'Math in the Movies'

Dr. Tony DeRose (Courtesy photo)
Dr. Tony DeRose (Courtesy photo)

The UNL Department of Mathematics is pleased to welcome Dr. Tony DeRose, a senior scientist and leader of the research group at Pixar Animation Studios. DeRose will present the public talk "Math in the Movies" on Tuesday, April 1, at 4:30 p.m., in the Nebraska Union Auditorium.

Film making has undergone a revolution brought on by advances in areas such as computer technology, geometry, and applied mathematics. Using numerous examples drawn from Pixar's feature films, this talk will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the role that math has played in the revolution.

DeRose received a B.S. in physics from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. From 1986 to 1995, DeRose was a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington. In 1998, he was a major contributor to the Oscar© winning short film "Geri's game"; in 1999 he received the ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award; and in 2006 he received a Scientific and Technical Academy Award© for his work on surface representations.

The Howard Rowlee Lecture is an annual event that seeks to bring internationally acclaimed scholars in the mathematical sciences to UNL to promote public understanding of mathematical research and to stimulate the environment for mathematics research at UNL. This presentation is sponsored by the Howard E. Rowlee Jr. Fund and UNL Department of Mathematics.