If you are an up-and-coming artist, an avid game player or a programmer, and you are interested in a behind-the-scenes look at NASA’s computer graphics, join NASA Explorer Schools for a live chat with Zareh Gorjian on June 2, 2011, at 9 a.m. PDT.
Gorjian specializes in computer graphics. He implemented all of the Quick View wireframe and high-performance renderers for NASA’s Surveyor mission, as well as the interface used for displaying images. He worked on Surveyor full time until September 1993 and has continued to contribute on a part-time basis while working on other projects. He currently is involved in designing and implementing third-generation animation and rendering software for the Digital Image Animation Lab at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was most recently a part of the team that produced animations for the IMAX movie “Destiny in Space.”
Before working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Gorjian worked at a software development company where he was a part of the team that developed a piano teaching system for a computer gaming platform. He developed the graphics for an artificial intelligence system designed to help people learn to play the piano.
In addition to his academic and professional involvement with computer graphics, he engages in the artistic pursuit of the subject in his spare time. When Gorjian is not transforming polygons, he is transforming coins and other objects as a magician.