The Playground Roster
The playground is full of interesting, talented, and unique individuals who contribute greatly to the program, and we're proud to mention their names here!
Faculty
Dr. Tiffany Barnes
After graduating from North Carolina State University (NCSU) in December 2003, Dr. Barnes worked as a postdoctoral researcher at NCSU until August 2004, when she became an assistant professor at UNC Charlotte. When she's not teaching or overseeing the Games2Learn project, she and her Turkish husband teaching and practicing dance with Charlotte Dancesport
Dr. G. Michael Youngblood
Dr. Youngblood completed his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Arlington in August 2005 and then spent one year as a Research Faculty Associate in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at UTA. His areas of interest include AI for Computer Games, Intelligent Systems, Pervasive Computing, and Autonomous Systems.
Website:
http://serenity.uncc.edu
Doctoral Students
Hunter Hale
Hunter originally earned his BS at Western Carolina University, where he also encountered his first taste of game development working on an RTS engine for his senior project. He started work in UNCC's Visualization Lab on the Virtual Charlotte project. He is now working in the Games+Learning Lab and has a particularly keen interest in shader programming and texture design.
Eve Powell
Another member of the Game2Learn team, Eve (or "Evie, as she is known to us) is a multi-talented developer with a strong inclination towards graphic and sound design. When she isn't at home making or playing video games (for "research purposes", of course) she is usually watching anime or leading UNCC's Japan Club as club president. Upon graduation, Evie intends to continue her computer science studies with a certificate in game design and development.
Graduate Students
Amanda Chaffin
A Master's student who particularly enjoys game and level design, Amanda currently works for Dr. Barnes on the Game2Learn project as a part of her master's thesis. Her hobbies outside of school include involvement with the SCA, fan-fiction writing, reading, and writing her novel. Amanda is also a self proclaimed "full time hockey fan."
Website:
http://www.wulfkub.com
Priyesh Dixit
Priyesh is a games researcher in the Game Intelligence Group headed by Dr G. Michael Youngblood. His primary contribution was the development of the Common Games Understanding and Learning toolkit which includes PlayerViz and HIIVVE. He received his Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from UNC Charlotte and will complete his Masters in Spring 2008.
Website:
http://www.priyesh.org/
Suhyung Cho
Su Hyung is an international student from Korea working with Dr. Barnes on the Game2Learn lab as a master student. He is interested in Game Design especially, game interface, hardware interface and so on.
Website:
http://www.artchosu.com
Undergraduate Students
Shawn Kirsch
After a few years of being undecided in his student career, Shawn finally found a home. Working on a way to better introduce freshman and transfer students to the vast area of campus, Shawn will hopefully improve the learning curve of new students becoming aquainted with campus using either a Nintendo DS or Silverlight based game.
Jonathan Roes
Jonathan is pursuing his bachelors degree in Computer Science and is strongly considering the Masters program at UNC Charlotte. He likes high level programming languages and has interests in AI, parallel programming, social software, and games of course. He is currently working with Priyesh and Dr. Youngblood on context studies.
Website:
http://chaos.uncc.edu/~roes
Henry Van Eseltine
Coming Soon...
Alumni
Alex Godwin
Our first true Alumni from the Game Design & Development Program, Alex is now an instructor at Central Piedmont Community College, teaching subjects in graphics and game design. During his time at UNCC, Alex's primary interests were artificial intelligence in games, and bioinformatics. He was also an instrumental member of the Game2Learn program.
John Beck
A life long gamer of every sort, John is a former English major who has become a Computer Science convert. He wears many hats, and enjoys just about every aspect of game design: 2D/3D art, Animation, Programming, Systems Design, even Team Management. John has aspirations to establish his own full-time independent game studio here in the Charlotte area with his friend and business partner, Mark Peskir.
Jason Hardman
Jason started his academic career as a business major, but not long after defected to computer science. An accomplished pianist and musician, Jason brings a multitude of talents to the table. His current research project is glCompShader, A computational engine for the GPU designed to handle interleaving of general purpose (gpgpu) and graphical algorithms.
Subhir Rao
Subhir first graduated with his BE (Bachelor of Engineering) in Electrical & Electronics from India in June 2003. Interestingly, his passion for game design started with a simple crossword puzzle game he made when he was in high school, and he's been in love ever since. Since coming to UNCC in the spring of 2005, Subhir has been eager to earn his certificate, and find his way into the games industry!
Mark Peskir
Originally a high school band instructor who earned his music degree at UNCC, Mark decided to return to pursue a second degree in Computer Science. Now a masters student, Mark intends to enter the industry headfirst by establishing a new independent game studio here in the Charlotte area with his business partner and fellow student, John Beck