Curriculum Vitae



DEREK GERSTMANN


20350 Stevens Creek Blvd

Cupertino, CA 95014


phone: +1 408 540 9583

fax: +1 801 221 9513


email: dgerstma [AT] myuw.net

web: http://home.myuw.net/dgerstma/




EDUCATION


2004

Bournemouth University, UK


National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA)


Master of Science in Computer Animation

Procedural Modeling and Generative Animation



2002

University of Washington, Bothell, WA


Bachelor of Science in Computing & Software Systems

Application Programming and Information Engineering



INTERESTS


Computer graphics + animation, programmable graphics hardware, visual effects for film, procedural modeling, image-based lighting, realistic image synthesis, generative art and user-interface design.



EXPERIENCE


2008-now

Apple, Inc., Cupertino, CA


Software Engineer


Developed compute and graphics oriented applications for multi-core processors in a heterogenous compute environment consisting of GPUs and multi-core CPUs. Examples include GPGPU algorithms, physical simulations, and advanced rendering techniques.



2006-2008

Weta Digital, Ltd., Miramar, New Zealand


Production Engineer


Designed and developed a custom Grid management software layer to support thousands of render farm machines. Provided statistical analysis to define software requirements for render system migration. Developed custom asset management tools, including a multi-threaded GUI for browsing assets, as well as custom plugins for third-party applications and scripts for publishing shader parameters. Provided maintenance for legacy pipeline tools for ongoing projects. Used PyQt, Python, Perl, RenderMan, Maya, Shake and Nuke.



2005-2006

ATI Research, Inc., Santa Clara, CA


Software Engineer - GPGPU


Principle engineer for CTM, a Close-to-the-Metal GPGPU runtime library and SDK for performing data-parallel computations on the R5xx (X1k) architecture. Developed low-level driver components, as well as high-level language and compilation tools. Provided support for external partners. Served as build manager for Win 32/64 and Linux 32/64 bit platforms in C/C++.



2004-2005

Cycling '74, San Francisco, CA


Software Engineer - Jitter


Worked with lead developer to extend the feature-set of Jitter, a real-time visual programming environment for new media. Personal contributions include programmable shading language support (GLSL,Cg,ARB,NV), OpenGL buffer objects, direct render-to-texture feedback, and HDR texture support (OpenEXR). Also developed an advanced procedural texturing and modeling engine with support for multi-threaded n-dimensional function graph evaluation, iso-surface generation, and volume visualization techniques. Developed in C/C++ on Win32 and OSX.



2002-2003

ESC Entertainment, Alameda, CA


Research & Development, Jr. Position


Developed a database file-system and client application for managing

film color calibration information for the Matrix:Reloaded and the

Matrix:Revolutions films. Created a plug-in for Apple's Shake

Compositing software package for retrieving shot calibration data. Additional development work done in Alias Maya, Trolltech's Qt toolkit, C/C++, and shell scripting.



2002

Industrial Light & Magic, San Rafael, CA


Research & Development Technical Director, Internship


Researched and developed a real-time, high quality, image-based

lighting technique for previewing the effects of a lighting

environment on a particular 3D model. Worked with a lead Research &

Development Technical Director to develop a proof-of-concept

application using C++, OpenGL, FLTK, & Python, which allowed real-

time interactivity and a visual preview comparable to a final-frame

render.



2001-2002

University of Washington, Bothell, WA


Researcher & Lab Consultant


Worked with the University’s Center for Multimedia Research (CMMR)

on their immersive video navigation research project. Helped

design and develop a prototype application in Java for

reconstructing arbitrary 3D viewpoints of a virtual environment

obtained from digital video footage. Provided consultation for

Unix, Java, and general lab related issues for the University’s

Applied Operating Systems course working in the CSS department’s

Linux lab.



1999-2001

Pinnacle Studios, Seattle, WA


System Administrator & Software Engineer

Administered and maintained heterogeneous network for visual

effects production, including all servers, workstations and office

computers. Developed proprietary in-house tools to automate

production and administration work-flow. Examples include

compositing tools, render management utilities, file conversion

utilities, administrative tools, plug-ins, and dynamic intranet

applications using C/C++, Perl, SQL and HTML.



1998

Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, Provo, UT


Research Programmer & Hardware Consultant


Developed an initial conversion program in Visual Basic for

translating 2D ultrasound video into 3D medical data. Created a

software interface to access proprietary hardware and software

components. Built multiple computers to detailed specifications for

use in other specialized research projects.



1997

Viewpoint Datalabs, Orem, UT


3D Modeler & Group Assistant


Created 3D models of varying geometric detail for real-time

content. Provided quality assurance for entire 3D model data bank,

including complex scanned polygon geometry. Utilized a wide variety

of 3D modeling and animation packages, including Alias|Wavefront,

3D Studio Max, Lightwave, and Softimage. Provided HTML authoring

for catalog of model submissions.



PUBLICATIONS


2006

A Performance-Oriented Data Parallel Virtual Machine for GPUs.
Derek Gerstmann, Mark Peercy, Mark Segal
Proceedings of SIGGRAPH 2006.


A Performance-Oriented Data Parallel Virtual Machine for GPUs.
Derek Gerstmann, Mark Peercy, Mark Segal
Proceedings of Graphics Hardware 2006.


Spawner: A Genetic Procedural Animation System.
Derek Gerstmann
Proceedings of EVOMUSART 2006.



2004

A Stream Processing Abstraction and Rendering Toolkit for GPUs.
Derek Gerstmann
Masters Thesis, NCCA Bournemouth University. 2004.



2002

A High Quality Image Based Relighting System for Visual Effects Production. Derek Gerstmann Undergraduate Research. University of Washington. 2004.



AWARDS & HONORS


2006

Graphics Hardware Presentation on CTM

SIGGRAPH Sketch for a Data-Parallel Virtual Machine for GPUs

MIT Presentation for CTM

EvoMusart Publication for Spawner



2004

NCCA MSc Computer Animation w/Distinction


NCCA MSc Computer Animation Student Representative.



2002

UW CSS Colloquium Best Poster Award.


UW Dean's List for Academic Achievement.


ASUWB Academic Certificate of Recognition.



1999

UW Student Film Group Screenwriter Contest Winner.




AFFILIATIONS



University of Washington Alumni


Association of Computing Machinery (ACM)


ACM SIGGRAPH


ACM SIGCHI


ACM SIGOPS


IGDA