Faculty Profiles

Capsule Bio:

From 1996 to 1999 Falko Kuester was a senior software engineer at Integrated Systems in Sunnyvale, CA. He received a Ph.D. from UC Davis in 2001 and joined the faculty at UC Irvine as an assistant professor in 2001, where he was thrust leader for Computer Graphics and Visualization at the Irvine division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2). He is the director of the Calit2 Center of GRAVITY (Graphics, Visualization and Imaging Technology) and a founding member of the Transdisciplinary Imaging Genetics Center (TIGC). He joined the faculty of UCSD in 2006.

Education:

• B. S., Technical University of Berlin, Germany, Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, 1993
• M. S., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mechanical Engineering, 1994
• M. S., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Computer Science and Engineering, 1995
• Ph.D., University of California, Davis, Computer Science, 2001

Recognition/Awards:

• Fulbright Scholar, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1993-1994
• Recipient of the Deans Grant, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1993-1994
• Recipient of Graduate Scholarship, Technical University of Berlin, 1993-1994
• Cover of ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology 2001 proceedings, ACM Press, November 2001
• Best Undergraduate Student Paper Award 2003, “Optimized construction on linear approximations to image data, “ IEEE
• Best Graduate Student Paper Award, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, UC Irvine
• Member of the German National Gliding Team, 1993-1997

Selected Publications:

• Hutchinson, T.C. and Kuester, F., (2004). Monitoring Global earthquake-induced demands using vision-based sensors. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 35 (1):31-36.
• Hutchinson, T.C., Chaudhari, R.S., Kuester, F., and Auduong, S. (2005). Light-based motion tracking of equipment subjected to earthquake motions.  Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, ASCE, 19(3):292-303.
• Hutchinson, T.C. and Kuester, F. (2004) Hardware architecture for a visualization classroom: Vizclass. Computer Applications in Engineering Education, Wiley Press, 12(4):232-241.
• Kim, S-J, Kuester, F. and Kim, K. (2004). A global timestamp-based approach for enhanced data consistency and fairness in collaborative virtual environments.  ACM/Springer Multimedia Systems Journal, 10(3):220-229.
• Kuester, F. Phair, M.E., and Hutchinson, T.C. (2005). Image centric finite element simulation. Computers and Graphics, 29:379-392.
• Hutchinson, T.C., Kuester, F., Hsieh, TJ, and Chadwick, R. (2005). A hybrid reality environment and its application to the study of earthquake engineering. Virtual Reality Journal, Spring Verlag Press, 9(1):17-33.
• He, Z. Kimball, J., and Kuester, F. (2005). Distributed and collaborative biomedical data exploration. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 3804:271-278.
• Hutchinson, T.C., Kuester, F., Doerr, K-U, and Lim, D.H. (2006). Optimal hardware and software design of an image-based system for capturing dynamic movements. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. In press.
• Kuester, F., and Hutchinson, T.C. (2005). A virtualized laboratory for earthquake engineering education. ASEE Journal of Engineering Education. Accepted for publication.
• Kuester, F., Brown-Simmons, G., Knox, C, and Yamoaka, S. (2006). Earth and plantetary system science game engine. Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science. In press.
• Hutchinson, T.C., Kuester, F., and Phair, M.E. (200x). Sketching finite element models within a unified 2-dimensional framework. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, ASCE. Accepted for publication.