Our Program & Faculty
At the School of Informatics and Computing we teach digital production and conceptual skills that empower students to thrive in many industries. We realign what we teach to reflect the constantly evolving field of media technology locally and abroad.
As the first school of its kind in the nation. SoIC has been leading the way for 20 years. In the virtual production realm, we possess the talent, grit, and aspirations to bring a top-tier experience to students who can’t afford top-tier tuition. We are serious about what we create, what we teach, and the students we serve.
SoIC is a small player on the scene, but we punch above our weight, and our faculty is dedicated to student success.
Faculty
Travis Faas
Travis Faas brings his experience building websites for Madison Square Gardens and several NBA teams into the classroom, teaching students how to build interactive media experiences that combine technical proficiency and an eye for artistry. He has written several introductory texts on game development that have been used as resources in universities nationwide. His interactive media has been shown at several academic venues, such as Meaningful Play and Games, Learning, and Society. His mentees have had their work shown at MAGFest Indie Arcade, the Intel Games Showcase at the annual Game Developers Conference and were awarded best in show at Vector Conference 2018.
He is pursuing a Ph.D. in human-computer interaction, with specific interest in the programming and game development communities of practice found on live streaming sites such as Twitch.tv.
More about Travis
Thomas Lewis
C. Thomas Lewis is a senior lecturer in MAS, where he has developed the video curriculum and taught several courses in production since 2009. To all the courses he teaches, Thomas brings a strong dedication to storytelling and emphasizes the development of students’ cinematography and editing skills to best serve their storytelling. His passion lies in empowering his students to realize their story ideas through embracing the potential of digital technology.
In addition to teaching, Thomas has received multiple grants over the years, producing several health-related films and projection-mapping installations that address issues of climate change, HIV in Kenya, and the opioid crisis in Indiana. Prior to moving to Indiana, Thomas worked in production in Los Angeles for sixteen years after receiving his MFA in film from CalArts in 1993.
More about Thomas
Mathew Powers
Mathew A. Powers is at home in worlds both real and virtual, teaching how to turn interests such as video and traditional analog gaming, sequential narratives, and creature design into careers. He helps students to develop skills in original personal creation; collaboration between diverse minds and talents; team-building as needed by all creative industries; business planning; and project prototyping.
Focusing on 2-D and 3-D creation, virtual reality, and game world environment construction, exotic lifeforms for games and digital narratives, Powers’ classes explore character, environment, narrative, and game creation.
More about Mathew
Albert William
Since 2003, Albert William has been a research associate and lecturer in the School of Informatics and Computing’s Media Arts and Science program. He teaches a range of 3D courses and specializes in three-dimensional design and animation of scientific content and digital heritage. He has directed a service-learning study abroad program to Greece for five years; there students document cultural and historical artifacts by creating videos that include photography, 3-D reconstructions of ancient sites, and virtual reality.
He has been involved in project management and production for numerous projects with SOIC for organizations such as the Office of Naval Research/CRANE; Ruth Lilly Health Education Center; Eli Lilly and Co.; IU’s School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, School of Nursing, the Center for Computational Biology; and other freelance work from local to international levels.
Some awards he has received include the 2003 Silicon Graphics Inc. Award for Excellence in Computational Sciences and Visualization at Indiana University, the 2016 award for Excellence in the Scholarship of Teaching, and the 2019 Trustees Teaching Award. He has been PI or Co-PI on approx. $1.5 million of various research grants and contracts.
More about Albert
Zebulun M. Wood
Zeb is a lecturer and co-director in the MAS program. He has developed the 3D specialization along with Albert William since 2013 and led curriculum, career advancement, and community outreach partnerships for the program since 2017. Zeb’s courses center on virtual beings and VFX for games, films, and extended reality platforms and even extend to facial prosthodontic partnerships with IU school of Dentistry. He and his students invent new protocols, unexpected yet epic (get it) collaborations, but most importantly killer Indiana home grown student stories. His student's successes are his successes. Zeb advises the campus’ ACM SIGGRAPH IUPUI Student Chapter (world's oldest) and the campus esports program, Gamershall.
In additional to teaching, Zeb currently collaborates with the IU School of Medicine, Dentistry, Purdue School of Engineering and local startups on research grants centered in VR’s capability to affect brain changes, maxillofacial prosthodontic design fabrication, football helmet design, and innovating in k-12 education, respectively. Zeb’s N420 Multimedia Production Design class has clocked nearly 50k hours of student service with startups, non-profits and campus collaborators, conferences, and companies in Indiana and around the world.
More about Zeb