introNetworks
Mark Sylvester
mixed grill
Santa Barbara, CA
Date:
Friday, February 13, 2004
Place: CS Conference Room
_____ Engineering 1,
Rm. 2114
Time: 4:00 pm — 5:00 pm (Refreshments
served at 3:30 pm)
Abstract:
In today’s hectic world we are constantly trying to make
connections with other people. We spend so much time in front of the computer
that we rarely have a chance to connect with other humans in the real
world. Consider that you work with 100’s of people, go to meetings
and seminars with 1000’s of people and live in communities with
tens of thousands of people. How well do you know any of them? We have
been looking at the challenge of how to present information about individual
people and businesses in a way that allows others to find those that are
most likely to make a difference in their lives. Whether we are looking
for a business partner, a product or service or someone to become our
mentor – sorting through the information required to make such a
decision can be daunting.
Our Rich Internet Application, introNetworks, has been used at conferences to connect
attendees before they get to the event and is currently in use as Santa
Barbara County’s primary online business database. This software
combines state of the art user interface design, video and text messaging,
realtime graphic display, realtime communication and a robust backend.
Our work has led us to innovate in the area of personal and professional
profiling as well as how to graphically display the results of user searches
in a way that promotes rapid decision making and communication. This talk
will feature a live demonstration of the conference and the community
version of the introNetwork application. There will be a focus on the
design, development, user interaction and overall process involved in
creating a Rich Internet Application.
Biography:
Mark is the Creative Director and Founder of mixed grill, a Santa Barbara
software firm focused on the field of Information Design and Visual Communication.
Mixed Grill is the creator of the award winning social software application,
introNetworks™.
Mark was the co-founder of Wavefront Technologies in 1984, one of the first commercial
animation software developers. Mark served as Ambassador for the organization,
Alias|Wavefront. In this role, he worked closely with the development
organization and the product teams as a liaison between customers and
the company ensuring a close relationship between artists and developers.
Mark initially helped to develop the Advanced Visualizer, a 3D animation system first
used at Universal Pictures. The software was used by Industrial Light
and Magic to create the landmark effects for the Star Wars movies and
all three Lord of the Rings films. In 2003, the 3D animation software
called Maya, was awarded an Oscar, for Scientific and Technical Achievement.
Mark is a frequent speaker at industry events including, Flashforward, the O’Reilly
Emerging Technology Conference (SF), Siggraph, the National Association
of Broadcasters, Digital Media World (Australia) and Nicograph (Japan).
He is a sought after judge for Digital Media contests and has published
articles on computer animation, digital compositing and the future of
digital production techniques. His work is also featured in the book,
Return on Innovation. The history of Wavefront, as written by Mark is
included in the authoritative text, CG101, the History of Computer Graphics.
Mark has been a committed member of the Santa Barbara community on many levels
for the past 30 years, including these awards and positions:
• Member, Board of Directors, Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce
• President, South Coast Alliance of Media Professionals – SCAMP
• President, Pacific Media Foundation, Santa Barbara
• Past-President, Partners in Education, Santa Barbara
• Host and Board Member, Digital Days, Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Host: Stephen Travis Pope, Professor of MAT
