Carolina Cruz-Neira facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carolina Cruz-Neira
Alma mater	University of Illinois, Chicago Universidad Metropolitana
Occupation	Agere Chair in Computer Science, University of Central Florida
Known for	Computer Science and Engineering, CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment Software frameworks for virtual reality application development:CAVELib, VRJugger, Tweek, Maestro.
Awards	Member of the National Academy of Engineering, XR Hall of Fame, IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award 2007, Arkansas Research Alliance Scholar

Carolina Cruz-Neira is a computer scientist, researcher, and educator. She is a pioneer in the field of virtual reality (VR). She is famous for inventing the cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE).

She is a member of important groups like the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). She is also in the XR Hall of Fame. Currently, she is a professor at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Her research focuses on creating software for virtual worlds. She also combines her engineering skills with art. She produces immersive dance performances and museum exhibits.

In 2018, Cruz-Neira was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This was for her important work in immersive visualization and virtual reality.

Education and Early Life

Carolina Cruz-Neira started dancing classical ballet at age three in Spain. She continued her dance studies in Venezuela and Chicago. Later, an injury caused her to focus more on her engineering career. However, she still uses her passion for dance in her work. She creates immersive dance shows using technology.

University Studies

Cruz-Neira earned her first degree in systems engineering in 1987. This was from the Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas, Venezuela. She then moved to the United States. She received a master's degree in electrical engineering and computer science in 1991. She completed her PhD in 1995. Both advanced degrees were from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She worked with a famous computer graphics researcher, Thomas DeFanti.

Early Career

Before coming to the United States, Cruz-Neira worked as a software engineer in Venezuela. One of her first projects was designing a system for a hydroponic farm. This system helped the farm grow plants more efficiently. She also created a system to manage building floor plans.

Teleprovenca and Rotary Award

After college in 1987, she joined Teleprovenca in Venezuela. This was a large data center. She quickly became a research and development leader. She helped create a new language for large business applications. She also helped develop software for the first ATM machines.

Her excellent work led her to receive a Rotary International Ambassador Award. This award brought her to the United States. She studied for her master's degree and learned English. She also shared Venezuelan and Spanish culture as a goodwill ambassador.

High-Performance Computing and IBM

After her Rotary award, she received a High-Performance Computing Award. This allowed her to work with top computing companies. This experience sparked her interest in combining powerful computers with visual environments.

In 1991, she joined IBM Wall Street. She became a lead software architect for visualization. She created one of the first visualization languages. Her work helped create real-time, interactive views of the stock market. This was a new way to see live financial data.

Career Highlights

CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment

The CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) was invented by Carolina Cruz-Neira, Daniel J. Sandin, and Thomas A. DeFanti in 1992. For her PhD, Cruz-Neira designed and built the CAVE system. She also created the CAVELib software, which is now a commercial product. She also helped create VR Juggler, an open-source tool for virtual reality.

The CAVE is an immersive system. It uses projection screens on the front, side, and floor. It also has a tracking system for the person using it. The name CAVE also refers to Plato's "Allegory of the Cave." This story explores ideas about reality and how humans see the world.

Other systems have been developed based on the CAVE technology. These include the ImmersaDesk and Infinity Wall. These systems offer different ways to experience virtual reality.

Working in Universities

Cruz-Neira has held many important positions at universities. She was a professor and co-founder of the Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC) at Iowa State University (ISU). In 2002, she also helped start the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) graduate program at ISU.

Later, she joined the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2005. In 2006, she became the first CEO of LITE (Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise). This was a state effort to boost immersive technologies. From 2009 to 2014, she held an endowed chair position there.

In 2014, she became an Arkansas Research Scholar. She moved to Little Rock to lead the Emerging Analytics Center (EAC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Since 2019, Cruz-Neira has been a professor at the University of Central Florida. There, she founded the VARLab, a research group for new immersive technologies. She also helps lead the UCF Digital Twin Strategic Initiative.

Many of her former students now work in leading VR companies. These include Unity Labs, Intel, Microsoft Research, and Google.

Other Contributions

In 2017, Cruz-Neira was featured in a Dutch documentary series called The Mind of the Universe. She was in episode 8, "the player."

In 2018, she was invited by Dell to speak at the Consumer Electronics Show. She discussed how virtual reality can make a positive impact on society.

Since 2019, she has been the Chief Editor of VR and Industry for Frontier's in Virtual Reality Journal.

Awards and Recognition

• 2007 – Received the IEEE VGTC Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award. This was for her work on the CAVE.
• 2009 – Awarded the Distinguished Career Award by the International Digital Media and Arts Association (iDMMa).
• 2014 – Named an Arkansas Research Alliance Scholar.
• 2016 – Included in Polygon website's Top 25 VR Innovators award.
• 2016 – Named one of the three greatest female innovators in virtual reality by University Herald.
• 2018 – Elected to the National Academy of Engineering.
• 2018 – Named a Computer Pioneer by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).