Feature

Michelle Galetti had good reason to leave college. She chose to stay.

CU Boulder PhD candidate and ATLAS THING Lab member Ryo Suzuki recently developed LiftTiles—room-scale, actuator-based building blocks that pave the way for a new generation of shape-changing interfaces.

In this cover article in ACM "Interactions" magazine, Assistant Professor Laura Devendorf and associated researchers propose a new kind of digital craftsmanship, one "in which we may craft with the digital and find ways to make the machines craft along with us, in some kind of digital crafts-machine-ship."

Making healthcare more affordable, effective and personal is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Directed by Assistant Professor Mirela Alistar, the Living Matter Lab is rising to that challenge.

It's difficult to overstate CU alumnus Alan Kay's influence on our modern digital landscape. Recruited to work at Xerox PARC the year it opened, Kay helped invent graphical user interfaces (GUIs), object-oriented programming and the first laptop. On November 11, after spending the day in ATLAS visiting labs and talking with faculty and students, Kay packed Cofrin Auditorium for a talk on polymaths and invention.

“It hit a really sweet spot," says Swanson. "It's subtle, and it’s all black and white, which resonates with my practice, but it’s also visually appealing enough where people walking down the street would be interested to stop and see more."

On Sept. 25, ATLAS Professor Ellen Do spoke at the Apsara Conference 2019, one of the largest annual gatherings of developers and tech enthusiasts in China. Her talk, "Creating Magic with Digital Design & Making," was in part an overview of the ATLAS Institute.

ATLAS PhD students, Peter Gyory and Clement Zheng, took home the "Innovation in Interaction Design Award" from the International Festival of Independent Games (IndieCade) for their cooperative arcade survival game, HOT SWAP: All Hands On Deck.

Matt Bethancourt and Danny Rankin started the Whaaat!? festival in order to geek-out with a group of like-minded game developers; in just the second year, the all-day event attracted more than 250 participants.

Artist Joel Swanson, an assistant professor with the ATLAS Institute, sustained his momentum over the summer months, adding to his chain of shows and awards both locally and abroad.