Academic Career: My academic objectives are deeply motivated by the continuous pursuit of developing complex interactive systems including physics simulation, computer vision, game engine design, and tool development. I have completed my Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering while concurrently working as an academic researcher. I completed my Ph.D. in 2019 from the University of Colorado Denver with a research focus in data-driven inverse modeling. I also completed my M.S. at the University of Colorado Denver in 2014. For this 12 year period I worked under the supervision of Min Choi, PhD in the UC Denver Computer Graphics and VR lab. During the course of my graduate studies I worked as a graduate researcher and was awarded a DoEd (Department of Education) GAANN Fellowship. I also contributed to primary National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded grants, and completed several first-author Publications during my graduate studies. I have cofounded a tech startup: Strivision and have completed the sequence of NSF grants facilitating startup development including: NSF Partnerships for Innovation (PFI), NSF National I-CORPS, and NSF SBIR Phase I awards.
Prior to my graduate career, I completed my B.S. in Computer Science at the Metropolitan State University of Denver with a minor in Mathematics. My undergraduate research focuses included computer graphics, artificial intelligence, language design, and software engineering.
Formal Education
Ph.D. Computer Science and Information Systems*
University of Colorado Denver, 2014-2019
Dissertation: Inverse Modeling for Data-driven Physical Simulation
GAANN Fellowship: Neural Elements: Data-driven Elastic Material Modeling
NSF Funded: Medical imaging for visualized CO2 respiratory analysis
Advisor: Dr. Min Choi
Research Website: graphics.ucdenver.edu
Research Directions: Interdisciplinary (CS, MECH, EE)
CS: Computational mechanics, graphics, modeling
MECH: Data-driven Finite Element Analysis (DFEA), elasticity, 3D printing
EE: Image and signal processing, medical imaging
M.S. Computer Science
University of Colorado Denver, 2014
Thesis: Interactive Deformation Control with Pattern Adherence
Advisor: Dr. Min Choi
Research Website: graphics.ucdenver.edu
Research: Graphics, physical simulation, parallel programming, 3D scanning
B.S. Computer Science
Metropolitan State University of Denver, 2011
Project: Autonomous Robot Monitoring and Visualization (RoMoVi)
Advisor: Dr. Jody Paul
Research Website: RoMoVi
Research: Software engineering, machine learning, language design, computer graphics
* Note: UC Denver provides both an Engineering and Applied Science (EAS) and Information Systems (IS) Ph.D tracks. Prior to receiving the DOEd Fellowship, I completed 90% of the EAS program but received my Ph.D in IS due to fellowship requirements. Due to this, my research has significant overlaps between engineering and applied science and data-driven information systems.
Educational Background
Computer Science and Engineering [Dissertation, Thesis, Major]*
| Shader and GPU (Author, Graduate) | Parallel Computing (PhD) | Animation (PhD, TA) |
| Advanced Architecture (Graduate) | Artificial Intelligence (Graduate) | Algorithms (Graduate) |
| Applied Graph Theory (Graduate) | Computer Graphics (Graduate, TA) | Game Design (Author, Graduate) |
| Operating Systems (Graduate, TA) | Object Oriented Development | Data-Structures (TA) |
| Software Engineering Practices | Software Engineering Principles | Algorithms |
| Theory of Computation | Database Systems | Web Technologies |
| Computer Networks | Artificial Intelligence | Prin. Prog. Languages |
| Interactive Design | Computer Org. and Assembly | Computer Architecture |
| Computer Science I (Fund. of Comp.) | Computer Science II | Computer Science III |
* Note: These topics are a 1-to-1 map of the course titles I have completed during the completion of my Ph.D, Masters, and Undergraduate degrees.
Mathematics [Graduate, Minor]
| Tensor Calculus | Vector Calculus | Discrete Mathematics |
| Linear Algebra | Mathematical Proofs | Combinatorics |
| Computational Matrix Algebra | Business Mathematics | Probability and Statistics |
| Calculus I | Calculus II | Calculus III |
| Differential Equations | Partial Differential Equations | Numerical Analysis |
Mechanical Engineering [Graduate, EAS Ph.D, Misc]
| Theory of Elasticity (Audit) | Finite Element Analysis (Audit) | Continuum Mechanics |
| Numerical Methods (Graduate) | Engineering Analysis (Graduate) | Physics I: Newtonian Physics |
Electrical Engineering [EAS Ph.D, Misc]
| Digital Signal/Image Processing (Graduate) | Digital Circuits |
| Physics II: Magnetism and Optics | Electrical Engineering: Electronics |
Funded Research
NSF Award ACI-1917343 (2019) “I-Corps: Non-Contact Remote Breathing Analysis through Visualization of Thermal and CO2 Flow”
Entrepreneurial Lead (EL): Shane Transue Ph.D
Principle Investigator (PI): Min Choi Ph.D
Industry Mentor (IM): Charlie Weinberger MBA
CSCI Study Award: Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute – Preliminary Clinical Deployment of CO2 Exhale Respiratory Analysis
PIs: Min Choi Ph.D and Ann Halbower MD
Research Scientist: Shane Transue Ph.D
NSF Award ACI-1602428 (2016) “SCH: EXP: RadiOptiMeter: Long-term and Fine-grained Breathing Volume Monitoring for SDB”
PIs: Tam Vu Ph.D, Min Choi Ph.D, and Ann Halbower MD
Authors: Tam Vu, Min Choi Ph.D, Shane Transue Ph.D, Phuc Nguyen Ph.D, and Ann Halbower MD
Academic Awards
• Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year – 2018: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Colorado Denver.
• University of Colorado Regents Speaker, University of Colorado Denver, Regents, Chancellor of UCD, Dean of Engineering and Applied Science, and the Dean of the College of Arts and Media, Denver Colorado, 2017.
• IEEE Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems, and Engineering – NSF Travel Award, Washington DC, 2016.
• International Symposium on Visual Computing (ISVC) – Travel Award, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Colorado Denver, 2015.
• Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year – 2013: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Colorado Denver.
Formal Research
Ph.D. Dissertation: Inverse Modeling for Data-driven Physical Simulation
Masters Thesis: Interactive Deformation Control with Pattern Adherence
Undergraduate Project: Robot Monitoring and Visualization Tool (RoMoVi)
During the completion of my formal academic career, I have developed numerous projects related to the various topics and courses I have completed. The most significant research directions are listed below:
• Physics Simulation (Continuum Mechanics, Finite Element Analysis)
• Computer Animation (Physical Simulation | Deformable-object Control)
• Computer Graphics (Lighting, Materials, Shading, Modeling | OpenGL, DirectX)
• 3D Scanning (Tilt-Pan Laser-Based point cloud acquisition)
• Parallel Language Performance (CUDA/OpenCL)
Informal Research
In addition to the formal research that I have completed in pursuit of my academic degrees, there are several topics in CS that I have developed various projects for.
• C/C++ (Library Design, Policy-based Design, Template Meta-programming)
• Programming Language Design (Lexical analysis, Parsing, Compiling)
• Expression Parsing (Mathematical Expression Evaluation)
• Software Engineering (Design Principles, MVC, Methodologies)
• Physics Engine Design (Rigid body, Constraint-based simulation)
• Artificial Intelligence (Neural Networks, CNNs, RNNs, Case-Based Reasoning)
• Game Design (Asset creation – models, textures, materials, Level Design, Gameplay)
Teaching
During my graduate studies, I taught for a brief period of time; however I focus on mentorship for future engineers in the technical development of research and development. My educational and teaching related activities at the University of Colorado Denver are listed below.
Course Instructor
CSCI-1411: Fundamentals of Computing Lab (Spring 2014) – Section 001
CSCI-1411: Fundamentals of Computing Lab (Spring 2014) – Section 003
CSCI-1411: Fundamentals of Computing Lab (Summer 2014)
Course Content
CSCI-4800/5800: Shader and GPU Programming (Author), (Spring 2016)
CSCI-5920: Game Design and Programming (Author), (Fall 2017)
Teaching Assistant (TA)
CSCI-5920: Game Design and Programming (Fall 2016)
CSCI-5920: Game Design and Programming (Fall 2015)
CSCI-5565: Intro to Computer Graphics (Fall 2013)
CSCI-5565: Introto Computer Graphics (Spring 2013)
CSCI-5565: Introto Computer Graphics (Fall 2014)
CSCI-5573: Operating Systems (Fall 2015)
CSCI-5595: Computer Animation (Spring 2015)
CSCI-2421: Data Structures and Prog Design (Spring 2014)
CSCI-2421: Data Structures and Prog Design (Spring 2015)
CSCI-2421: Data Structures and Prog Design (Spring 2016)
CSCI-2421: Data Structures and Prog Design (Spring 2016)
CSCI-2421: Data Structures and Prog Design (Spring 2017)
Media and Press
In 2014, my work related to developing mobile long-range Time-of-Flight (TOF) 3D scanning systems with Laser Tech (LTI) was presented in Impact magazine. This work was completed during the first year of my Masters degree program while working in a collaborative effort between UC Denver and LTI. The outcome of this work is shown in the SxStudio project.
Mentoring and Research Contributions
The development and expansion of UC Denver is a continuous process and has been well received by the Denver community. To contribute to this expansion and development, some of my work has been noted in the Denver Post. Although details of the work are not present (undergoing IP patent review), it provides a small glimpse into our research lab.
“Shane Transue, a CU Denver doctoral student, demonstrates a project in progress using a thermal camera to watch breathing patterns for medical research during a Graphics and Virtual Reality Lab at the University of Colorado Denver’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering on Thursday, March 7, 2019, in Denver.”
During my continuous teaching and mentoring efforts, there were a wide variety of different students that have been excited to learn new concepts from Computer Science and how to apply them in their career paths. One such student was Abel Mebrahtu, who I mentored during his time at UC Denver where he obtained excellent start in C++ programming. The following article followed his journey through his educational transformation.
“Pillars come in many forms, and Abel and Robera point to CU Denver and CU Anschutz faculty and staff who supported and mentored them. Shane Transue, a doctoral student and teacher assistant in computer science, helped Abel understand software coding.”
https://news.ucdenver.edu/graduation-brings-bright-futures-ethiopian-best-friends/