[4eyes] TALK: February 12, Recent developments in physics-based sound rendering, Doug James, Cornell University

[Theodore Kim]

Hello everybody,

I have invited Doug James from Cornell University to come give a talk
next Tuesday, 2/12, from 1-2 PM in ESB 1001. He is doing some of the
most interesting and sophisticated research in realistic sound
synthesis today, and will be covering topics that I expect are
particularly relevant to the MAT community.

You can see and listen to some of his work via the YouTube videos on
his webpage:
  http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~djames/

Doug is also available to meet with faculty and students throughout
the day, so if you are interested, please let Marisa
(marisa at mat.ucsb.edu) know.

Hope to see you there!
Ted

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SPEAKER: Doug L. James
Associate Professor, Cornell University

TITLE: Recent developments in physics-based sound rendering
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
1:00 - 2:00 PM
ESB 1001

ABSTRACT:

Natural sounds are all around us. The sound of my son struggling to
get out of his wet rain coat, or rain boots squeaking across the
floor. The sound of lemonade pouring into an ice-filled glass, or the
ocean crashing at your feet. The sound of an agitated shopping cart
plunging down a flight of stairs, or the familiar roar of a camp fire.
Reality produces these sounds "for free," but how can we best
synthesize them in future computer-simulated realities?

Decades of advances in computer graphics and physics-based simulation
have made it possible to convincingly animate a wide range of
phenomena, such as contacting rigid and deformable bodies, fracturing
solids, splashing water, and roaring fire. Such simulations will
inevitably run in real time one day, paving the way for interactive
virtual environments. Unfortunately, the realities simulated by
current algorithms are essentially "silent movies," with sound added
as an afterthought. In this talk, I will discuss our attempts to
change that. Our research on physics-based sound rendering aims to
enable future immersive experiences where simulated graphics, motion,
and sound are synchronized and highly engaging. No prior knowledge of
sound rendering will be assumed.

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BIOGRAPHY: Doug L. James is Associate Professor of Computer Science at
Cornell University. He holds three degrees in applied mathematics,
including a Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of British Columbia. In
2002 he joined the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon
University as an Assistant Professor, then in 2006 he became an
Associate Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University. His
research interests are computer graphics, physically based animation,
reduced-order physics models, and multi-sensory physics applications
such as sound rendering and haptic force-feedback rendering. Doug is a
recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award, a fellow of
the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and spent his 2011-12 sabbatical
working on "sound rendering" under a Guggenheim fellowship.