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.
"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