Photo of Lew Hitchner Lewis E. Hitchner
Ph.D. (1984), Computer Science, University of Utah
M.S. (1968), Operations Research, University of Calif., Berkeley
A.B. (1967), Mathematics, Dartmouth College

Professor, Emeritus 
Department of Computer Science
College of Engineering
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Email:

Professional Biography Prior to joining the Computer Science faculty at Cal Poly Prof. Hitchner was active in R&D for Virtual Reality software systems in Silicon Valley. From 1988 through 1993 he was a scientist at the Research Inst. for Advanced Computer Science (RIACS) at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA (1989-1993). There he was the technical developer of the Virtual Planetary Exploration project (VPE), an immersive VR system for virtual exploration of the planet Mars. After leaving NASA Ames, Dr. Hitchner held various positions in the VR industry including V.P. of R&D for Xtensory, Inc., consultant to Sense8, Corp., and Member of the Technical Staff at Sterling Software, Inc. Dr. Hitchner completed his doctoral studies at the Univ. of Utah. Prior to that he was employed by ICI America as an Operations Research analyst (1968-1973).

From 1983 through 1988 he was a member of the faculty of Computer & Information Sciences at Univ. of Calif., Santa Cruz. During the 2003-2004 academic year Prof. Hitchner was on sabbatical and held the position of Senior Lecturer in the Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Auckland, New Zealand, where he taught the introductory computer science course (CompSci 101) and advanced courses in computer graphics (CompSci 372 and 707).

From June, 2007 I have been retired. I no longer work at Cal Poly, and I have moved to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Personal
Home Address:
1492 East Tuscan Oak Way
Sandy, Utah 84092-4601

Photos and videos
  • Back-country powder skiing in the Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah:
    Click here to see how the old farts do it in deep powder!
  • Ken and Vince leave for California
    Movie in MPEG-4 format [11.0 MBytes, 0:58 playing time]
    Movie in Quicktime (.mov) format [95.2 MBytes, 0:58 playing time]
    Movie in AVI format [65.2 MBytes, 0:58 playing time]
  • Photo slide shows of my trip with Bob McCaig to the SW desert in Spring 2008 [Quicktime format files (.mov) containing images and audio]
    Joshua Tree National Park (Southern Calif.) [22.8 MBytes, about 3:26 playing time]
    Upper Antelope slot canyon and Buckskin Gulch (near Page, AZ, and Paria, UT) [28.4 MBytes, about 5:58 playing time]
  • Photo slide shows of our Wind Rivers 2008 backpack trip (SW Wyoming) [Quicktime format files (.mov) containing images and audio]
    Our trip, mostly scenery plus some shots on the trail and in camp [216 MBytes, about 14:22 playing time]
    Friends [28.8 MBytes, about 2:44 playing time]
2 Mottos: 
  • "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. 

    • Specialization is for insects." -- Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
     
  • "A human being should be able to heal a wound, plan an expedition, order from a French menu, climb a mountain face, enjoy a ballet, balance accounts, roll a kayak, embolden a friend, tell a joke, laugh at himself, cooperate, act alone, sing a children's song, solve equations, throw a dog a stick, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, love heartily, fight efficiently, die gallantly. 

    • Specialization is for insects." -- Lewis E. Hitchner, Dartmouth College Alumni Magazine 1982, memoriam for Robert Frohboese, class of 1965
Comments
  • This page was last updated on September 23, 2008.