Directory Profile

Andy Nealen is an Associate Professor of Cinematic Arts and Computer Science in the Interactive Media & Games Division at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the Department of Computer Science at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. He teaches and researches in Game Design, Computer Graphics, and Game Engineering. Andy's work seeks to increase the accessibility of computer-based tools across a variety of application environments, drawing upon minimalist principles he first encountered while obtaining his Dipl.-Ing. in Architecture and Structural Engineering from TU Darmstadt. In particular, his research leverages and extends our understanding of how humans perceive shape, motion, and color. This focus on minimal and accessible designs for complex systems is evidenced in the Apple-Design-Award-winning game Osmos, as well as in his Sketch-Based Modeling, Game-Space Exploration, and Game Heuristics research. Andy received his PhD in Computer Science from TU Berlin, is a regular speaker at international game and computer graphics conferences, and is a regular contributor to ACM SIGGRAPH.