Alumni

Bernd Hamann
Ph.D. , Computer Science
Class of 1991

Job Title:
Associate Vice Chancellor

Company:
University of California-Davis 

The need to create better methods for mathematical modeling and visualizing scientific data and information using computer graphics grows each day. CSE alumnus Bernd Hamann has spent most of his career in computer science working collaboratively on interdisciplinary teams to develop and improve methods to visualize data. He graduated from ASU in 1991 with a Ph.D. in computer science. From there, he started his career at Mississippi State University (MSU).

While working at MSU, Hamann become involved in a major research project funded by NSF that was devoted primarily to computational efforts concerning aircraft and car design. He researched ways to interactively design and manipulate complex geometry required for aircraft and car simulations as a faculty researcher within the NSF Engineering Research Center. In 1992, he won the Research Initiation Award from NSF, which enabled him to combine his research interest in data visualization and geometric design.

Hamann received a CAREER Award from NSF for his work on scientific data modeling and visualization upon transferring to the University of California-Davis (UC-Davis). His career expanded when he became the co-director of the Center for Image Processing and Integrated Computing (now called Institute for Data Analysis and Visualization) at UC-Davis. He traveled to Livermore, CA to work as a participating guest researcher and faculty computer scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory operated by the University of California for the US Department of Energy. Over the past fifteen years, he has collaborated extensively with his colleagues from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

UC-Davis honored his research performance in 2000 by promoting him to a full professor of computer science. He was appointed to the position of associate vice chancellor for research at UC Davis in 2003. This position has enabled him to oversee most interdisciplinary and large-scale research projects performed on the entire UC Davis campus. Since 2005, he has also been serving as the co-director of the first Germany-US International Research Training Group (IRTG), funded by the German Research Foundation. The IRTG provides funding for Ph.D. students from the University of Kaiserslauitern, Germany, who can spend several months per year at one of the official US partner institutions (UC Davis, ASU, the University of Utah, and UC Irvine).

In 2005, Hamann co-founded Stratovan Corporation, a data visualization and analysis company. His career spans several decades, universities and leadership positions, including a variety of university-based research, teaching and leadership positions. He considers his start at ASU to have been an important first step in his career. He said, “Whenever I reflect on my career path to date, I realize that I had wonderful academic role models - my caring Ph.D. advisor, many outstanding professors, highly effective research center directors, and visionary and dedicated administrators. I learned from them so much and always could count on their support and advice whenever I needed it.” He adds, “My role models inspired me to do better, to try harder, and to attempt to teach and mentor the next generation of scientists and leaders well. I can only hope that I can touch some of my students in ways my former advisors and mentors who influenced me in so many positive and lasting ways.”