When the average moviegoer sits down to enjoy one of today's blockbuster hits, the massive amount of special effects and animation tends to wash over them without really being noticed; they're just part of the scenery.

But when Dr. Robert Bridson from the University of British Columbia (UBC) watches certain Hollywood films, he can't help but take note.

“I'll be watching and think, ‘Hey, that's my piece of code!'” he says.

Dr. Bridson is an NSERC-funded researcher and assistant professor in the Imager and Scientific Computing labs at the University of British Columbia's Department of Computer Science. The labs focus on advancing computer graphics and animation, and developing faster and more reliable numerical algorithms, respectively.

He says that his work often involves representing and evolving complex surface geometry, among other things. Along with a graduate student in his laboratory, Dr. Bridson recently developed a method for accurately tracking a surface with a triangle mesh even as it deforms, splits or merges. He says this was derived directly from his earlier graphics work.

“It is now one of the most powerful surface tracking algorithms in computational science,” he says.

These concepts are applied to Dr. Bridson's animation work in the form of creating realistic computer generated water or clothing by simulating the underlying physics of the real thing.

Dr. Bridson's work with cloth and fluid simulation can been seen in films such as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (during the sequence on the Millennium Bridge), 2012, Quantum of Solace, the Dark Knight and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. He even got a screen credit for the Shadow character in Inkheart.

He says that it is an “incredible rush” to see his work displayed so prominently on the big screen, but that he also enjoys being able to explore what can be done with computer generated images.

“I get to look at the full scope of some really interesting math and physics here,” he says.

On top of teaching and his research at UBC, Dr. Bridson has also recently opened his own company, called Exotic Matter. The company aims to develop software for visual effects and 3D animation. They are currently collaborating on a new film, to be out in theatres by December, says Dr. Bridson, although he would not specify the name of the film.

Contact
Robert Bridson
Tel.: 604-822-1993
E-mail: rbridson@ca.ubc.ca

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Event

Bacon and Eggheads Breakfast with Donald S. Mavinic, Associate Head, Department of Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia

Wrestling with phosphorus: How new Canadian environmental technology is helping address an urgent global problem?

Nothing is simple about phosphorus. The agricultural fertilizer that makes it possible to feed the world is poison for many of the world's rivers, lakes and coastal systems. And now, concern is rising that future supplies of the mineral may not be adequate to meet demand.

University of British Columbia (UBC) civil engineer Donald S. Mavinic is the co-inventor of a new Canadian technology that is earning rave international reviews for helping cities and towns remove phosphorus from wastewater and convert it into fertilizer. He will talk about the challenges and rewards of bringing a new environmental technology to market in today's economy, and the larger issue of what more will be needed soon to tackle the global phosphorus problem.

Dr. Mavinic has headed the Environmental Engineering Program at UBC since 1984, and is the author of more than 250 papers and technical reports. In 1992, he was awarded the Albert E. Berry Medal by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering for major contributions to environmental engineering in Canada. He is a Member of the Board of OSTARA Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc., a UBC spin-off company he helped found in 2005. He also acts as a special advisor on nutrient recovery technologies and global phosphorus shortages to the European Union and the governments of the United States, China and Australia.

Simultaneous translation will be provided.

Date:	Thursday, November 26, 2009, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Place:	Room 200, West Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa
Cost:	No charge to Members of the House of Commons, Senators and Media
Registration: Donna Boag, 613-991-6369 or pagse@rsc.ca

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NSERC Contact
Arnet Sheppard
Tel.: 613-995-5997
E-mail: arnet.sheppard@nserc-crsng.gc.ca