant at EVL, presented a paper at the 4th Augmented Human International Conference in Stuttgart, Germany, held in March 2013. The paper was co-authored by Brad Haggadone (UIC Communications), Jason Leigh and Robert Kenyon (UIC Computer Science, EVL), and Brian Kunzer (UIC Bioengineering, Neural Engineering Vision Laboratory). 

Mateevitsi continues to give presentations and give interviews to the press. Also, &ldquo;SpiderSense&rdquo; was a finalist in the <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1001233">UIC Image of Research 2013 competition</a>. 

A list of the most recent presentations and publications mentioning UIC and SpiderSense are listed here. 

PRESENTATIONS 

UPCOMING 
&hellip;As part of the <a href="http://www.chipublib.org/events/details/id/110815/">Chicago Public Library (CPL) Innovation Lab Program</a>, Mateevitsi will talk and demonstrate &ldquo;SpiderSense.&rdquo; This event will be held TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 6pm, at the Harold Washington Library, and is open to the public. 

<a href="http://www.meetup.com/ARChicago/events/128715872/">Augmented Reality Chicago (ARCHI) Meeting</a> 
by Victor Mateevitsi, August 29, 2013 

<a href="http://augmentedworldexpo.com/people/speakers/2013-speakers/victor-mateevitsi/">Augmented World Expo (AWE) 2013</a> 
by Victor Mateevitsi, June 4, 2013 also a Finalist for <a href="http://augmentedworldexpo.com/auggie-award/best-ar-hardware/spidersense/">Best Augmented Reality Hardware</a> 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2BZ5wCTwGU">www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2BZ5wCTwGU</a> 

PUBLICATIONS 

New Scientist 
<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24232-colourchanging-clothes-could-make-tech-fashionable.html#.Uj9XeLx57aB">Colour-changing clothes could make tech fashionable</a> 
by Hal Hodson, September 9, 2013 

BOLD 
<a href="http://welovebold.com/stories/entry/ask-scientists-and-designers-on-wearable-technology/">Ask: The Pros On Wearable Technology</a> 
By Johannah King-Slutzky, May 13, 2013 

Robotics Business Review 
<a href="http://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/article/robotic_awareness_turns_humans_into_superheroes/">Robotic Awareness Turns Humans into Superheroes</a> 
by John Edwards, April 7, 2013

SpiderSense

SpiderSense continues to garner publicity

PCWorld&rsquo;s sister publication TechHive (1.2 million monthly unique visitors) published the story &ldquo;The art of numbers: Who knew Big Data could look so cool?&rsquo; on September 18, 2013. 

Jason Leigh, director of the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), is quoted on the need for visualization of Big Data. The article highlights the EVL CAVE2&trade; neuroscience application in which scientists explore a 3D map of neural connections in the brain (called connectomes) based on data taken from an MRI scan. 

The story&rsquo;s author, Narasu Rebbapragada, followed up with email to EVL saying &ldquo;I became fascinated with this topic while working the story, so please stay in touch on your future projects.&rdquo; 

<a href="http://www.techhive.com/article/2048715/the-art-of-numbers-who-knew-big-data-could-look-so-cool-.html">Read the full story</a>

EVL researchers explore connectomes in CAVE2. Data provided by UIC Dept. of Psychiatry.

The art of numbers: Who knew Big Data could look so cool?

EVL team, headed by Principal Investigator Jason Leigh (Professor, Computer Science) and co-PIs Maxine Brown (Associate Director EVL) and Luc Renambot (Research Associate Professor, Computer Science) has received a new $5 million award from the National Science Foundation for the project entitled &ldquo;SI2-SSI: SAGEnext: Next Generation Integrated Persistent Visualization and Collaboration Services for Global Cyberinfrastructure&rdquo;. 

The award period is October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2018 to develop SAGEnext - the next generation of EVL&rsquo;s widely used SAGE software for enabling researchers to collaboratively visualize data on ultra high resolution displays, and over long distance high speed networks. SAGE (the Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment) is currently being used by over 100 institutions worldwide. SAGEnext will focus on the development of the critical software infrastructure needed to empower scientists and engineers to fuse data that is growing exponentially in scale and complexity, in order to more rapidly address problems of national priority - such as global climate change, health informatics, or homeland security. These same tools can better communicate scientific concepts to public policy and government officials, and via museum exhibitions, to the general public.

UIC Computer Science&rsquo;s EVL receives new $5 million NSF award

The Image of Research 2013 first place winner Joshua Albers (New Media Arts) and second place winner Khairi Reda (EVL / Computer Science) are featured in UIC&rsquo;s Graduate College Fall newsletter. Over the last 5 years, the Image of Research competition has provided student researchers the opportunity to showcase their work, as well as the breadth and diversity of research at UIC. 

Albers&rsquo; image &ldquo;Threshold&rdquo; exemplifies the artists&rsquo; interest in using motion capture and stereo to create real world abstractions. Reda&rsquo;s &ldquo;A Nanoscale Forest Seen Through a Big Lens&rdquo; documents his work in large scale data visualization in EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Virtual Environment.

gradinfo Fall 2013

The Image of Research 2013 First Place Winner: Joshua Albers, New Media Arts, Threshold

EVL Image of Research Recipients Featured in UIC gradinfo Fall 2013

August 19, 2013 - the National Science Foundation (NSF) &ldquo;Science Nation&rdquo; online magazine features both an article and video about the CAVE2&trade; System developed by the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

<a href="http://science360.gov/obj/video/f4a9db5d-e84c-44e4-a47c-00bd661c81c9/cave2-immerses-scientists-engineers-research-literally">CAVE2 immerses scientists and engineers in their research - literally!</a> is both a video and print story. 

In addition to interviews with EVL principals Jason Leigh and Andy Johnson, the video also features interviews with EVL collaborators Olusola Ajilore of the UIC Department of Psychiatry and Peter Doran of the UIC Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, both of whom are regular users of the CAVE2 system. Ajilore is studying connectomes - i.e., the neural connections in the brain - in order to better understand depression. Doran is part of a NASA-funded planetary science project that is studying 3D biogeochemical information in extreme terrestrial environments analogous to those found on other planets. 

The story promotes not only EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2 environment, but also its SAGE (Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment) software. 

Note: The NSF Science Nation website links to an article NSF wrote in December 2012, titled <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=126209">State-of-the-Art Virtual Reality System Is Key to Medical Discovery</a>. That story featured EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2 collaboration with the UIC Bioengineering Department&rsquo;s Laboratory for Product and Process Design and the University of Illinois Hospital &amp; Health Sciences System&rsquo;s Department of Neurosurgery.

Connectome application displayed in EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2

NSF Science Nation: CAVE2 immerses scientists and engineers in their research - literally!

Swimming With a Kite is an immersive site-specific installation and one night only event created by Silvia Malagrino in collaboration with New Media Artists Joshua Albers and Jesus Duran. 

Using video projections, light design and responsive computer programming the artists transform the Franklin into a responsive environment inviting exploration, reflection and play. 

The project was inspired by Audre Lorde&rsquo;s essay Poetry is not a Luxury, and the markings left by an anonymous reader on a book by Carl Jung about the transformation of the self and society. The book was found in a second-hand bookstore in Chicago. Inside the book there are intricate markings, handwritten notes and drawings. On each page someone - an anonymous reader - inscribed her/his own constellation of images and writings, unleashing meanings and tracing a territory of thoughts comparable to visual poetry. 

Based on the experience and content of this particular book, the artists explore a trinity of concerns: language, image, and technology in a backyard. 

Silvia Malagrino is a Chicago-based artist, native of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is a Guggenheim Fellow, and a fellow of the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women &amp; Gender in the Arts &amp; Media, Columbia College Chicago. Her innovative interdisciplinary work in multiple media - including photography, installation, and digital video - amalgamates critical thinking with poetry, and metaphor with documentation. Malagrino has exhibited internationally and her work is included in the collections of the Museum of the Art Institute of Chicago, and La Biblioth&egrave;que Nationale de Paris, France, among others. She is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes, including The CINE Golden Eagle Award for her first film Burnt Oranges - a feature length experimental documentary about the long-term effects and repercussions, personal and social, of Argentina&rsquo;s 1970&rsquo;s state terrorism. In 2005, her digital video animation The Stream of Life received the prestigious Lorenzo De Medici First Prize Award in New Media at the 5th Edition of The Florence Biennale in Italy. Malagrino is a Professor in Photography at the School of Art and Design of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a recipient of the 2012 Illinois Secretary of State Distinguished Artist Award for outstanding contributions to cultural and community leadership. 

Joshua Albers uses information technology to investigate the nature of constructed realities and rendered environments. His recent work explores the poetic potential of re-purposed consumer hardware, principally the Microsoft Kinect. Joshua was a participant in Google Summer of Code and the ACRE residency in 2012. He completed his MFA in New Media Arts from University of Illinois at Chicago in 2013, and will be teaching animation full time at Missouri State University this fall. 

Jesus Duran is a human with a computer. An artist and educator who creates Rube Goldberg machines out of bits. His work explores the overlaps in computational and physical space in an effort to initiate a reconsideration of the latent impact of technology in the social feedback circuit. His process unfolds in the tension created through simultaneous reduction and abstraction that he developed in his previous career as a software engineer. Often he will construct unseen frameworks as a gesture to engage in extra-disciplinary activities in an effort to reconcile abstractions and relationships as immaterial, material and commodities. The products of these endeavors include interactive installations, interventions, software, unconventional modes of distribution, robotics, light, sound, video, digital images, latent experiences and physical objects. 

August 3, 8 pm to 11 pm (one night only event) 

This project is partially funded by an Individual Project Grant Award from the Illinois Arts Council, A State Agency.

Swimming with a Kite

Reception: August 2nd, 5:00-7:00 pm 

CHICAGO, Illinois - THE MISSION is pleased to present PARALLELS // A Collaboration with ACRE Residency, a two-part exhibition of new work by ACRE (Artists&rsquo; Cooperative Residency and Exhibitions) summer residents Joshua Albers, Celeste Cooning, Yhelena Hall, and Heather MacKenzie. 

PARALLELS // Part 2 presents recent work by Joshua Albers and Yhelena Hall. Interested in the physicality of the human body, each artist presents an investigation of the relationship between experience and perception. Joshua Albers&rsquo; work explores the combinatorial nature of perception when it is enacted through information technology. He examines methods of mapping the shape of information to facilitate an understanding of human perceptual experience. Yhelena Hall&rsquo;s interest the human desire to fly inspired her project, Un-distant Flights. Incorporating both video and a three-dimensional model of a bizarre flying machine drawn from pre-Wright Brothers aviation history, the piece sits at the intersection of reality and imagination, and brings the experience of flight to the viewer. 

JOSHUA ALBERS received his BFA from Missouri State University and recently completed his MFA in New Media Arts from University of Illinois at Chicago. Albers uses information technology to investigate the nature of constructed realities and rendered environments. His recent work explores the poetic potential of re-purposed consumer hardware, principally the Microsoft Kinect. He lives and works in Chicago, IL. 

YHELENA HALL was born in Kamianets-Podilsky, Ukraine. She studied painting at the Kharkiv State Art College and received a Fulbright Scholarship to obtain her MFA in Sculpture at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Hall is interested in the process of transformation and uses various raw and manufactured materials to explore the relationship between space and identity. Hall&rsquo;s intricate structures employ natural phenomena to evoke contemplation of common architectural forms. She lives and works in Chicago, IL. 

ACRE (Artists&rsquo; Cooperative Residency and Exhibitions) is a volunteer-run non-profit based in Chicago devoted to employing various systems of support for emerging artists and to creating a generative community of cultural producers. ACRE investigates and institutes models designed to help artists develop, present, and discuss their practices by providing forums for idea exchange, interdisciplinary collaboration, and experimental projects. ACRE enacts its mission primarily through an annual summer residency program in rural southwestern Wisconsin. Throughout the rest of the year, ACRE offers opportunities for exhibition to each of its residents. 

More information about ACRE can be found at <a href="http://www.acreresidency.org">www.acreresidency.org</a>. 

PARALLELS // Part 2: Joshua Albers + Yhelena Hall opens Friday, August 2, 2013 and is on view through Saturday, August 24, 2013. 

THE MISSION promotes art of the Americas by organizing a diverse program of provocative exhibitions by emerging, mid-career, and established contemporary artists. THE MISSION takes a multidisciplinary approach to exploring cultural, social, geographical, and historical contexts through presenting artists that shape, inform, and challenge ideas and perception of contemporary art. THE MISSION is dedicated to supporting artistic innovation and experimentation and strives to initiate dialogue among local, national, and international art communities.

PARALLELS // Part 2

PARALLELS // A Collaboration with ACRE Residency Part 2

The use of an avatar-enabled application has been rapidly growing over the last decade as it promises more natural computer interaction with advanced technologies in various domains. Furthermore, recent research efforts towards natural and affective avatar capabilities have become more prevalent in the field. However, developing such application still remains very hard and time-consuming task. This is mainly because a believable avatar model intuitively aims to mimic a real human including realistic appearance and wide spectrum of complex behavior. This thesis presents a high quality visualization method and a behavior-modeling framework that can enhance user experience with an autonomous avatar and eventually achieve the goal of an avatar as a means of natural lifelike computer interface. A hybrid behavior modeling technique sets the middle ground to orchestrate both rule-based and data-driven models. Highly realistic avatar visuals with emotionally expressive behavior model offers better congruency and naturalness at the same time to increase avatar believability. A user study is conducted to evaluate the perceived naturalness of the presented behavior model within an autonomous expressive storytelling context. As we establish a better tractable model for an avatar as more natural alternative computer interface, it will broaden the possibilities of our computation needs where we suffer from our limited resources.

Cross-section of User Study Avatars

Supervised Hybrid Expression Control Framework for a Lifelike Affective Avatar

The cover of the July 2013 issue of <a href="http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/phtoad">Physics Today</a>, a publication of the American Institute of Physics, features a photograph of the CAVE2&trade; neuroscience application developed by the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) in partnership with the UIC Bioengineering Department&rsquo;s Laboratory for Product and Process Design and the University of Illinois Hospital &amp; Health Sciences System&rsquo;s Department of Neurosurgery. 

The &ldquo;About the Cover&rdquo; description credits the Electronic Visualization Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago, and states: &ldquo;This simulation of the brain&rsquo;s blood vessels and cortical tissue, created from magnetic resonance imaging data, exemplifies how physics contributes to 21st-century biology. Increasingly, the life-sciences community is recognizing that its students will need a multidisciplinary, quantitative education&hellip;&rdquo; The description then references one of the journal&rsquo;s articles on &ldquo;Reinventing physics for life-sciences majors,&rdquo; though the CAVE2 image is not associated with the story. 

When contacted about how he came to use this image, the editor-in-chief of Physics Today said it was made available by the <a href="http://nsf.gov/news/mmg/mmg_disp.cfm?med_id=73535&amp;from=search_list">National Science Foundation on its website</a>. 

EVL is surprised and delighted about the publicity!

Cover of the July 2013 issue of Physics Today

CAVE2&trade; neuroscience image on cover of Physics Today

On June 25, 2013, in a special demonstration for the first annual US Ignite Application Summit held in Chicago in the U.S., computer scientists from Poland&rsquo;s Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC) streamed ultra-high-resolution 3D movies over high-performance optical networks to the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). These films were &ldquo;4K&rdquo; resolution, a digital cinema standard that is slightly more than four times the resolution of high-definition television (HDTV). Because EVL does not have a large auditorium with the necessary equipment typically used to display stereo movies at large institutions and movie theaters - a more unconventional &ldquo;guerrilla tech&rdquo; approach was needed. Using unique software being developed by the global research community, PSNC and EVL streamed the movies from PSNC servers to a large 3D-capable tiled display wall in EVL&rsquo;s high-tech classroom. Reliance on software, not expensive hardware, is the way ultra-high-resolution 2D, and eventually 3D, movies will be distributed to research labs, classrooms, offices, and homes in the future. 

Specifically, UltraGrid video and audio streaming software, developed by CESNET and the Institute of Computer Science at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, was used to stream uncompressed movie files from Poznan to Chicago. Originally, each 3D movie was actually two movies - a movie for the left eye and a movie for the right eye - which are typically displayed using two projectors with polarizing filters such that the images overlap on the screen, and viewers wear passive stereo glasses to view them. However, to stream to EVL&rsquo;s 3D tiled display wall (which still requires viewers to wear passive stereo glasses), PSNC had to interleave the rows of each frame of the two movies - such that alternating rows displayed left- and right-eye images - and create one movie file. 

At EVL, the UltraGrid receiver sent the interleaved movie frames to EVL&rsquo;s SAGE (Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment) software, which formatted and pushed the movie frames onto the tiled display wall. SAGE is a high-performance windowing environment, so in addition to displaying the movie, SAGE was used to create additional windows that contained supporting documentation about the films as well as a video-teleconference portal to PSNC, enabling collaborators to interact with the US Ignite audience. 

UltraGrid and SAGE, both open source software, were initially developed to harness the power of high-performance networks, so that very-large data files could be stored at the source, enabling the latest information to be downloaded on an as-needed basis and eliminating the need to replicate the data at multiple locations. The development of such tools and techniques is very much a research area, and access to advanced networks for application experiments and tests is made possible by a global consortium of network owners and providers known as the Global Lambda Integrated Facility (GLIF). Using the GLIF optical fiber infrastructure, a 10 Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) private network path was created for this event and data was transmitted between Poznan and Chicago at an average rate of 3.4 Gbps. Data went from PSNC, over Poland&rsquo;s PIONIER network, to NetherLight, a major network exchange in Amsterdam, then over the U.S. NSF-funded transatlantic network ACE (America Connects to Europe) to StarLight, a major network exchange in Chicago, and then to EVL over UIC-owned fiber. The Metropolitan Research and Education Network (MREN), the Midwest regional Research &amp; Education Network, also provided networking. The total length of the fiber link connecting PSNC and EVL was approximately 10,000 km. 

The US Ignite organization fosters the development of next-generation internet applications for transformative public benefit, so PSNC selected three beautiful historically and culturally educational films about Poland to share with the audience: a 3D animated &ldquo;History of Poland&rdquo; and a 3D computer-graphics recreation of &ldquo;Jan Matejko&rsquo;s &lsquo;The Battle of Grunwald&rsquo;&rdquo; painting - both created by Platige Image Studio - and a 3D movie of modern-day Poznan created by PSNC. The special demo for US Ignite took place over a three-hour period; 250 attendees were assigned specific 15-minute time slots, as EVL could comfortably handle 25 people in its classroom environment. For all 10 shows, the network streaming worked flawlessly, enabling audiences to enjoy the films&rsquo; artistry and stories. 

Joe Mambretti of the International Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR) at Northwestern University and Maxine Brown of EVL, who are part of the consortium that manages the StarLight International / National Communications Exchange Facility, served as hosts, providing the audience with some background about the GLIF infrastructure and the software used. PSNC collaborators Maciej Strozyk and Maciej Glowiak endured the 7-hour time difference to participate via video-teleconference and provide information about the films and answer audience questions. Additional staff in Poland, Amsterdam and Chicago provided networking and technical support. 

PSNC has shared this content previously with members of the CineGrid organization, an international, interdisciplinary community focused on the research, development, and demonstration of networked collaborative tools to create, use, preserve and exchange very-high-quality digital media over optical networks. While most CineGrid events are held in auditoriums with adequate equipment - notably projectors, frame buffers and compression boxes - UltraGrid and SAGE software have also been demonstrated and used by CineGrid members. This is the first time, however, that UltraGrid and SAGE were used to stream interleaved 3D movies to a tiled display wall. 

The ability to stream any digital media - but more so 4K movies (and now 8K, which is becoming a standard), and 3D movies - over high-performance networks is still a research effort, and special events, such as conferences, serve as a motivating influence to push the envelope. As technologies such as UltraGrid, SAGE and tiled display walls mature and become more ubiquitous, they will enable broader dissemination of ultra-resolution information, for teaching, remote collaboration, telemedicine, museums, and the arts and entertainment. 

For more information: 
<ul>
<li>US Ignite: <a href="http://us-ignite.org">us-ignite.org</a></li>
<li>US Ignite Application Summit: <a href="http://us-ignite.org/applicationsummit/">us-ignite.org/applicationsummit/</a></li>
<li>Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center: <a href="http://www.man.poznan.pl/online/en/">www.man.poznan.pl/online/en/</a></li>
<li>UltraGrid: <a href="http://www.ultragrid.cz">www.ultragrid.cz</a></li>
<li>SAGE: <a href="http://www.sagecommons.org">www.sagecommons.org</a></li>
<li>3D animated History of Poland: <a href="http://www.platige.com/en/page/75-Animated_History_Of_Poland">www.platige.com/en/page/75-Animated_History_Of_Poland</a></li>
<li>3D recreation of Jan Matejko&rsquo;s &ldquo;The Battle of Grunwald&rdquo;: <a href="http://www.platige.com/en/page/79-Jan_Matejko_Battle_Of_Grunwald_33D%20modern-day#gallery=223-Battle_Of_Grunwald">www.platige.com/en/page/79-Jan_Matejko_Battle_Of_Grunwald_33D%20modern-day#gallery=223-Battle_Of_Grunwald</a></li>
<li>Poznan: <a href="http://youtu.be/uZSkbGEgQ5I">youtu.be/uZSkbGEgQ5I</a></li>
<li>GLIF: <a href="http://www.glif.is">www.glif.is</a></li>
<li>PIONIER network: <a href="http://www.pionier.net.pl/online/en/">www.pionier.net.pl/online/en/</a></li>
<li>NetherLight: <a href="http://www.netherlight.net">www.netherlight.net</a></li>
<li>ACE: <a href="http://internationalnetworking.iu.edu/ACE">internationalnetworking.iu.edu/ACE</a></li>
<li>StarLight: <a href="http://www.startap.net/starlight">www.startap.net/starlight</a></li>
<li>iCAIR: <a href="http://www.icair.org">www.icair.org</a></li>
<li>CineGrid: <a href="http://www.cinegrid.org">www.cinegrid.org</a></li>
<li>MREN: <a href="http://www.mren.org">www.mren.org</a></li>
</ul>

Joe Mambretti, iCAIR, introduces Maciej Strozyk and Maciej Glowiak at PSNC

Advanced Software and Global Networks Stream 4K 3D Digital Movies from Poland to the U.S.

US Ignite in partnership with UIC holds its inaugural Summit on June 24-26 focusing on creating next-generation Internet applications that provide transformative public benefit impacting how Americans work, live, learn and play. The Summit keynote and plenary sessions will be held at the UIC Forum and will include: 
<ul>
<li>Two days of keynotes and sessions that explore advanced technologies, real-world case studies, and best practices.</li>
<li>Networking opportunities with hundreds of developers, technologists, communities, foundations and universities.</li>
<li><a href="http://us-ignite.org/applicationsummit/the-event/demos/">Live demonstrations of next-generation applications</a> from top universities and corporate labs transforming how we receive everything from education to healthcare.</li>
</ul> 

On June 25th, EVL hosts US Ignite tours that will enable attendees to experience EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality System and its Cyber-Commons classroom controlled with its SAGE software environment. Advanced networking will also be showcased, as colleagues at the Pozna&nacute; Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC) will stream 4K movies from Poland to EVL for audience viewing. 

Summit Logistics: 
June 24-26, 2013 
<a href="http://us-ignite.org/applicationsummit/">Registration and Details</a>

US Ignite

EVL Hosts Demonstrations and Tours for US Ignite Summit

Media Contact: 
Nancy DiFiore 
Rush University Medical Center 
Nancy_DiFiore @ rush.edu 

June 17, 2013 - Chicago - Researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL and The University of Illinois at Chicago are using the Internet and motivational multimedia coupled with positive reinforcement via a smartphone application to try to improve asthma outcomes among low-income, minority adolescents with asthma. 

Each participant in the study receives a smartphone preloaded with an application that uses a reward system to encourage them to proactively take their daily asthma controller medications. They also receive a free data plan (including unlimited talking, texting, email and internet) for the duration of their participation in the study. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

&ldquo;Adolescents love technology. They spend an enormous amount of time listening to music and playing videogames, as well as using computers and mobile phones. We believe that leveraging existing use of technology will be a great way to engage adolescents and motivate them to take their medication,&rdquo; said Dr. Giselle Mosnaim, an allergy and immunology specialist at Rush University Medical Center. 

Some asthma patients need to use daily controller medications to prevent asthma symptoms and attacks. Without the medication, a serious breathing problem can result due to inflammation in the airways. This may lead to missed school days or visits to the emergency room. 

&ldquo;Adherence to daily asthma controller medications is key to asthma self-management, and preventing asthma symptoms and exacerbations,&rdquo; said Mosnaim. &ldquo;Adolescents prefer instant gratification and often engage in risk-taking behavior. As a result, they are more inclined to bypass taking their daily medications (reward now) and take the risk that they may end up in the emergency room later,&rdquo; said Mosnaim. 

&ldquo;In our current study, we are providing them with immediate rewards for appropriate medication taking behavior. We are learning if they&rsquo;re more likely to take their medications by using positive reinforcement and incentives,&rdquo; Mosnaim continued. 

The controller medication is fitted with a sensor that sends a signal to the smartphone application automatically when a dose is taken. The application and device were created by faculty and student collaborators in computer science, communications, psychology and art and design at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) with seed funding provided by the UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science. 

&ldquo;The smartphone is equipped with a Bluetooth application that records every time the inhaler is used,&rdquo; Mosnaim said. &ldquo;This connection gives us participants&rsquo; times and dates, locations in latitude and longitude, as well as ambient air pollution and pollen levels from the National Allergy Bureau and Environmental Protection every time they take a puff.&rdquo; 

&ldquo;We want to know where they are when they use their medicines - to see if they took it because asthma symptoms were induced by exercise, such as being on a basketball court, or if poor air quality and/or high pollen counts could be an influencing factor.&rdquo; 

Mosnaim monitors their real-time-medication-taking behavior via the data collected by the electronic dose counter, processed by the smartphone asthma application, and sent to the secure server. She and her colleagues may provide participants feedback by sending them messages via texting or email. Participants will also get immediate positive reinforcement when they take the dose within the correct time window. 

Every time a participant takes the entire dose in the correct time window, they will score points in a virtual game (i.e., the participant scores a basket in a basketball game each time they take a dose), and they earn 50 cents that they can use at the Googleplay store to purchase music, apps, movies or television shows. 

&ldquo;There are so many opportunities for incorporating advanced computing technology in health-related applications. We will continue to see an explosion of this in the foreseeable future as individuals want to take greater control over their health. This is particularly evident in the rise of fitness and health-related applications for smartphones. Whereas there are many apps that claim to promote health, few are backed up by the expertise of real health organizations such as UIC&rsquo;s Medical campus and Rush University Medical Center,&rdquo; said Jason Leigh, UIC College of Engineering professor of computer science and director of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory. 

Chicago has among the highest pediatric asthma rates of cities across the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, child prevalence was higher in children aged 10-14 and 15-17 in Illinois compared with the 38 participating states&rsquo; rates. There were 1.9 million asthma-related emergency department visits and 479,300 asthma-related hospitalizations in 2009. From 2001 through 2009, asthma rates rose the most among black children by nearly 50 percent. In 2007, asthma was linked to 3,447 deaths (approximately 9 per day). 

The study will enroll 20 minority adolescents ages 11 through 16. For more information, contact Dr. Mosnaim at 312-563-3744.

Still from Asthma Cell Phone App

Unique Cell Phone Application Targets Minority Adolescents With Asthma to Reduce Exacerbations, Emergency Room Visits

PhD preliminary exam committee: Jason Leigh, Andrew Johnson, Tom Moher, Stellan Ohlsson (Department of Psychology, UIC), Michael Papka (Argonne National Lab) 

Abstract 
Visualization is an effective means of extracting knowledge from data, and represents one of the most flexible analysis methods scientists can deploy to make sense of a relentlessly growing cache of scientific data. Until recently, the real potential of visualization has been limited by the prevailing screen technology which restrict visualizations to the smallest of datasets. With the proliferation of Large, High-Resolution displays, scientists now have the ability to visualize larger amounts of information and juxtapose a rich variety of datasets on wall-sized displays, giving rise to integrative visualization environments that tie together the myriad pieces of the puzzle to present a coherent picture of the whole. Yet, there are a number of challenges to fully realizing this prospect. We still have rudimentary understanding of how users utilize large displays to conduct visual data analysis. Without a solid understanding of the cognitive processes involved in reasoning across a larger number of visual representations, our ability to design useful integrative visualizations remains limited. Moreover, even the best of visualizations can suffer from clutter and overwhelm the user with too much information. In this dissertation, I propose a series of observational studies to examine the cognitive strategies of individuals engaged in visual data analysis scenarios on large displays. By varying the display size and the interface design between participants, the studies will illuminate the effects of increased visual fidelity size on user performance and strategy. This research will also identify effective information layout and visual integration schemes, and give data-grounded guidelines for designing integrative visualizations that leverage the affordances of large, high-resolution displays, while mitigating the potential for information-overload.

Visual Data Analysis on EVL Cyber-Commons Tiled Display

Cognitive and Visual Integration in Lage Information Space

On May 23, 2013, WTTW (Channel 11) television's news show, "Chicago Tonight," aired the story "The Star Wars Connection" by reporter Ash-har Quraishi. It profiles the involvement of EVL faculty, students and visiting artist Larry Cuba in making the computer graphics special effects for the 1977 Star Wars movie, which premiered 36 years ago this month. It also fast forwards to present day, and how the "Force" continues to inspire the next-generation EVL faculty, staff and students. 
<a href="http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2013/05/23/star-wars-connection">View the TV video, an article, interviews and a behind the scenes "making of Star Wars computer graphics" video from Larry Cuba.</a>

The PDP11 and Vector General used to create the Death Star for the 1977 &ldquo;Star Wars&rdquo; film.

WTTW airs story on UIC / EVL and its connection to Star Wars

On May 23, 2013, WTTW (Channel 11) television&rsquo;s news show, &ldquo;Chicago Tonight,&rdquo; aired the story &ldquo;The Star Wars Connection&rdquo; by reporter Ash-har Quraishi. It profiles the involvement of EVL faculty, students and visiting artist Larry Cuba in making the computer graphics special effects for the 1977 Star Wars movie, which premiered 36 years ago this month. It also fast forwards to present day, and how the &ldquo;Force&rdquo; continues to inspire the next-generation EVL faculty, staff and students. 

<a href="http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2013/05/23/star-wars-connection">View the TV video, an article, interviews and a behind the scenes &ldquo;making of Star Wars computer graphics&rdquo; video from Larry Cuba</a> 

<a href="http://video.wttw.com/video/2365016912/">Link directly to the TV video</a>

Rebels&rsquo; Death Star attack briefing in the 1977 film

WTTW story on UIC / EVL and The Star Wars Connection

EdTech: Focus on Higher Education, a CDW*G publication, just released a video news story about the CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment developed by the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The video explains how EVL is making the CAVE2&trade; a premier R&amp;D and teaching destination on campus. It features EVL computer science faculty Jason Leigh and Andy Johnson, EVL computer science graduate student Arthur Nishimoto, and UIC physics professor David Hofman. 

This video is provided courtesy of <a href="http://www.cdwg.com/higher-education.aspx?cm_re=NAV-_-HEDhomepage-_-NA">CDW</a> and was originally published by <a href="http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/video/visualizing-next-generation-virtual-reality-chicago">EdTech: Focus on Higher Education</a>. It is not to be altered and must be used in its entirety. 

This video is a follow-up story to a CAVE2&trade; feature article published in the Winter 2013 issue of <a href="http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2013/01/university-illinois-chicago-virtual-realitys-cave-pioneer">EdTech magazine</a>. 

CAVE2 is a trademark of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Andrew Johnson, UIC/EVL associate professor and EVL director Jason Leigh at the entrance of the CAVE2&trade; system.

Visualizing Next-Generation Virtual Reality in Chicago

Robert E. Horn presents his perspective and research at Stanford University in visual language - Tuesday May 14th, 10am 

New visualization methods can help address the complex difficulties of dealing with social messes (also known as &ldquo;ill-structured&rdquo; or &ldquo;wicked&rdquo; problems). Social messes are more than problems. They are very complicated and complex; they are ambiguous; they are bounded by great constraints and are tightly interconnected, economically, socially, politically, and technologically; they are seen differently from different points of views and worldviews; they contain many value conflicts; and they are often a-logical or illogical. In short, they characterize most of the major issues human civilization faces. 

Our project at Stanford University has been helping task forces address such difficult problems by developing novel group processes supported by new visualization methods. Some of the issues these new methods address are: severe limitations of ordinary prose documents to communicate complex subject matter; the necessity to help groups create common mental models; and the need to show context and multiple views. Sometimes called &ldquo;info-murals,&rdquo; they provide the visual scaffolding for thinking bigger thoughts. They reveal new and novel patterns. They function often to reframe interpretation. They provide an essential tool for &ldquo;anticipatory intelligence&rdquo; in the 21st century. 

BIO 
As a futurist and strategist, Bob Horn has worked extensively with task forces to create scenarios, strategic plans, and organizations that can execute them. His specialty has been helping task forces work on social messes (also known as wicked problems). He is specially know for presenting his results in the form of large information murals or large visual posters, that enable the groups to see both the big picture as well as to examine, on the computer, details from multiple points of view. He has worked with strategic planning on nuclear waste disposal (for the UK&rsquo;s government agency); climate change and energy security issues for the UK Foreign Office. In many of these engagements, he has created a form of mural that portrays the strategic context and future scenarios, the current decision-making issues, and the crucial interaction of the private and public sectors. He recently finished a 4 x 14 foot info-mural for the World Business Council on Sustainable Development task force - Vision 2050 that covers 40-years and contains 350 milestones. He has innovated a new facilitated process that enables multidisciplinary task forces to better deal with so-called wicked problems. He calls this work the &ldquo;mapping of social messes.&rdquo; 

Horn pioneered the exploration and use of visual language (the tight integration of words and visual elements). He says in the subtitle of his book Visual Language (1998), that this phenomenon is becoming a new form of &ldquo;global communication for the 21st century.&rdquo; His previous book Mapping Hypertext (1989) is about the possibilities of the world wide web before the www existed. 

He has taught at Harvard and Columbia universities. He is currently a visiting scholar at Stanford University. His consulting clients have included the Alberta Department of the Environment, Foresight Canada, International Futures Forum, Boeing, AT&amp;T, HP, NASA, Oxford University. He is a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science.

Robert E. Horn

Facilitating situation-as-a-whole thinking using visual language to deal with social messes

Hyejung Hur presents her research and development of a multi-user window management system designed for large tiled display walls as part of her PhD preliminary exam Monday, May 6, 2013. 

Large high-resolution wall-scale displays come in a wide variety based on their physical configuration. The displays have the common potential to increase the quantity of displayed information. Current usages are primarily limited to presentation and visualization demonstrations. As a workspace, people have problems of being physically larger. For example, people feel more difficult to navigate along with additional screen space, and people can be easily frustrated and confused. To overcome problems and take full advantage of the large displays, many researchers investigate to find the better interaction and better design. 

Hur proposes a Semi-Automated Smart Arrangement Tool for Distributed Hybrid Large Displays. It is multi-user window management on wall-scale large displays. The proposed research will provide semi-automated smart arrangement to use the wall space easily and effectively. Like desktop window management, it supports for user to move and resize window manually. However, the proposed research is focused on that window agent determines the best position and size for a window according to which window a user is interested in and where the user is. Window agents has their behavior rules and desires to accomplish. The goal of window agent is to find the best fit among agents that have different desires with current task type. To achieve better and easier space organization, additionally I propose to have space ownership and provide task-based workspace template. 

The goal of the proposed research is to provide improved window navigation and manipulation, effective use of large space, guideline about how to use large space, and the way to move to collaborative workspace with large display.

Hyejung Hur in EVL Cyber-Commons running a collaborative work session.

Semi-Automated Smart Arrangement Tool for Distributed Hybrid Large Displays

This year, three UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) research assistants were recognized in the campus&rsquo; 2013 Image of Research competition. First place went to Joshua Albers, a New Media Arts MFA student, second place went to Khairi Reda, a Computer Science PhD student, and a Finalist was Victor Mateevitsi, a Computer Science PhD student. 

Albers&rsquo; artwork &ldquo;Threshold&rdquo; shows how space is occupied over time; to create it, discrete depth information of an object in a room - in this case, a person walking - was continually sampled and recorded over a period of time and then reconstructed. Reda&rsquo;s scientific visualization of a nanoscale glass fissure composed of 5 million atoms is shown in EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade; virtual-reality system; data simulations were done by researchers at University of Southern California and computed at Argonne National Laboratory. Mateevitsi&rsquo;s &ldquo;SpiderSense&rdquo; human augmentics project, done in collaboration with Brad Haggadone of UIC Communications and Brian Kunzer of UIC Bioengineering, illustrates how a wearer can localize obstacles and objects by feeling the environment around him. 

Winning entries are displayed in the lobby of the Daley Library every spring, in the UIC Library of Health Sciences, and are featured on light pole banners around campus. Winners, finalists and a wide selection of other entries are also posted to an online gallery in the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI). 

This is the <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000645">4th time EVL has received 1st Place</a> in the six years of the annual Image of Research competition, as well as recognition in several other select categories. Here is a summary of all EVL accomplishments to date: 

2013: 1st Place - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1001218">&ldquo;Threshold&rdquo;</a>, Joshua Albers; 2nd place - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1001219">&ldquo;A Nanoscale Forest Seen Through a Big Lens&rdquo;</a>, Khairi Reda; Finalist - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1001233">&ldquo;SpiderSense&rdquo;</a>, Victor Mateevitsi, Brad Haggadone, Brian Kunzer 

2012: 1st Place - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1001057">&ldquo;Artificially created cortical functional blood unit&rdquo;</a>, Thomas Marrinan, Ian Gould 

2011: Honorable Mention - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000955">&ldquo;20 Foot Canvas&rdquo;</a>, JD Pirtle, Arthur Nishimoto, Karan Chakrapani, Todd Silvia, and Philip Pilosi; Finalist - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000964">&ldquo;Cli-Mate&rdquo;</a>, Ed Kahler 

2010: 1st Place - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000842">&ldquo;Avatar - A Virtual Human&rdquo;</a>, Sangyoon Lee 

2009: Honorable Mention - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000745">&ldquo;The Viewer&rdquo;</a>, Julio Obelleiro; Finalist - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000755">&ldquo;The Tight Room&rdquo;</a>, Heejoo Kim 

2008: 1st Place - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000640">&ldquo;Infinity Gliders&rdquo;</a>, AnnMarie Cernoch; 3rd Place - <a href="http://grad.uic.edu/cms/?pid=1000649">&ldquo;Rain on Mars&rdquo;</a>, Dmitri Svistula

2013 Image of Research EVL Winners

EVL Students Recognized in 2013 UIC Image of Research Competition

Project Batman is a UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) project being done in conjunction with the Civic Consulting Alliance (CCA) of Chicago and funded by the UIC Office of the Chancellor and the Dean&rsquo;s Office of the College of Engineering. 

The CCA builds pro bono teams of business experts, government leaders, and members of its staff, with the goal of making Chicago more livable, affordable, and globally competitive. More specifically, EVL&rsquo;s Project Batman focuses on mapping publicly available crime data onto Chicago&rsquo;s urban infrastructure, to help civic leaders and law enforcement see and understand the big picture - literally - and make more informed decisions. 

While the project is in its infancy, WBEZ reporter Elliott Ramos published the online article <a href="http://www.wbez.org/news/city-tech-wonks-add-toys-emanuel%E2%80%99s-utility-belt-106460">&ldquo;City tech wonks add toys to Emanuel&rsquo;s utility belt&rdquo;</a> on April 3. It covers a number of new initiatives by the Chicago&rsquo;s Department of Innovation and Technology, including reference to Project Batman. 

This story is based on a WBEZ blog by Charlie Meyerson, titled <a href="http://www.wbez.org/blogs/charlie-meyerson/2013-02/chicago-has-project-batman-and-its-hiring-105799">Chicago has a &ldquo;Project Batman&rdquo;</a>. Reporting on an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wMpHZs0F7k&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;t=5m5s">OpenGov Chicago meeting</a> held February 26, 2013, Meyerson wrote that Tom Schenk Jr., Chicago&rsquo;s analytics director, told a gathering of journalists, programmers and government leaders that the city is working with UIC to visualize crime data in a 3-D virtual reality &ldquo;cave.&rdquo; 

Subsequently, WTTW followed up on the &ldquo;Project Batman&rdquo; story as part of its coverage of EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade; hybrid-reality environment that aired April 23, 2013 on the nightly <a href="http://video.wttw.com/video/2365000889/">&ldquo;Chicago Tonight&rdquo; news show</a>. 

See the <a href="http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2013/04/23/cave2">WTTW article and video</a>

Google Earth in EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade; being used by the City of Chicago to visualize &ldquo;Project Batman&rdquo; data.

WBEZ and WTTW promote UIC / EVL&rsquo;s Project Batman

On Tuesday, April 23, 2013, the WTTW television news show &ldquo;Chicago Tonight&rdquo; aired an ~8 minute &ldquo;Scientific Chicago&rdquo; segment on the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) and its CAVE2&trade; System. 

Reporter Ash-har Quraishi showcased EVL&rsquo;s collaboration with UIC BioEngineering and the College of Medicine&rsquo;s Department of Neurosurgery to study the vasculature of the brain, as well as a new collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry on visualizing connectomes; i.e., comprehensive maps of neural connections in the brain. Additional applications by EVL and its collaborators were also highlighted. 

<a href="http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2013/04/23/cave2">See the video segment on CAVE2 and an accompanying article on the WTTW website</a>

EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment

WTTW airs story on EVL and CAVE2&trade; System - Tuesday, April 23

SpiderSense is a UIC prototype wearable suit that enables users to sense (without seeing) obstacles around them. Like the comic book character Spider-Man whose skin tingles at approaching danger, SpiderSense augments human ability - it can potentially help a visually impaired person or a first responder navigate their environments. 

SpiderSense is garnering a lot of publicity from the media since the research paper &ldquo;Sensing the environment through SpiderSense&rdquo; was presented by Victor Mateevitsi, a PhD candidate in the UIC Computer Science Department and a Research Assistant in the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), at the 4th Augmented Human International Conference in Stuttgart, Germany, held in March 2013. The paper was co-authored by Mateevitsi, Brad Haggadone (UIC Communications), Jason Leigh and Robert Kenyon (UIC Computer Science, Electronic Visualization Laboratory), and Brian Kunzer (UIC Bioengineering, Neural Engineering Vision Laboratory). 

In February 2013, we reported that several media outlets did stories about SpiderSense. Since then, the list continues to grow, from the sublime (see Discovery Channel Canada) to the absurd (see popCultured). Most recently, SpiderSense is featured in the April 9, 2013 issue of UIC NEWS <a href="http://news.uic.edu/spidersense-suit-turns-science-fiction-into-reality">With student invention, not seeing is believing</a>, by Matt O&rsquo;Connor, April 9, 2013. 

A list of publications in which SpiderSense has been featured to date can be found at the end of the article <a href="http://www.evl.uic.edu/core.php?mod=4&amp;type=4&amp;indi=844">Spidey-sense suit tingles when someone gets too close</a>.

Graduate student Alex Simes tests out the &ldquo;SpiderSense&rdquo; suit.

Sensing the environment through SpiderSense

The article &ldquo;A &lsquo;Big Data&rsquo; Freeway for Scientists&rdquo; by John Markoff appeared the March 20, 2013 issue of the New York Times. The article profiles Larry Smarr, director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) at the University of California, San Diego. The article concerns Big Data, a U.S. government initiative that recognizes the need to improve scientists&rsquo; ability to extract knowledge and insights from large and complex collections of digital data. 

The article concludes by mentioning a presentation Smarr gave last month at Calit2, in which he did a collaborative session with EVL to demonstrate how very-high-speed networks will facilitate the ability to share data and scientific visualization information among scientists. Calit2&rsquo;s large tiled display wall was connected to EVL&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade; System, and both displays were running SAGE (the Scalable Adaptive Graphics Environment developed by EVL). Smarr spoke with EVL&rsquo;s Professor Andrew Johnson and several EVL graduate students, and they shared scientific visualizations of Big Data. 

More specifically, today, data can be stored anywhere - processed elsewhere - and analyzed somewhere else. As the article states, &ldquo;Increasingly, computers used by scientific researchers are starting to escape the boundaries of a single box or even cluster and spread out to become &lsquo;virtual,&rsquo; in some cases across thousands of miles.&rdquo; Though his campus has a high-speed research network to locations in the U.S. and worldwide, Smarr is helping re-engineer it to achieve a 10-fold improvement, or 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps). UIC recently upgraded its campus&rsquo; research network to 100Gbps with major support from the National Science Foundation. In particular, the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) has 100Gbps into its lab, and its many devices, including the new CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality System, connect to this backbone. 

<a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/a-big-data-freeway-for-scientists/">Read the New York Times article</a> 

<a href="http://youtu.be/Ar7vmMIM7q8">Watch a video of the Smarr&rsquo;s 45-minute collaborative session with EVL</a>

Larry Smarr director of Calit2 demonstrates a 3-D image of his abdomen, transmitted via the new high-speed Prism optical network at UCSD.

UIC / EVL mentioned in New York Times: A Big Data Freeway for Scientists

EVL MFA candidate, Joshua Albers presents his New Media Arts thesis work at UIC&rsquo;s Gallery 400 from Tuesday March 19th through Saturday, March 23rd. 

Albers uses information technology to investigate the nature of constructed realities and rendered environments. His recent work explores the poetic potential of re-purposed consumer hardware, principally the Microsoft Kinect. 

Artist Talk 
Wednesday, March 20, 2013 
5:00PM - 7:00PM 

Reception 
Friday March 22, 2013 
5:00PM - 8:00PM

Still from What Lies Video Installation

Body Doubles - 2013 UIC MFA Thesis Exhibition 1

EVL PhD candidate, Victor Mateevitsi presents his research in Human Augmentics at the 4th Augmented Human International Conference in Stuttgart, Germany. Sensing the environment through SpiderSense (Victor Mateevitsi, Brad Haggadone, Jason Leigh, Brian Kunzer and Robert Kenyon) will be presented, Thursday, March 7th, 11:15 - 12:45 during Session 2: Feedback. 

The presentation will cover the concept of fusing technology to human&rsquo;s forms of perception to enable exciting new ways of perceiving the world, as well as discussing the challenges and considerations of designing wearable devices.

Mateevisti&rsquo;s SpiderSense

Augmented Human 2013

EVL PhD candidate Sungwon Nam presents his thesis dissertation describing a resource scheduling scheme for collaborative large display wall environments. 

11:15 am, Wednesday, March 6, 2013 

Abstract 
The popularity of large-scale, high-resolution display walls, as visualization endpoints in eScience infrastructure, is rapidly growing. These displays can be connected to distributed computing resources over high-speed networks, providing an effective means for researchers to visualize, interact with, and understand large volumes of data. Typically, large display walls are built by tiling multiple physical displays together and driving the display with a cluster of computers. With the advent of advanced graphics hardware, a single computer can now drive over a dozen displays, thereby greatly reducing the cost of ownership and maintenance of a tiled display wall system. This in turn enables a broader user base to take advantage of such technologies. Since tiled display walls are also well suited to collaborative work, users tend to launch and operate multiple applications simultaneously. To ensure that applications maintain a high degree of responsiveness to the users, even under heavy use loads, the display wall must now ensure that the limited system resources are prioritized to maximize interactivity rather than thread-level fair sharing or overall job-completion throughput. In this dissertation, the author presents a new resource scheduling scheme that is specifically designed to prioritize responsiveness in collaborative large display wall environments where multiple users can interact with multiple applications simultaneously.

Multi-User Centered Resource Scheduling for Large Scale Display Wall Environments

EVL Cyber-Commons running a collaborative work session.

Multi-User Centered Resource Scheduling for Large Scale Display Wall Environment (PhD Defense)

Allison Heath presents research being conducted by the <a href="http://www.opensciencedatacloud.org">Open Science Data Cloud</a> (OSDC) at EVL&rsquo;s Tech Meeting. 

1pm, Wednesday, March 6, 2013 

OSDC is a petabyte-scale science cloud managed and operated by the Open Cloud Consortium (OCC). The OSDC currently manages about a petabyte of data for researchers in multiple disciplines that use big data, including the earth sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, and digital humanities. Additionally, the OSDC consists of Eucalyptus, OpenStack, and Hadoop-based infrastructures so that researchers can compute over their data. The OSDC is a distributed facility that spans four data centers connected by 10G networks. Two data centers are in Chicago, one is at the Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC), and one is at the AMPATH facility in Miami. OSDC user services are tied together by Tukey, an application we are developing to provide a centralized and intuitive web interface for accessing public and private cloud services. We also provide research, training and education opportunities in data intensive computing through the NSF PIRE program. The OSDC PIRE project provides international research and education experienced through training and study at universities and research institutes around the world with leading scientists in the field of computing. 

Allison P. Heath 
Allison is a research scientist with Dr. Robert Grossman in the Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology at the University of Chicago. She completed my PhD in Computer Science at Rice University with Dr. Lydia Kavraki, where she developed algorithms for computational problems in structural and systems biology. Her current research interests are in cloud computing systems and algorithms tailored for data intensive science. Her projects revolve around the design and implementation of computational methods for analyzing large genomic datasets. She also works on creating utilities for managing large data sets in cloud computing environments.

Allison Heath

Allison Heath - Open Science Data Cloud - Guest Speaker at EVL Tech Meeting

Matt O&rsquo;Connor 
&ldquo;We love science fiction, and we just want to live in the science fiction world,&rdquo; said computer scientist Jason Leigh. 

And inside the Electronic Visualization Lab&rsquo;s CAVE2, anyone can enter a virtual world. 

The EVL&rsquo;s virtual reality environment in the College of Engineering lets people navigate through the human brain or roam through the holodeck of the Star Trek Enterprise with the help of 3D glasses. 

This imposing virtual world stands 8 feet tall and 24 feet in diameter. The environment wraps 320 degrees around the user, offering a dream-like sense of infinite space that is never physically there. The system rivals 20/20 vision, consisting of 72 near-seamless passive stereo off-axis optimized 3D LCD panels that display information at 37 megapixels in 3D, or 74 megapixels in 2D. 

Students and employees toured the space at an open house Feb. 20. More open houses are set from 3 to 6 p.m. April 3 and 24 in the Engineering Research Facility. Space is limited; <a href="http://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dF83YWtBSFlJZjFXb21wVFBzLUUzZ1E6MQ">register online</a> 

<a href="http://news.uic.edu/step-into-a-virtual-world">Read the entire UIC News article</a>

Thomas Marrinan, EVL research assistant and computer science Ph.D. candidate, guides a tour at a recent open house.

Step into a Virtual World (UIC News)

EDITOR&rsquo;S NOTE: The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) licensed the CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment to Mechdyne Corporation. Mechdyne released the following press release yesterday. 
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.mechdyne.com/cave2-images.aspx">High-resolution photos for the media</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mechdyne.com/cave2.aspx">Information about Mechdyne&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade; product</a></li>
<li>Technology enhances learning experiences, research opportunities and collaboration</li>
<li>Advanced visualization system is &ldquo;lens&rdquo; that brings big data into focus</li>
</ul> 

Marshalltown, Iowa - March 5, 2013 - Mechdyne Corporation announced that it has licensed the CAVE2&trade; hybrid reality environment developed by the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at University of Illinois at Chicago. The licensing agreement was signed in January of 2013, and continues the strong working relationship that began in 1994 when Mechdyne licensed the EVL-designed original CAVE&trade; technology. 

The term CAVE&trade; is an acronym for CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment and also a reference to &ldquo;The Simile of the Cave&rdquo; in Plato&rsquo;s Republic, in which the philosopher explored the concepts of perception, reality and illusion. 

The CAVE2&trade; system provides a near-seamless, 320 degree, panoramic 2D / 3D environment that supports information-rich analysis with stunning immersive visuals. &ldquo;Although the CAVE2&trade; advanced virtual reality technology is a next generation system, many of the legacy CAVE&trade; applications can be integrated into the CAVE2&trade; system,&rdquo; said Kurt Hoffmeister, VP of Engineering and Product Development for Mechdyne. 

&ldquo;With Mechdyne as an integrator of the CAVE2&trade; design, we can point our collaborators who are interested in incorporating the CAVE2&trade; technology to Mechdyne,&rdquo; said Jason Leigh, Ph.D., Director of the EVL and Professor of Computer Science at University of Illinois at Chicago. &ldquo;This enables our colleagues to receive a top notch product with full technical support from Mechdyne,&rdquo; Leigh explained. 

According to Hoffmeister, &ldquo;One of the biggest benefits offered by the CAVE2&trade; system is its versatility. The system can be integrated to provide the resolution and clarity that matches human visual acuity, for an entirely new level of immersive and collaborative experience.&rdquo; 

A key feature of the CAVE2&trade; design is the use of 3D capable LCD flat panel screens rather than rear projection, which enables more efficient use of facility space, compared to previous generation CAVE&trade; technology, Hoffmeister explained. &ldquo;The CAVE2&trade; design also accommodates off-axis vertical viewing angles, eliminating any 3D ghosting at the top or bottom of the large viewing area,&rdquo; he added. 

The development of the CAVE2&trade; technology was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy. Some of the royalties of licensing of the CAVE2&trade; system will help fund future research at EVL, explained Leigh. 

&ldquo;Every day we&rsquo;re hearing more and more about &lsquo;big data&rsquo;,&rdquo; Leigh commented. &ldquo;Advanced visualization systems like the CAVE2&trade; provide a lens to bring big data into focus - for deeper understanding and greater insight.&rdquo; 

Mechdyne expects major users of the CAVE2&trade; system will include universities, scientific research organizations, energy companies, and manufacturing and design organizations worldwide. 

<a href="http://www.mechdyne.com/cave2.aspx">More information about CAVE2&trade; technologies from Mechdyne</a> 

CAVE2&trade; and CAVE&trade; are trademarked by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. 

About Mechdyne Corporation 
<a href="http://www.mechdyne.com">Mechdyne</a> is one of the world&rsquo;s leading providers of innovative visual information technologies. The company bends technology in ways that transform complex data into insights and ideas. To ensure customers succeed, Mechdyne provides comprehensive, customized solutions that include consulting, software, technical services and hardware integration. Mechdyne, with offices around the world, serves a global customer base. Customers include: leading government laboratories, energy companies, universities, manufacturing and design firms, U.S. armed forces, and other users of visual information technologies. 

News Media Contacts: 
Dawn Bentley, Marketing Supervisor 
Mechdyne Corporation 
Phone 641-352-5125 
Email dawn.bentley @ mechdyne.com 

Maxine Brown, Associate Director, Electronic Visualization Laboratory 
University of Illinois at Chicago 
Phone 312-996-3002 
Email maxine @ uic.edu

The CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment can display both 2D and 3D data simultaneously.

Mechdyne Corporation Licenses CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment from the University of Illinois at Chicago

Victor Mateevitsi, a PhD candidate in the UIC Computer Science Department and a Research Assistant in the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), has received a lot of press in the past few days for &ldquo;SpiderSense,&rdquo; a prototype wearable suit that enables users to sense (without seeing) obstacles around them. 
 
Like the comic book character Spider-Man whose skin tingles at approaching danger, SpiderSense augments human ability - it can potentially help a pedestrian &ldquo;see&rdquo; hidden dangers, help a fireman entering smoke-filled buildings, or help a visually impaired person navigate his environment. SpiderSense consists of sensor modules, strategically placed on the wearer&rsquo;s body, and uses ultrasound to scan the environment for obstacles within 60 feet which it then translates into tactile signals that stimulate the wearer&rsquo;s skin. 

Mateevitsi authored the research paper <a href="http://www.evl.uic.edu/core.php?mod=4&amp;type=3&amp;indi=474">&ldquo;Sensing the environment through SpiderSense&rdquo;</a> with Brad Haggadone (UIC Communications Department), Jason Leigh and Robert Kenyon (UIC Computer Science, Electronic Visualization Laboratory), and Brian Kunzer (UIC Bioengineering, Neural Engineering Vision Laboratory), which will be presented March 7 at Augmented Human &rsquo;13: the 4th Augmented Human International Conference in Stuttgart, Germany. 

News of SpiderSense was picked up by New Scientist magazine. Since its article came out, the news has since gone &ldquo;viral,&rdquo; with articles appearing in many places. Below is the list of publications as of 4/9/13: 

UIC NEWS 
<a href="http://news.uic.edu/spidersense-suit-turns-science-fiction-into-reality">&ldquo;With student invention, not seeing is believing&rdquo;</a> 
by Matt O&rsquo;Connor, April 9, 2013 

CBC Radio, Canada 
<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Alberta/Calgary+Eyeopener/ID/2363156719/">Eyeopener podcast (scroll to 16:30 minutes)</a> 
March 28, 2013 

The Globe and Mail, Canada 
<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/multi-sensor-suit-inspired-by-spider-man-allows-wearers-to-feel-approaching-danger/article10201997/?utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_source=Globe%20Life&amp;utm_type=text&amp;utm_content=GlobeLife&amp;utm_campaign=102648317">&ldquo;Scientists (finally) build Spider-Man suit with &lsquo;SpiderSense&rsquo;&rdquo;</a> 
by Wency Leung, March 24, 2013 

Discovery Channel Canada 
<a href="http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/#clip884955">&ldquo;Daily Planet&rdquo; (Part 5, 1st episode)</a> 
by Dan Raskin, March 14, 2013 

ACM TechNews 
March 18, 2013 
<a href="http://technews.acm.org/archives.cfm?fo=2013-03-mar/mar-18-2013.html">(pointer to Medill Reports Chicago article of March 13, 2013)</a> 

Medill Reports Chicago 
<a href="http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=219043">&ldquo;Superhero science: UIC students build &lsquo;SpiderSense&rsquo; suit&rdquo;</a> 
by Conner Forrest, March 13, 2013 

Slashdot 
<a href="http://tech.slashdot.org/story/13/03/11/1425222/spidersense-suit-delivers-superhuman-perception">&ldquo;SpiderSense Suit Delivers Superhuman Perception&rdquo;</a> 
by Sam Zenpus, March 11, 2013 

Eva Wolfangel, Wissenschafts - und Reportagejournalistin (German freelance journalist website) 
<a href="http://www.ewo.name/augmented_human/#more-299">&ldquo;Technik f&uuml;r die Sinne&rdquo; - interview at the 4th Augmented Human International Conference in Stuttgart, Germany</a> 
Eva Wolfangel, March 11, 2013 
<a href="http://www.ewo.name/wp-content/uploads/130309_stz-augmented-human.pdf">(PDF)</a> 

Stuttgarter Zeitung (German newspaper) 
<a href="http://www.stuttgarter-zeitung.de/inhalt.augmented-human-technik-fuer-die-sinne.b858898f-9844-4999-bcb2-b47eb892219f.html">&ldquo;Technik f&uuml;r die Sinne&rdquo; - interview at the 4th Augmented Human International Conference in Stuttgart, Germany</a> 
Eva Wolfangel, March 10, 2013 

RuptlyTV (German TV) 
March 7, 2013 
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmnM9XNglOk">&ldquo;Germany: Spider Sense augmentation lets you react like Spiderman&rdquo;</a> 

popCultured 
<a href="http://youtu.be/CHC9PPfFJb8">&ldquo;Spidey Sense Suit To Make You Like Spiderman?&rdquo;</a> 
by Samantha Schacher, et. al., March 4, 2013 

CNET 
<a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57571638-1/feel-like-spidey-in-a-real-life-spider-sense-suit/">&ldquo;Feel like Spidey in a real-life spider-sense suit&rdquo;</a> 
by Leslie Katz, February 27, 2013 

Wired 
<a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/02/spiderman-physics/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Top+Stories%29">&ldquo;Spider-Man Physics: How Real Is the Superhero?&rdquo;</a> 
by Nadia Drake, February 26, 2013 

<a href="http://mailview.custombriefings.com/mailview.aspx?m=2013022601asee&amp;r=5866572-8ea7">First Bell</a>, prepared by American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) 
February 26, 2013 

The Verge 
<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/23/4020738/spidersense-ultrasound-suit">&ldquo;SpiderSense ultrasound suit gives wearers a sixth sense&rdquo;</a> 
by Louis Goddard, February 23, 2013 

New York Daily News 
<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/spider-man-suit-wearer-superhero-senses-article-1.1271706#ixzz2LwLMoXlH">&ldquo;Scientists create &lsquo;Spider-Man&rsquo; suit that gives wearers superhero&rsquo;s &lsquo;spider sense&rsquo;&rdquo;</a> 
by Michael Walsh, February 23, 2013 

io9 
<a href="http://io9.com/5986362/real+life-spidey-sense-suit-tingles-when-objects-get-close">&ldquo;Real-life Spidey Sense suit tingles when objects get close&rdquo;</a> 
by Lauren Davis, February 23, 2013 

Gizmodo 
<a href="http://gizmodo.com/superpowers/">&ldquo;You Can Be a Real Superhero With This Crazy Spider-Sense Robot Suit&rdquo;</a> 
by Eric Limer, February 23, 2013 

Forbes 
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2013/02/23/prototype-suit-gives-you-real-life-spider-sense/">&ldquo;This Suit Gives You A Real Life Spider-Sense&rdquo;</a> 
by Alex Knapp, February 23, 2013 

MSN 
<a href="http://now.msn.com/victor-mateevitsis-suit-gives-wearer-spidey-sense">&ldquo;Researcher makes a real-life &lsquo;Spidey Sense&rsquo; suit&rdquo;</a> 
Reprinted from Discovery Communications, February 22, 2013 

MailOnine (DailyMail, U.K.) 
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2282818/The-SpiderSense-suit-ability-detect-impending-danger-360-degrees-around.html?ito=feeds-newsxml">&ldquo;The suit that gives you &lsquo;Spidey Sense&rsquo; just like Spider-Man by tingling when there is impending danger&rdquo;</a> 
by Damien Gayle, February 22, 2013 

Engadget 
<a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/22/spidersense-suit/">&ldquo;SpiderSense ultrasonic radar suit lets you know when danger is near&rdquo;</a> 
by Daniel Cooper, February 22, 2013 

Discovery Communications 
<a href="http://news.discovery.com/tech/robotics/body-suit-spidey-sense-130222.htm">&ldquo;Body Suit Gives You Real-Life &lsquo;Spidey Sense&rsquo;&rdquo;</a> 
by Nic Halverson, February 22, 2013 

New Scientist 
<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21729056.700-spideysense-suit-tingles-when-someone-gets-too-close.html">&ldquo;Spidey-sense suit tingles when someone gets too close&rdquo;</a> 
by Hal Hodson, February 22, 2013 

In addition, SpiderSense news was also tweeted by @Science to 450,000 followers on February 22. And, Mateevitsi was contacted by Discovery Channel Canada&rsquo;s Daily Planet science and technology program for an interview. 

SpiderSense (previously called NinjaVision) is an outgrowth of the UIC Human Augmentics course that was developed and taught in Spring 2012 by Jason Leigh and Robert Kenyon. The course is again offered this semester. Human Augmentics refers to a new interdisciplinary field of study aimed at the research and development of technologies to expand the capabilities and characteristics of humans. 

For information: 
<a href="http://www.evl.uic.edu/spiff/class/cs594/">Spring 2013 course syllabus</a> 
<a href="http://www.evl.uic.edu/core.php?mod=4&amp;type=4&amp;indi=810">Spring 2012 course</a>

SpiderSense enables the wearer to sense danger in his environment.

Spidey-sense suit tingles when someone gets too close

Today the Associated Press issued the following article, photographs and video about the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory&rsquo;s CAVE2&trade; System, which is appearing in a variety of media outlets worldwide. 

Read the Associated Press article: <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/future-science-using-3d-worlds-visualize-data">Future science: Using 3D worlds to visualize data</a> 

Review the <a href="http://www.apimages.com/Search.aspx?st=k&amp;remem=x&amp;entity=&amp;kw=cave2&amp;intv=None&amp;shgroup=-10&amp;sh=10">photographs in the article</a> and a short video - <a href="http://youtu.be/aetwWTER4hE">First Person: a Big 3D Experience for Scientists</a>. 

In addition, link to a longer video <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-video/9882646/Star-Trek-style-holodeck-becomes-reality-as-scientists-invent-3D-vitual-reality-system.html">Star Trek-style holodeck becomes reality as scientists invent 3D virtual reality system</a>. 

DISCOVERY CANADA&rsquo;s &ldquo;Daily Planet&rdquo; show, which has a digital technology segment called &ldquo;Digit@l&rdquo; produced and hosted by Lucas Cochran, picked up the Associated Press news and did their own <a href="http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/#clip869617">coverage of the CAVE2&trade; System</a>, which aired the evening of February 20, 2013; UIC appears about 1:24 minutes into the episode.

EVL Director Jason Leigh wearing CAVE2&trade; 3D tracked glasses.

Associated Press releases print and video stories about UIC / EVL CAVE2&trade; System

EVL associate professor, Daria Tsoupikova presents her collaborative research at the 2013 NextMed NMVR20 Conference in San Diego, CA. Tsoupikova&rsquo;s presentation describes a Virtual Reality (VR) system designed for hand rehabilitation therapy following stroke. The system, developed by an interdisciplinary team of engineers, art therapists, occupational therapists, and VR artist was designed to improve patient&rsquo;s motivation and engagement during post stroke rehabilitation. The presentation describes system design, development, and user testing for efficiency, subject&rsquo;s satisfaction and clinical feasibility. Initial results are outlined. Early user study results demonstrate the system is operational and can facilitate therapy for post stroke patients with upper extremity impairment. 

The &ldquo;Medicine Meets Virtual Reality&rdquo; conference, NextMed / MMVR has served as a forum for researchers harnessing IT advances for the benefit of patient diagnosis and care, medical education, and procedural training since 1992. Over the years, its curriculum expanded well beyond virtual reality. The conference now presents a wide spectrum of innovation and examines emerging technologies - and envision future directions for the field.

Virtual Reality Environment Assisting Post Stroke Hand Rehabilitation

Virtual reality scene: tea party at the March Hare&rsquo;s cottage used in the rehab therapy application.

NextMed MMVR20 Conference

CAVE2&trade; Open Houses are being held this semester to accommodate people interested in experiencing UIC&rsquo;s new Virtual Reality Environment. Developed by the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), this new system has more brightness, contrast and resolution than the original CAVE&trade; System that EVL pioneered in 1992. Immerse yourselves in cyberspace - fly over Mars, enter molecular structures, stand inside train tracks to observe distortion as high-speed trains roar past, explore the brain&rsquo;s vasculature, or walk through architectural spaces. 

Open Houses will be held 3-6pm in the Engineering Research Facility on Wednesday, February 20, April 3 and April 24. Complete the <a href="http://tinyurl.com/c3jutwe">Open House sign-up form</a> to participate. Space is limited, and drop-ins are not guaranteed admittance. 

For more information on the CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment, see: 
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.evl.uic.edu/core.php?mod=4&amp;type=1&amp;indi=424">www.evl.uic.edu/core.php?mod=4&amp;type=1&amp;indi=424</a></li>
<li><a href="http://youtu.be/yf0sllpZx3w">youtu.be/yf0sllpZx3w</a></li>
</ul>

CAVE2&trade; Open Houses, Spring Semester 2013

EDITOR&rsquo;S NOTE: The University of Chicago&rsquo;s Computation Institute (CI), on February 6, 2013, published the article &ldquo;The Walls of the Visualization Cave,&rdquo; extolling the value of visualization and the role of the UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) in understanding the &ldquo;need for visualization long before Big Data became a buzzword.&rdquo; 

The article was an outcome of a presentation that EVL director Jason Leigh gave at the University of Chicago Medical Center on January 29th. Leigh&rsquo;s presentation was the first Fred Dech Memorial Lecture, in honor of Dech, an employee at the University of Chicago Computation Institute and Department of Surgery and an EVL MFA graduate, who passed away in 2011. 

Leigh&rsquo;s talk focused on EVL&rsquo;s efforts to enable scientific collaboration. Here are excerpts of the article: 

[Leigh explains that in office environments] people like to spread their information out, which makes it easy to detect links between disparate data points and work with others on a common problem. The practice is similar to the concept of the &ldquo;commons,&rdquo; a shared, central space in a town or college campus where people come together to collaborate. The question, Leigh asked, is how can we replicate and amplify these commons with technology? 

That thinking was the inspiration for LambdaVision, a giant video wall first developed by EVL in 2004. The 2009 version was constructed as a giant touch screen - &ldquo;like an iPad on steroids,&rdquo; Leigh said. But the EVL wasn&rsquo;t content to stop at two dimensions, Leigh said. Instead, they merged the interactive features of LambdaVision with an older project called the CAVE, originally developed in the early 1990&rsquo;s as a room-sized virtual reality environment that used projectors to immerse users in 360 degrees of graphics. Its progeny, CAVE2, instead uses a near-circle of 72 3D flat-screen panels and 4000 times the computing capacity to produce what Leigh called a &ldquo;hybrid reality environment.&rdquo; 

As Professor of Surgery John Alverdy described the experience: &ldquo;I was standing inside the Circle of Willis, a ring of blood vessels inside the brain. If you can be immersed in this environment, and it&rsquo;s big enough&hellip; it completely allows you to contextualize the anatomy to what we do in the operating room.&rdquo; 

Despite all the high-powered gadgetry on display, it was reassuring that the EVL technologies were built on relatively simple human psychology - the urge to physically interact with one&rsquo;s environment and to share the experience with others. Even as big data and advanced computation pushes us towards the future of science, the primitive skills of our visual system remain some of the most powerful tools we possess. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s using the power of your eyes to do something that computers aren&rsquo;t very good at,&rdquo; Leigh said. 

<a href="http://compinst.org/2013/02/06/the-walls-of-the-visualization-cave/">Read the entire article</a> 

CAVE and CAVE2 are trademarks of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

The Walls of the Visualization Cave

EVL PhD candidate Alessandro Febretti discusses the CAVE2&trade; instrumentation research and developed at the annual IS&amp;T / SPIE Electronic Imaging Science and Technology 2013 Conference. In conjunction with topics included in the Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality 2013, program track: 3D Imaging, Interaction, and Metrology, &ldquo;CAVE2: a hybrid reality environment for immersive simulation and information analysis&rdquo; (Paper 8649-2) will be presented Monday February 4, 2013, 9:50 AM - 10:10 AM. 

Session 1: Welcome to Future Tech 3000 will open this program track at the <a href="Http://sanfranciscoairport.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html">Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel</a>, Harbour Room A. 

Program committee members include EVL alumni Margaret Dolinsky (Indiana University) and Todd Margolis (University of California, San Diego) 

<a href="http://spie.org/app/program/index.cfm?fuseaction=conferencedetail&amp;export_id=x16280&amp;ID=x16223&amp;redir=x16223.xml&amp;conference_id=997512&amp;event_id=996859&amp;pro">SPIE 2013 Program Listing</a>

SPIE 2013 CAVE2 Paper

CAVE2 can run in Hybrid mode, to juxtapose high-resolution 2D and 3D datasets side-by-side.

SPIE 2013, The Engineering Reality of Virtual Reality

The CAVE2&trade; Hybrid Reality Environment, developed by the University of Illinois at Chicago&rsquo;s Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL), is a featured story in the current issue of the CDW magazine, EDTECH: FOCUS ON HIGHER EDUCATION. The article reviews the technology used to build the CAVE2&trade; system, and how today&rsquo;s tiled LCD display walls are a major improvement over the projection technology used to build the original CAVE&trade; twenty years ago. 

&ldquo;In the 1990s, the only technology available to us was projectors, and they had all these limitations,&rdquo; [Jason Leigh, UIC computer science professor and EVL director] says. &ldquo;They were dim, expensive, hard to calibrate, and the color was frequently off. But we understood early on that things like CAVEs&trade; and tiled display walls were the new lenses through which scientists were going to look at their data. If they were going to spend millions of dollars on instruments for generating or collecting all their data, it made sense to us that they&rsquo;d want something that gives them the best look at their data. Why look at it with a poor display?&rdquo; 

In 2002, EVL began prototyping tiled, flat-panel LCD screen walls. Early LCD screens were expensive and surrounded by thick frames, or bezels. When arranged together to make up a bigger screen, unsightly gaps created distortions in the picture. They also did not project in stereoscopic 3D. But the researchers at EVL believed - correctly - that display manufacturers would address such limitations over time, making LCDs well suited to CAVE&trade; designs. 

Launched in October 2012, CAVE2&trade; is a circular room - 24 feet in diameter, roughly 7 feet high - comprising 18 columns of four 46-inch LCD screens. CAVE2&trade; was built in the same space as UIC&rsquo;s original CAVE&trade;, but the new incarnation offers much more room to move around. &ldquo;The quality of the graphics is so much better,&rdquo; says Andy Johnson, UIC associate professor of computer science and a collaborator on CAVE&trade;, who says that he was drawn to the EVL years ago by the original CAVE&trade; design. &ldquo;The contrast is better, the color is better, the number of pixels is incredible. Moving around the space feels more natural. It&rsquo;s a much better collaborative experience than it was before.&rdquo; 

<a href="http://www.edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2013/01/university-illinois-chicago-virtual-realitys-cave-pioneer">Read the entire article</a>

Events - 2013

Tenure-Track Faculty Positions, UIC Electronic Visualization Laboratory

EVL and NASA ENDURANCE on Al Jazeera America

Interactive supercomputing for simulation-based brain research

VISTech ’13 Workshop: Visualization Infrastructure and Systems Technology

Vadiza and SAGE™: Learn more at SC13

Middle-school kids create a virtual future in 3-D

Contact