- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

Walt Disney animator to share career experiences

Ajani Oyindamola — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 13:15:55 +0000

University of Arkansas at Little Rock students and employees have the chance to draw on the experiences of an animation expert with more than 20 years of industry experience. , technical director at Walt Disney Animation Studios, will speak at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, at the Engineering and Information Technology Building auditorium. In “The Road to Animation: A Personal Journey through Art, Engineering, and Hollywood,” Siegel will discuss his education, experiences, motivation, and influences as he grew up in the computer graphics industry. For the past 20 years, Siegel worked in the visual effects and animation industry. His movie credits include “The Matrix,” “Frozen,” and “Big Hero 6.” Siegel received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from San Francisco State University in 1989, and received his master’s degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is also an alumnus of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts Animation program. A meet-and-greet reception will be held in the Engineering and Information Technology Building lobby immediately following Lewis’ talk. Please RSVP to eacinfo@ualr.edu.

Emerging Analytics Center to host lecture on innovation and entrepreneurship

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 14:29:43 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Emerging Analytics Center will host a lecture on the pathway from innovation to entrepreneurship Friday, May 6. Rudolph Darken will give his lecture, at noon, May 6, in the Engineering and Information Technology Building Auditorium. Darken, a professor of computer science at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, will discuss the key elements of taking an idea from its conception to a commercialized product, with a particular focus on how this happens within universities. The discussion will conclude with advice on what universities can do to encourage technical innovation and successful commercial ventures. Darken is a former director of the Modeling, Virtual Environments, and Simulation (MOVES) Institute. He has served on advisory boards for the NASA Ames Research Center, the National Science Foundation, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and several technology companies. He was also an associate editor of Presence Journal. He received his bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago and his master’s degree and doctorate in computer science from George Washington University. He is pursuing a law degree from Monterey College of Law and is expected to graduate in December 2016.

��Vlog��ýLR plays role in power plant cyber security systems

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 17:13:35 +0000

With a more than $12 million grant from the , ��Vlog��ýLR and four other universities are taking on cyber crime. Led by the University of Arkansas, the team, along with several industry partners, launched the Secure Electric Energy Delivery Systems (SEEDS) Center, where they will develop cutting-edge technologies to make power delivery systems less vulnerable to cyber attacks. Alan Mantooth and Qinghua Li of the University of Arkansas are the principal investigators of the project, titled “An Interdisciplinary Approach to Integratable, Composable, and Evolvable Cybersecurity in Energy Delivery Systems.” The project received $12.2 million from the Department of Energy to fund five years of research. Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, director of the Emerging Analytics Center, will lead the ��Vlog��ýLR portion of the project. As a subaward recipient, ��Vlog��ýLR is slated to receive $889,456 over the next five years. Mantooth, Li, and Cruz-Neira will be joined by Bruno Sinopoli of Carnegie Mellon University, Rick Blum of Lehigh University, Osama Mohammad of Florida International University, and Philip Huff of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. The team will also engage students in the research, training them in cybersecurity science and practices. The heart of the SEEDS Center’s mission is to investigate “integratable, composable, and evolvable” methods for understanding and managing cybersecurity for the nation’s power grid. The researchers will ground the new security software on these principles, ensuring that it can be adapted, expanded, and modified for a variety of systems and situations. With cybercrime becoming a serious concern for both private and government organizations, the proposed security tools meet an immediate, widespread need. Researchers will design software tools that defend electrical systems against cyber attacks that would otherwise disable them. To design the best possible security measures, the research team will develop the new tools from the ground up, from preliminary risk assessment to final product testing. Throughout the project, Cruz-Neira and the Emerging Analytics Center staff will build visualizations of the anticipated cyber attacks and of the security tools in action, utilizing the center’s state-of-the-art virtual reality and visualization resources. These complex visual representations will also be used to integrate the research results from the other institutions into a single situation awareness environment. The visual representations will be invaluable to both the researchers and the systems’ operators, aiding their understanding and enhancing their experience in managing the safety of the national power grid. “The impact of this research is tremendous,” the researchers stated in their proposal. “By providing more reliable delivery of power as a result of reducing outages caused by cyber attacks, the electric power system remains up and economic loss associated with downtime is eliminated.” This material references work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DE-OE0000779. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof.

��Vlog��ýLR Emerging Analytics Center on display at Virtual Reality Summit

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 14:21:23 +0000

The Emerging Analytics Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will provide a comprehensive display of innovative virtual reality and augmented reality technology at Rising Media’s Virtual Reality Summit April 11-12 in New York City. The is Rising Media’s latest conference and expo dedicated to advancing and exploring frontier technologies. The event features a two-day conference program covering both the current and future markets of VR/AR (virtual reality/augmented reality) across a full spectrum of industries, including investment, marketing and advertising, entertainment, gaming, journalism, and architecture. Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, director of the Emerging Analytics Center, will also deliver a session, “Beyond Fun and Games: VR as a Tool of the Trade,” at the Virtual Reality Summit. In addition, the center will showcase several of its current projects at the summit, including its interactive and immersive virtual reality table, “Anatomical Eyes.” Anatomical Eyes allows the user to interactively dissect a virtual human body as a medical and educational resource. One of the center’s mobile apps on display allows users to experience ��Vlog��ýLR’s Al Baleed archaeology site in Oman. Al Baleed is a large ancient and medieval port city on the Indian Ocean coast in southern Oman. Other applications on display include two apps. “Potel: Interactive Pottery and 3D Printing” and “IsoSculpt,” which allow users to create pottery and sculptures in a virtual environment.

Dr. Mary Good to receive seventh Fribourgh Award (updated)

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 16:35:05 +0000

Dr. Mary L. Good, an innovator in economic development and technology in Arkansas, will be honored during the seventh annual Fribourgh Award Reception Sept. 15 at the Pleasant Valley Country Club.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, organizers had to postpone the event previously scheduled for April 7.

Sponsorships range from $1,000 to $10,000 and are available at ualr.at/good or by contacting Peggy Mitchell at 501.683.7063 or prmitchell@ualr.edu.

Reservations will go on sale beginning July 1 and are $75 per person ($50 is tax deductible).

Proceeds benefit the Science and Mathematics Leadership Endowed Scholarship Fund for undergraduate students.

Good will become the seventh recipient of the Fribourgh Award, a recognition given to individuals who have made considerable contributions to the state through the disciplines of mathematics and science.

“Mary Good is a trailblazer, not just at ��Vlog��ýLR or in Arkansas, but nationally. She has been a player in driving economic development in the state and has used her expertise to help shape policy and practice in engineering, research, and technology,” said Chancellor Joel E. Anderson.

Good’s public service record is extensive having served in various federal, state, and local positions such as undersecretary for technology for the Technology Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce, member of U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and chair of the Little Rock Technology Park Authority Board.

Good’s commitment to ��Vlog��ýLR is evident in her roles as special adviser for economic development to Chancellor Anderson, chair of ��Vlog��ýLR’s George W. Donaghey Emerging Analytics Center Management Board, and founding dean of ��Vlog��ýLR College of Engineering and Information Technology.

“Our students and our university are fortunate to have had Good involved in shaping the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology, ��Vlog��ýLR TechLaunch, and other important parts of our university,” added Anderson.

Created in 2010, the Fribourgh Award honors the late Dr. James H. Fribourgh, ��Vlog��ýLR professor emeritus, who served the university for more than 45 years as chair of Life Sciences, interim chancellor, vice chancellor for academic affairs, and distinguished professor of biology.

In addition to Fribourgh, past recipients include Jerry B. Adams, president and CEO of Arkansas Research Alliance; H. Watt Gregory III, partner at Kutak Rock LLP; Dr. Charles E. Hathaway, ��Vlog��ýLR chancellor emeritus and Donaghey distinguished professor; Peter Banko, president and CEO of St. Vincent Health System; and Dr. James Hendren, former CEO and chairman of Arkansas Systems Inc. (ARKSYS).

��Vlog��ýLR doctoral student wins award in virtual reality competition

Ajani Oyindamola — Tue, 09 Feb 2016 22:58:30 +0000

A doctoral student at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has won the community favorite award for his pottery-making virtual reality application. “PotelRVR is a mix between a simulator and entertainment system for letting people engage their creativity through pottery making,” said Juan Munoz, a first-year doctoral student in integrated computing. His program, , won the community favorite award in the competition.

Juan Munoz

In addition, the app has also been selected as one of eight projects that will be on display at the Laval Virtual show, which showcases innovations and new technologies focusing on virtual reality and augmented reality, March 23-27 in Laval, France. Eight organizations will present their apps during the five-day show and compete for a chance to win the Best VR/AR Contents Award. Munoz, a Colombia native designed PotelRVR as a class project in Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira’s virtual reality graduate class and created the app in ��Vlog��ýLR’s George W. Donaghey Emerging Analytics Center. The app has a unique feature, which allows users to not only create pottery in the virtual world, but also to print their creations using a 3-D printer. “Normally, we bring the real world into the virtual, but this is the reverse,” said Cruz-Neira, director of the Emerging Analytics Center. “We are able to bring the virtual into the real world through 3-D printing. Potel gives us a virtual lump of clay, and you can use your hands as you would in real life and shape that clay. The cool part is once you finish your art piece in the virtual world, you can get it out of the virtual world by printing it on a 3-D printer.” More than 1,900 developers from 89 countries submitted over 180 entries competing for $75,000 in cash and prizes during the Leap Motion 3D Jam. Over six weeks, members of the Leap Motion community downloaded the contest entries and voted for their favorites via social media. Munoz’s project was voted one of two audience favorites. He won a $500 prize and a free license for Unity, professional gaming software valued at $2,000. One of the most challenging aspects of creating the app was building hardware that allows the user to experience the physical feeling of shaping clay in a virtual world. “We needed a sensory device to let users know they were touching the clay in the virtual world,” Munoz said. “We created a custom hardware for the application, so when your hand is close enough to the virtual clay, small vibrators in your hand are activated so that you know you are touching the clay.” This virtual reality app requires the use of an Oculus Rift DK2 and a Leap Motion controller. To learn more about PotelRVR, visit. Photo upper right: ��Vlog��ýLR doctoral student, Juan Munoz, wins audience favorite award in the Leap Motion 3D Jam Competition with his virtual reality app, PotelRVR. Photographed in the Emerging Analytics Center, Engineering and Information Technology Building on February 4, 2016. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III/Office of Communications.

��Vlog��ýLR makes debut at Supercomputing conference

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 16:53:42 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Emerging Analytics Center recently showcased two virtual reality student projects during , an international conference for high performance computing, networking, storage, and analysis.

During the Nov. 15-20 conference in Austin, Texas, the Emerging Analytics Center (EAC) shared booth No. 592 with the Great Plains Network. This represented the first time the University of Arkansas at Little Rock had a presence in the prestigious scientific conference. “EAC’s expertise is bringing virtual reality to the HPC (high performing computing) community, opening new and exciting research opportunities aligned with the current trends in visualization,” said Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, EAC director. “Virtual reality is much more than fun and games; it is a powerful tool for scientific research, discovery, and learning.” SC attracts 10,000-plus attendees from throughout the world, bringing together an exclusive group of scientists, researchers, department managers, lab directors, and funding program directors from all corners of the HPC and networking industry. “It is exciting to see ��Vlog��ýLR becoming part of the leading community in HPC, having a visible contribution to the conference’s exhibit area showcasing the talent of our students and faculty” Cruz-Neira said. The projects and systems the EAC showed this year represent a glimpse of what is to come with recent advances in virtual reality and how this emerging technology can support and enhance scientific insight. This year’s demonstrations were made possible by support from the George W. Donaghey Foundation and the .

��Vlog��ýLR to lead Big Data Hub effort in Arkansas

Shanna Fitzgerald — Tue, 03 Nov 2015 21:09:42 +0000

Arkansas researchers will play an important role in a national effort to drive innovation through mass amounts of data. �� The Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina’s Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) will co-direct the effort to develop a Big Data Regional Innovation Hub serving 16 Southern states — including Arkansas — and the District of Columbia. The South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub (South BD Hub), which will be managed jointly by Georgia Tech and UNC-Chapel Hill, is part of the National Science Foundation’s four Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs (BD Hubs) announced this week. For the national news release, . NSF officials expect the regional hubs to accelerate current efforts to “access, analyze and draw insights from massive amounts of data” in a variety of fields, with the potential to improve efficiency and ultimately lead to a higher quality of life. In Arkansas, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will take the lead, becoming the hub for visualization and interactive analytics tools for big data, said Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, director of the George W. Donaghey ��Vlog��ýLR Emerging Analytics Center.�� Cruz-Neira is a senior partner for the South BD Hub and also will serve on its steering committee. Visualization is the key to understanding big data, Cruz-Neira said, adding that visual analytics impact everything from corporate decisions, to cutting-edge research, to national security, to entertainment. “Basically, visualization applies to the entire spectrum of human activities,” Cruz-Neira said. The new collaboration will provide connections and opportunities for problem-solving that could benefit numerous industries, Cruz-Neira said, as institutions with their own unique analytics-related strengths combine their expertise. For the full regional news release,

Virtual reality on display at ��Vlog��ýLR

Taylor Aldana — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 16:47:09 +0000

Members of the central Arkansas community recently had a unique opportunity to test prototypes and cutting-edge technology as they took a walk through virtual environments at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock George W. Donaghey Emerging Analytics Center. The Emerging Analytics Center, headed by Director Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, is home to a group of faculty, staff, and students performing virtual reality, visualization, and interactive technology research. During the open house tour Oct. 16-17, attendees chatted with EAC visionaries, digital innovators, and engineers, some of whom pioneered the technology on display. The two-day event drew people from a variety of backgrounds, including ��Vlog��ýLR graduate Linda Johnson, who brought her grandson Max and his friend Nathan, both fifth-graders. “It was wonderful,” Johnson said. “I would like to see more things like that.” Multiple virtual reality projects were available for visitors to explore. Attendees had the opportunity to try an Oculus Rift device, and a helicopter flight simulator allowed visitors a chance to interact with a prototype developed for training helicopter pilots. In one of the rooms, participants saw examples of virtual and augmented reality applications for the medical field, and in another area, they were drawn into immersive spaces with interactive interior design and a walk-through of plans for a revamped University Avenue near the ��Vlog��ýLR campus.

EAC open house to introduce visitors to virtual worlds

Gloria King — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 14:48:44 +0000

Curious about the latest in virtual reality and ground-breaking technology? The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Emerging Analytics Center (EAC) will host an Open House Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16-17. The free event welcomes visitors between the hours of 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., but . EAC Director Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira said the event, which will engage the center’s faculty, staff, and students in a variety of hands-on activities, is an opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in computer-generated worlds. “Our hope is the visitor is captivated by the discovery, wonder, and fun aspects of virtual and augmented realities,” Cruz-Neira said. Attendees will experience the scientific applications, engineering environments, architectural designs, training activities, educational experiences, business analytics, and art spaces that stem from the dynamics of virtual and augmented reality, she said. Featured applications include using a 26-projector immersive CAVE, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, a 180-degree immersion dome, and a variety of mobile devices to demonstrate all the center offers. “Whether you are a professional seeking technology strategies to enhance your business, a parent wanting to expose your children to emerging technologies, or an inquiring mind who wants to know what’s on the technology horizon in Arkansas, this is your event,” Cruz-Neira said. Cruz-Neira added that visitors will be inspired by ��Vlog��ýLR’s student and faculty creativity and amazed at how virtual reality is made. “The EAC is a space where art, science and technology intersect. You will be proud to see all that is happening right here at ��Vlog��ýLR,” she said. For tickets and other event information or contact Kendra Boyle at EACevents@ualr.edu or at 501.569.8380. About the EAC The is a convergence of expertise in virtual, augmented and mixed reality, visual analytics, and immersive visualization. The EAC brings together innovative faculty, talented students, experienced researchers, and dynamic industry partners to address large-scale problems to support and advance Arkansas’s competitiveness, technological innovation, and visionary leadership.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Walt Disney animator to share career experiences

Emerging Analytics Center to host lecture on innovation and entrepreneurship

����Vlog��ýLR plays role in power plant cyber security systems

����Vlog��ýLR Emerging Analytics Center on display at Virtual Reality Summit

Dr. Mary Good to receive seventh Fribourgh Award (updated)

����Vlog��ýLR doctoral student wins award in virtual reality competition

����Vlog��ýLR makes debut at Supercomputing conference

����Vlog��ýLR to lead Big Data Hub effort in Arkansas

Virtual reality on display at ����Vlog��ýLR