200 fly or rendering algorithms of water?

Is it harder to swim 200 fly or write the C++ code to render algorithms for swimming pool water? That's the question I hope to get answered tomorrow by a computer science senior on the UCSD women's swim team. I'm waiting on the winning images from the CSE 168 rendering algorithms competition for spring 2010.

Laser Looks for Rail Line Cracks

Structural engineering professor Francesco Lanza di Scalea is in the news today. He is leading a project to use lasers and microphones to detect cracks in railroad tracks. Gary Robbins from the San Diego Union Tribune covered the story. Check it out here.

The crack-detecting prototype is out at the UC San Diego Englekirk Structural Engineering Center.

Making Graphics with Rendering Algorithms: Class and Contest

I popped into the final presentations for CSE 168 (Rendering Algorithms) taught by computer science professor Henrik Wann Jensen. I'm waiting for the final results, but in the meantime, here are some of the photos from the class. Above: UC San Diego senior Nick Echols shows off a "behind the scenes" graphic tied to his CSE 168 project.

The C++ computer code in the image (below) highlights the fact that these images are created by computer science students who write and manipulate lines of C++ code. This is not about using software that has already been created. It's much more involved than learning Photoshop, Illustrator and 3D graphics programs.