John Hughes is interested in computer graphics, especially those aspects in which mathematics is critical. He is particularly interested in the modeling of shape and form at multiple scales, in human-computer interaction, and in art-based graphics. Prof. Hughes is also interested in the sketching component of animation—providing direct interfaces for the control of a wide range of animations, from two-dimensional (2D) presentation graphics to three-dimensional (3D) character animation.

John Hughes is interested in computer graphics, especially those aspects in which mathematics is critical. He is particularly interested in the modeling of shape and form at multiple scales, in human-computer interaction, and in art-based graphics. This last area includes not only art-based rendering, in which we create computer-generated pictures that look like those drawn or painted by artists, but also art-based input for modeling, in which we take the kinds of drawings that artists use to convey form and try to convert them into 3D models. In both cases, the idea is the same: artists have, over millennia, distilled out certain ways of provoking particular responses in the human visual system very economically. It is worthwhile utilizing these methods to the degree possible in order to facilitate human-computer communication about shape.

Prof. Hughes is also interested in the sketching component of animation—providing direct interfaces for the control of a wide range of animations, from 2D presentation graphics to 3D character animation.

His recent work includes: Developing a gesture-based interface to creating 3D models; studying models for the representation of free-form shapes and sketching those; helping develop a multi-focus, single view-axis camera with which one can do automated matte-extraction for video.

Gift in support of one graduate fellowship in computer graphics (PI), Pixar, $20,000 each year, 2000-present

Research on Computer Graphics (Co-PI), Microsoft, $100,000, 1999-2002

Research on Image-Based Rendering - Lumigraphs and Manifolds (Co-PI), National Science Foundation, $150,363, 1999-2001

Science and Technology Center in Computer Graphics and Scientific Visualization (Co-PI), National Science Foundation, $7,310,698 out of $35,473,614, 02/01/91 - 07/31/02

Collaborative Research on 4D modeling (Co-PI), Sun Microsystems, $200,000, 1991-1993

Collaborative Research on 4D modeling (Co-PI), Sun Microsystems, $100,000, 1991-1992

A Framework for an Object-Oriented Time-Parameterized Modeling and Animation Platform (Co-PI), IBM, $360,000, 1991-1993

4D Modeling (Co-PI), IBM, $50,000, 1990-1991

Demonstration of Animation (Co-PI), IBM, $25,000, 1990

Collaborative Research on 4D Modeling (Co-PI), Sun Microsystems, $100,000, 1990-1991

Computer Graphics Group Affiliate (Co-PI), NCR Corporation, $300,000, 1989-1992

Cooperative Research and Development (Co-PI), NCR Corporation, $75,000, 1989

Interactive User-Controlled Animation (Co-PI), NCR Corporation, $40,000, 1988

User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) Best Paper Award

Current or former member of:

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

ACM Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH)

Canadian Computer-Human Communications Society

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Sigma Xi