Maneesh Agrawala
| Maneesh Agrawala | |
|---|---|
| Fields | Computer scientist |
| Institutions | Berkeley, Stanford |
| Alma mater | Stanford University |
| Doctoral advisor | Pat Hanrahan |
| Notable awards | MacArthur Fellowship (2009) |
Maneesh Agrawala (born 1972) is a Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University. He returned to Stanford in 2015 as the Director of the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, after nearly a decade on the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley.[1]
Life and work
Maneesh Agrawala attended the Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet Program at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD.[2] He received a B.S. in mathematics in 1994 and a Ph.D. in computer science in 2002, both from Stanford University. While attending Stanford, he worked as a software consultant at Vicinity Corporation and in the rendering software group at Pixar Animation Studios. He received a film credit for Pixar's A Bugs Life.[3] After graduating, Agrawala worked at Microsoft Research for three years, before joining the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley.[4]
Agrawala's work focuses on the design of visual interfaces that help a user process digital information, often using cognitive design concepts. For instance, LineDrive, a program developed by Agrawala, creates route maps that resemble hand-drawn maps, adapting cognitive and map-making techniques to help a computer user process information on a route. This work was the focus of his 2002 Ph.D. dissertation, "Visualizing Route Maps". He has also adapted cognitive science into visual interfaces for complex 3D models. Agrawala has also developed a system that creates step-by-step assembly instructions for complex machines, using the idea of exploded views to help the user understand the spatial relationships between elements. His user-centric approach is viewed as having broad applicability in the fields of computer graphics and user interfaces.[5]
Agrawala is the recipient of multiple awards, including an Okawa Foundation Research Grant in 2006, a Sloan Fellowship and NSF CAREER Award in 2007, a SIGGRAPH Significant New Researcher Award in 2008, and a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2009.[6]
References
- ↑ "UC-Berkeley Professor Named Next Director of Brown Institute". 4 March 2015.
- ↑ Deng, Sophia (1 October 2009). "Blair alumnus named MacArthur Fellow". Silver Chips Online. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ↑ "A Bug's Life (1998) - Full cast and crew". imdb.com. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ↑ "Maneesh Agrawala". John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
- ↑ Sanders, Robert (2009-09-22). "UC Berkeley Press Release". Berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
- ↑ Maneesh Agrawala awarded the 2009 MacArthur Fellow "Genius" Grant, SIGGRAPH, September 22, 2009.