Ryan is a student at Texas A&M University closing in on a Master’s degree in Visualization Sciences. His primary areas of study are procedurally generated / simulated visual effects for CGI, game design and development, and shader programming. In his 6 year long part-time career in computer graphics he has worked as a 3D artist creating architectural pre-visualizations at M2 Studio in Dallas and as a Flash programmer for a start-up web design studio he helped to conceive. He currently works at an on-campus position developing an educational FPS-style video game.

Justin Bronn is lead developer of GeoDjango, an official contrib application included in Django, that adds support for geographic fields, data, and spatial queries. Prior to creating GeoDjango, Justin worked as a patent engineer for an intellectual property boutique in Houston and developed scientific data analysis applications for the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Justin received his J.D. from the University of Houston, and his B.S. with honors in Computer Science from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Mike de la Flor is a freelance medical illustrator, animator, instructor and writer. He’s the author of The Digital Biomedical Illustration Handbook (Thomson 2004) and other CG books including the The Carrara 5 Pro Handbook (Thomson 2005). Mike has written over 75 articles, reviews, and tutorials for 3DWorld, Studio Monthly, Computer Arts, Computer Graphics World, MacFormat, and MacWorld magazines. Mike has also been an adjunct instructor of computer graphics at Kingwood College.

Stephen is the owner of 3d Houston – a multimedia company that specializes in 3d rendering, Content Management System driven websites, promotional videos, and customized software training. Stephen has a background in technical training, He taught at ITT Tech for 5 years- where he taught multimedia. He also worked at NASA as a technical instructor, and has a background in aviation/aerospace as well. Stephen has been a consultant to the education field, training teachers and professors how to integrate technology into the classroom. Currently, he is running 3d Houston, successfully completing projects for companies in the following fields: oil & gas, construction/remodeling, architecture, horticulture, nutrition, churches, real estate, software development and engineering.

Lars Doucet is the founder and lead designer of Brain Juice Games, LLC, an independent game company based in Bryan, Texas, specializing in serious/applied games. Since 2008 he has consulted for various serious games grants at Texas A&M University, and continues to work with Houston Advanced Research Center(HARC) on original titles such as Super Energy Apocalypse, an award-winning game about sustainable energy use. He is also working with Wake Forest University on CellCraft, a game about cellular biology, as lead programmer and associate designer. He is natively fluent in Norwegian and also speaks Spanish and lives in Bryan, Texas with his wife Emily. His interests include science fiction, sustainable living, philosophy, and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. When not working, Lars likes to write, play board games, watch movies, and spend time outdoors. Lars Doucet can be reached at lars.doucet AT gmail DOT com or www.brainjuicegames.com.

Nathan Eror is the founder of iPhone game studio Free Time Studios. He has been building iPhone apps since the initial release of the SDK and has nearly 10 years of experience developing software. In that time he has worked on PlayStation2 and GameCube tools at Metrowerks, the customer portal at Rackspace, GIS visualization toolkits at INT, as well as his fair share of “enterprise” software at JPMorgan Chase. Most recently, he co-founded the web 2.0 photo sharing site http://www.natuba.com/. Nathan lives in Houston, TX where he feels awkward talking about himself in the third person.

Johannes Huber is an alumni of the Gnomon School of Visual Effects and has worked in the entertainment industry as an artist, technical adviser and project manager for fourteen years. His past clients include Electronic Arts, Paramount Pictures, Interplay Games and he has worked in every stage of production from initial concept to final product release. He has also been an instructor for high end graphics programs such as Autodesk’s Maya, and Apple’s Shake compositing system as well as teaching new technologies such as digital sculpting and consulting on how digital art can be used as an effective cost and time saving tool for businesses running the gamut from medical visualization to product design to corporate identity.

EunSook Kwon, a professor and director, has developed the curriculum of the new ID program at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, University of Houston, and built it as a hub for the design community in the southern United States. Kwon has published and lectured throughout the world about creative design thinking and design strategy development. She has consulted to numerous corporations, including Amore Pacific Co. and Samsung, and has conducted private educational programs for government agencies and corporations. She taught design studios and theories at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) for 13 years before her move to Houston. Recently, she was appointed for Director General of Seoul Design Olympiad 2008, a comprehensive design event that develops the design industry, promotes young designers, increases Seoul’s design competitiveness and pursues globalization. She played a key role in directing the theme, planning and executing the large-scale design event. About 2 million visitors participated at the 21 days design exhibitions and festival, centering around the main stadium of Jamsil Sports Complex. Kwon holds a BFA in industrial design from Seoul National University, master’s degrees in industrial design from Seoul National University (MFA) and the Ohio State University (MA), and a PhD in arts education from the Ohio State University. She is an editorial board member of Design Issues and member of education council of IDSA (Industrial Design Society of America).

A native Houstonian, Pappas first left Texas to study art and art history at Duke University. After graduating, Pappas moved to Boston to pursue a Masters in Architecture at Harvard University. Since completing architecture school in 2003, Pappas has been working as an architect; the first three years at a boutique firm in Boston, and the last three at Gensler in Houston. This year has brought quite a bit of change. In 2009, Pappas completed her MBA from Rice University and had her first child, a beautiful baby girl. Upon completing her maternity leave, Pappas will begin working for Pappas Restaurants.

Tony is the sales manager and head of application support at Biway Media Inc, a local company providing sales and support for video production, post-production, and 3D animation tools. His education was in music composition in Houston and California. His experience ranges from music composition and production with companies like Saga Nintendo, Blue Sky Studio and Z Rock Records to Film, Video and Animation for companies like NFL Films, Houston Digital Studios, The China Film Group, Mandarin Media Group, Interplay, Jack Daniels Reliant Energy and more. He is currently doing special effects work on a local Indy film and character animation on a Las Angeles based all CG movie. Tony is known in the Houston area for hosting the Lighwave user group and the SoftImage user group for many years.

Vikas Sodhani is one of the designers behind ila&i, a unique fine jewelry line. His background started at MIT where he studied Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. With a foundation in engineering and a fascination with design and art Vikas started ila&i with his sibling, Ila. ila&i uses the latest 3d modeling and rapid prototyping technologies to aid and streamline their design process. With respect to design and craftsmenship, ila&i must always balance the perfection of 3d modeling and computer aided machining with the natural element of the hand.

Vinod is an assistant professor in the Department of Visualization College of Architecture at Texas A&M University. Dr. Srinivasan’s primary research is in the area of serious games, specifically applications of games in education. His other research interests include applications of interactive visualization in simulation and design and 3-D modeling. He teaches game design and development, graphics programming and 3-D modeling.

Matthew Adams Wettergreen is equal parts researcher and community strategist. Having recently completed his PhD in Bioengineering at Rice University with a specialization in Biomechanics and Computer Aided Tissue Engineering, his scientific research experience includes work in computational and experimental biomechanics, cellular solids, rapid prototyping and imaging modalities. His teaching experience covers areas of specialization such as biomechanics, bioengineering design and Computer Aided Design. He is also a founder and director of Caroline Collective, a coworking space in Houston, TX, that fosters community, collaboration, and creativity across artistic and technological disciplines. Additionally he has been a DJ at KTRU 91.7fm since 2001, hosts a live events show called “The Revelry Report,” and has worked closely with the Houston Music Community and individual artists on business and career development.