Paul D. Varcholik, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy University of Central Florida
[email protected] www.bespokesoftware.org (407) 963-3833
Education
2007 – 2011 University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Ph.D., Modeling & Simulation M.S., Modeling & Simulation
1994 – 1998 Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA
B.S., Computer Science
1992 – 1994 Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA
Major: Computer Science, Aviation
Professional Experience
2007 – Present Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, Orlando, FL
Research Associate
Presented graduate-level instruction for game programming and tools development using C++ and C#.
2003 – Present Seminole State College, Sanford, FL
Adjunct Instructor
Taught undergraduate classes in C# Programming, Advanced C#
Programming, Introduction to Game Programming (using C# and XNA), Visual Basic.NET, and iPhone Programming
2006 – 2007 Toptech Systems (an IDEX Company), Longwood, FL Technical Project Lead
Provided software engineering direction for a mid-sized development shop offering Terminal Automation Services for the refined-oil distribution industry. Implemented new development practices including software configuration management and continuous integration. Migrated their C# codebase to.NET 2.0 and established an electronic software delivery mechanism for installation and product updates.
2003 – 2006 Electronic Arts – Tiburon, Maitland, FL Lead Software Engineer
Credits: Madden NFL 06 (Xbox 360), Superman Returns (Xbox 360/PS2/Xbox) Led the Central Technology Group in developing high-performance, next-generation content pipelines. Supported Tiburon’s product line for product years 2005, 2006, and 2007 including NCAA Football, NASCAR, NFL Street, Madden NFL Football, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour.
2000 – 2003 Volaris Online, Lake Mary, FL IT Director
Built an 8-member team of software developers, database administrators, and Unix technicians to support the operations of an Internet Service
Provider with service to over 200,000 customers in the Southeast. This team was critical to the successful integration of 52 acquired ISPs onto common platforms for authentication, account provisioning, billing, payment processing, order entry, and call center support. Led the development of applications for each of these components using C, C++, Visual Basic, and ASP for use across Windows and Unix operating systems and the Web.
Maintained a large array of hardware to host these applications and made extensive use of Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 to support sizeable databases with high transaction volumes.
1995 – 2000 Surf South, Valdosta, GA Director of Corporate Services
Co-owner of regional Internet Service Provider with dial-up and broadband access to 35 counties in Southwest Georgia. Developed the software and network infrastructure to support a customer base of 26,000 residential and corporate customers.
1998 – 2000 Valdosta Technical College, Valdosta, GA Instructor
Taught undergraduate classes in Introduction to C Programming, Advanced C
Programming, and Introduction to the UNIX Operating System.
1994 – 1995 GoldLeaf Technologies, Hahira, GA Programmer/Analyst
Developed commercial software applications for the financial industry. Coding primarily in the C programming language.
Publications
Varcholik, P., LaViola J., Hughes, C. (2012). Establishing a baseline for text entry for a
multi-touch virtual keyboard. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies.
Varcholik, P. (2011). Multi-Touch for General-Purpose Computing: An Examination of Text
Entry. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Central Florida.
Hoffman, M., Varcholik, P., LaViola, J. 2010. Breaking the Status Quo: Improving 3D Gesture
Recognition with Spatially Convenient Input Devices. In Proceedings of the 2010 Virtual Reality
Conference (Waltham, MA, March 20 - 24, 2010). pp. 59-66.
Wingrave, C. Williamson, B., Varcholik, P., Rose, J., Miller, A. Charbonneau, E., Bott, J., and LaViola, J. 2010. The Wii Remote and Beyond: Spatially Convenient Devices for 3D User
Interfaces. In IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications. vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 71-85.
Varcholik, P., LaViola, J., and Hughes, C. 2009. The Bespoke 3DUI XNA Framework: A Low-Cost
Platform for Prototyping 3D Spatial Interfaces in Video Games. In Proceedings of the 2009 ACM
SIGGRAPH Symposium on Video Games (New Orleans, Louisiana, August 04 - 06, 2009). S. N.
Spencer, Ed. Sandbox '09. ACM, New York, NY, pp. 55-61.
Varcholik, P., LaViola, J., Nicholson, D. 2009. TACTUS: A Hardware and Software Testbed for
Research in Multi-Touch Interaction. In Proceedings of the 2009 International Conference on
Human-Computer Interaction (San Diego, CA, July 19 – 24, 2009).
Varcholik, P., Barber, D., Nicholson, D. 2008. Interactions and Training with Unmanned
Systems and the Nintendo Wiimote. In Proceedings of the 2008 Interservice/Industry Training,
Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) (Orlando, Florida, December 01 – 04, 2008). Varcholik, P., Merlo, J. 2008. Gestural Communication with Accelerometer-based Input Devices
and Tactile Displays. In Proceedings of the 2008 Army Science Conference (Orlando, Florida, December 01 – 04, 2008).
Courses Taught
Fall 2012 Math/Graphics (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy
Advanced iPhone Programming
Seminole State College
Summer 2012 Programming III (Graduate Level)
iPhone Programming
Seminole State College
C# Programming
Seminole State College
Spring 2012 Programming II (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy
Introduction to Game Programming
Seminole State College
Fall 2011 Venture Track (Graduate Level) Math/Graphics (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy
C# Programming
Seminole State College
Summer 2011 Programming III (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy Spring 2011 Programming II (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy Fall 2010 Math/Graphics (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy Spring 2010 Programming II (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy
Fall 2009 Introduction to Programming for Technical Artists (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy
Spring 2009 C# For Game-Related Tools Programming (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy
Spring 2008 C# For Game-Related Tools Programming (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy Fall 2007 Introduction to Game Programming
Seminole State College
Summer 2007 C# For Game-Related Tools Programming (Graduate Level)
Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy Fall 2006 Introduction to Game Programming
Spring 2005 Advanced C# Programming
Seminole State College Fall 2004 C# Programming
Seminole State College Spring 2004 Advanced C# Programming
Seminole State College Fall 2003 C# Programming
Seminole State College Spring 2003 Visual Basic.NET
Seminole State College
Fall 1999 Introduction to the UNIX Operating System
Valdosta Technical College Spring 1998 Advanced C Programming
Valdosta Technical College Fall 1998 C Programming
Valdosta Technical College
Seminars and Demonstrations
Jul. 2008 3D User Interfaces in Video Games with the Bespoke 3DUI XNA Framework.
Microsoft Research Faculty Summit 2008. Jul., 2008. Redmond, WA.
Oct. 2008 Gestural Communication with Accelerometer-Based Input Devices and Multi-Modal Displays. 16th Annual ARL/USMA Technical Symposium. Oct. 2008,
