http:^^www.cs.umd.edu^grad^about.html

This data set contains WWW-pages collected from computer science departments of various universities

tasks.

<P>Text:  Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice, by J. D. Foley, A. van Dam, S. K. Feiner, and J. F. Hughes.

<P>Prerequisites:  Basic knowledge of linear algebra, programming, and data structures.  Knowledge of C programming language.

<P>Course Work:  Course work consisted of a combination of written homework assignments and a number of programming assignments.  There  were two exams: a midterm and a comprehensive final.  Programming assignments were carried out on the graphics workstations supporting the X Window System.

<UL>
<LI>Introduction:  Overview of graphics systems and concepts, graphics devices, X-windows programming.
<LI>Output primitives:  Line and circle drawing, antialiasing, polygon filling, region filling, text.
<LI>Windowing:  Windows and viewports, line clipping, polygon clipping.
<LI>Projective geometry and geometric utilities: Review of linear algebra, projective geometry, homogeneous coordinates, affine transformations.
<LI>3-d transformations and perspective:  Scaling, rotation, translation, perspective transformations, 3-d clipping.
<LI>Surface modeling:  Parametric equations, Bezier and B-spline curves and surfaces, fractals.
<LI>Hidden line and hidden surface removal:  Back-face removal, depth-buffer method, scan-line algorithm, depth-sorting algorithm, floating horizon algorithm, Warnock's algorithm.
<LI>Realism:  Shading models, ray-tracing, texture mapping, shadowing
</UL>

<HR>

<H1 ALIGN=CENTER>Research Unit Liaisons</H1>
<p><!WA37><img src="http://www.cs.umd.edu/Grad/robot.JPG" align=right height=200 width=250>
The College Park Campus is organized into 13 colleges and professional
schools.  The Department of Computer Science is in the College of Computer,
Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CMPS).  Both CMPS and the College of
Engineering are well-regarded across the U.S.  Within these two colleges
are several premier research units that offer computer science faculty and
students opportunities for collaborative research projects and access to
highly specialized research facilities.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER><!WA38><A HREF="http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/">
	Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS)</A></H2>

<P>The University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies was
established in 1985 by the State of Maryland.  Its goals are to broaden the
overall base of support for computing research throughout the University
and to focus on interdisciplinary topics in computing.  UMIACS supports
faculty from many disciplines as diverse as computer science and
mathematics to philosophy and linguistics.  It attracts visitors of
international stature.  The Institute has acquired significant research
equipment for the campus, most notably, the Connection Machine, a massively
parallel computer containing 16,000 individual processors that act together
to solve computationally intensive problems.  UMIACS also offers workshops
on research areas of interest to the computer science community.  Professor
Joseph Ja'Ja' is the Director of UMIACS.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER><!WA39><A HREF="http://www.cfar.umd.edu/">
	Center for Automation Research (CfAR)</A></H2>

<P>Established in 1983, the Center for Automation Research is dedicated to
research on advanced automation in business and industry.  The Center's
Computer Vision Laboratory is one of the oldest and largest research groups
of its kind and is considered one of the three best vision groups in the
world.  CfAR also sponsors the Human/Computer Interaction Laboratory,
which is housed within the Computer Science Department.  A number of
Computer Science Department faculty and graduate students are members of
CfAR and contribute to the close ties between the two units.  Professor
Azriel Rosenfeld is the Director of CfAR.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>Center for Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences (CESDIS)</H2>

<P>The Center for Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences was
established in the Fall of 1988 with funds from the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) and the Universities Space Research
Association (USRA).  Its purpose is to sponsor research in areas of
computing and information science that will improve the acquisition,
analysis and utilization of data from space sensor systems.  CESDIS is
located at nearby Goddard Space Flight Center, and computer science
faculty and students from UMCP, as well as from a number of other
universities throughout the country, are participating in its research
programs.  Dr Yelena Yesha is Director of CESDIS.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER><!WA40><A HREF="http://www.isr.umd.edu/">
	Institute for Systems Research (ISR)</A></H2>

<P>The Institute for Systems Research was established in 1985 through a
National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center grant.  ISR is
committed to developing innovative advances in design methods and software
systems which address the basic productivity and competitive challenges
facing American industry.  Computer Science Department faculty and students
work in the Systems Research Center and contribute to research in the areas
of automation, database management, and  VLSI.  Professor Stephen Marcus is
the Director of ISR, which is within the College of Engineering.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>Engineering Research Center (ERC)</H2>

<P>The Engineering Research Center was established to promote
industry-university interaction in scientific and technical disciplines.
ERC conducts four programs that support transfer of technology.  The
Center's Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program, which fosters
cooperative research projects between industry and the University, has
provided a number of opportunities for collaborative research with faculty
from computer science.  The director of the ERC, which is within the
College of Engineering, is Professor Herbert Rabin.

<P><HR>

<H1 ALIGN=CENTER>Student Activities</H1>
<p><!WA41><img src="http://www.cs.umd.edu/Grad/julie.JPG" align=left height=250 width=200>
<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>Executive Council</H2>

<P>The graduate student body elects seven members to the
<!WA42><A HREF="http://www.cs.umd.edu/~exec_co/"> Executive Council</A>
annually.  The council plans activities and addresses issues of concern to
the student body.  The council also allocates funds from the graduate
student activities budget.  Sponsored activities typically include a
departmental picnic, a weekly graduate student seminar, hikes, parties,
newspaper subscriptions for the graduate student lounge, and forums.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>Department Council</H2>

<P>The Department Council advises the chair on issues affecting the
department.  It is composed primarily of faculty, but two graduate student
representatives attend the meetings as non-voting members.  They provide
graduate student input at the meetings and keep the graduate students
informed of issues that affect them.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>Educational Affairs Committee</H2>

<P>The Educational Affairs Committee is responsible for the undergraduate
and graduate academic programs of the department.  The committee has two
voting graduate student representatives and two voting undergraduate
student representatives.  They provide student input at the meetings and
keep students informed of decisions that are made.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>Graduate Student Association</H2>

<P>The Graduate Student Association (GSA) is a campus-wide organization of
graduate students whose constitution states, "The purpose of the [GSA] is
to improve the quality of education and enhance the quality of life of the
graduate students, to communicate and support research interests of
graduate students, to recommend members for policy-making and
administrative committees of the campus, and to be the spokesbody for
graduate student concerns."  The organization is open to all graduate
students at UMCP.  Some of the recent activities organized by the GSA
were:  protest rallies against taxation of scholarships and assistantships,
a campus-wide research conference for graduate students (GRID), setting up
a legal aid service for graduate students, distributing a newsletter with
information for all graduate students, and organizing social events such as
dances and weekly "happy hours."


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>ACM Student Chapter and Programming Contest</H2>

<P>The ACM  is the principal professional society for computer scientists.
Membership is important for maintaining contact with current developments
through journal publications, meetings and conferences.  Our department has
<!WA43><A HREF="http://www.cs.umd.edu/~acm/"> a student chapter of the ACM.</A>
Student members of the ACM receive many of
the benefits at a reduced rate:  journals, conference registration, etc.
Among other activities, the ACM student chapter helps to sponsor the
University of Maryland ACM Programming Team, which in 1990 took second
place in the ACM International Programming Contest sponsored by AT&amp;T.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>T-Shirt Contest</H2>

<P>Each year graduate students sponsor a department T-shirt contest.
T-shirts imprinted with the winning design are sold at a reasonable cost to
students, faculty, and staff.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>Grad Student Lounge</H2>

<P>There is a lounge with a refrigerator and a microwave oven for storing
and heating your lunch, as well as tables and chairs for dining.  Usually,
daily newspapers are there to read but not to remove.


<H2 ALIGN=CENTER>Electronic Newsgroup</H2>

<P><CODE>csd.grad</CODE>
is the electronic newsgroup on the departmental computer
system for announcements and discussions of interest to graduate
students.  Anyone who has an account on the department computing facilities
can read and post messages to the newsgroup.

<P><HR>

<H1 ALIGN=CENTER>Computer Science Graduate Courses</H1>

<P>In addition to the courses listed below, a large number of seminar
courses are given each semester.  The content of the seminars varies each
semester, depending on the interests of the students and faculty.

<P>Due to heavy demand for Computer Science courses, we strongly advise
that after the first semester students preregister for courses.
Information about preregistration is provided by the Graduate Office during
each semester.  Before preregistering, students must consult with their
advisors about what courses to take.

<P>A complete listing of all
<!WA44><A HREF="http://www.cs.umd.edu/Ugrad/Courses.html">Undergraduate Courses</A>
and <!WA45><A HREF="http://www.cs.umd.edu/Grad/Courses.html">Graduate Courses</A>
is available.

<ADDRESS>
<!WA46><A HREF="http://www.cs.umd.edu/"><!WA47><IMG SRC="http://www.cs.umd.edu/Images/Home_Arrow.gif" ALT="" ALIGN=BOTTOM BORDER=0 HEIGHT=30 WIDTH=30>Go back to the UMCP CS home page.</A><BR>
<!WA48><IMG SRC="http://www.cs.umd.edu/Images/Maryland_Bar_Bottom.gif" ALT="--------------------------------------------------------------------" HEIGHT=6 WIDTH=582><BR>
Last updated:
Jan/11/95
- <!WA49><A HREF="mailto:[e-mail]">[e-mail]</A>
</ADDRESS>
</BODY>
</HTML>