Joseph T. Kotlarek

M.S. in Computer Science Recent Graduate from UC Davis

LinkedIn, GitHub, Contact: jtkotlarek [at] gmail.com

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About Me

I am a Software Engineer with a passion for computer graphics, immersive technology, and video games. I play video games with the same friends I made a decade ago, overthinking every bit of it, optimizing the routes, constantly improving. Probably not what the game designers had in mind, but we love it. I enjoy immersing myself in the virtual worlds and wanted to build them. Creating games with friends as an undergrad, I was introduced to AR in HIVE lab with Dr. Lecari - to help archaeologists maintain their dig sites with unparalleled accuracy. The melding of the physical and digital world is intriguing and led me to work with Dr. Kwan-Liu Ma in VIDI lab at UC Davis to earn my graduate degree. Together we extended the visualization work he is famous for into the immersive realm with Virtual Reality. I apply the same principles I use when playing games to the experiences I create - always improving, always learning new ways to do things better and faster. I love to solve challenging problems, whether it’s finding your way around the inside of a virtual fusion reactor or optimizing the throughput ratios of iron and copper plates to assembly machines creating electronic circuits in Factorio.

In my spare time I work on coding projects with my Dad, modding my BRZ, and playing guitar (poorly), trying to be the adult version of success kid.

Projects

3D Network Visualization in Virtual Reality. (2019) - Code - Thesis (pdf)

Egocentric Large Volume Visualization of the Center of a Supernova in Virtual Reality. (2018) - Code

Immersive Virtual Reality Tokamak Fusion Reactor Simulation. (2018) - Code - Paper (pdf)

Immersive Virtual Reality Data Analysis Framework. (2017) - Code

Cloud-based Machine Learning Tool for Non-Experts. (2017) - Code Unavailable

SuperDashCancel - Fighting Game (2017) - Code

Voxelnauts - FPS Game (2016) - Code

Education

M.S. in Computer Science - University of California, Davis - Aug 2017 to Jun 2019 (2 years)

• Worked in VIDI Lab on Virtual Reality research.
• Collaborated with multiple research labs across the globe to contribute to the state of the art in immersive information visualization.

B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering - University of California, Merced - Aug 2014 to Jun 2017 (3 years)

• Worked in HIVE Lab on Virtual and Augmented Reality systems.
• Co-Founded and led the UCMerced Game Development Club.
• Awarded Outstanding Student in Engineering by Computer Science and Engineering Dept. faculty.

Work

Graduate Student Researcher - VIDI Lab, University of California, Davis

• Started and finished four separate Immersive Visualization research projects, two of which included full academic papers that ended in publication, and two that remain as lab demonstrations for visiting students and industry representatives.
• Presented research projects on a regular basis to groups of varying ages and experience levels, educating students and earning funding opportunities for the lab.
• Created a low-latency and high-fidelty immersive volume rendering tool using panoramic omni-directional stereo (ODS) technologies, emphasizing interactivity with large data sets.
• Created personal performance analysis tools and Unity Editor extensions to optimize and streamline immersive visualization systems development.
• Spearheaded the creation of new VR research directions for the lab, developing project ideas for multiple junior researchers.

Undergraduate Student Researcher - HIVE Lab, University of California, Merced

• Architected and spearheaded implementation on a large-scale software project to enable advanced and intuitive digsite maintenance through the use of augmented reality headsets and laser-scan data.
• Created a partial digital reconstruction of Bodie, California as an immersive experience with Virtual Reality technology.

Software Engineer Intern - Rosetta Marketing, LLC.

• Created an immersive virtual reality training experience for home appliance technicians.
• Spearheaded the creation of a SOP manual for VR projects.
• With a team of developers, built and shipped a mobile storefront and back-end API as a proof-of-concept for new personalized customer engagement models.

Software Engineer in Test Intern - Rosetta Marketing, LLC.

• Created a fully automated unit test suite for a large-scale mobile API from the ground up, using JUnit with Jenkins build integration.

Publications

A Study of Mental Map in Immersive Network Visualization

Joseph Kotlarek. 2019. Master’s thesis. University of California, Davis.

Thesis (pdf) - Code

Improving Spatial Orientation in Immersive Environments

Joseph Kotlarek, I-Chen Lin, and Kwan-Liu Ma. 2018. In Proceedings of the Symposium on Spatial User Interaction (SUI ‘18). ACM New York, NY, USA, 79-88.

Paper (pdf) - Presentation - Code

Honors and Awards

Outstanding Student in Engineering – May 2017 – University of California, Merced

High Honors – Jun 2017 – University of California, Merced