CISC 400 Computer Graphics

This course teaches the fundamental techniques behind applications such as PhotoShop, medical MRIs, video games, and movie special effects. It begins by building a mathematical model of the interaction of light with surfaces, lenses, and an imager. Students then study the data structures and processor architectures that allow for efficiently evaluating that physical model. Students complete a series of programming assignments for both photorealistic image creation and realtime 3D rendering using C++, OpenGL, and GLSL. These assignments cumulate in a multi-week final project. Topics covered in the course include: projective geometry, ray tracing, bidirectional surface scattering functions, binary space partition trees, matting and compositing, shadow maps, cache management, and parallel processing on GPUs.