ERIK L BRUNVAND portrait
  • Adjunct Professor, Division Of Games
  • Adjunct Professor, Elect & Computer Engineering
  • Professor, School Of Computing
801-581-4345

Publications

  • A. Banerjee, S. Basu, E. Brunvand, P. Mazumder, W. R. Cleaveland, G. Singh, M. Martonosi & F. Pembleton (2021). Navigating the Seismic Shift of Post-Moore Computer Systems Design. IEEE Micro. Vol. 41. Published, 11/2021.
  • S. Basu & E. Brunvand (2021). Semiconductor Microelectronic Research at NSF/CISE: Status and Challenges. IEEE VLSI Circuits and Systems Letters. Vol. 7. Published, 02/01/2021.
  • D. Lin, E. Vasiou, C. Yuksel, D. Kopta & E. Brunvand (2020). Hardware-Acclerated Dual-Split Trees. High Performance Graphics (HPG). Published, 06/01/2020.
  • E. Vasiou, K. Shkurko, E. Brunvand & C. Yuksel (2020). Mach-RT: A Many Chip Architecture for High Performance Ray Tracing. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG). Published, 06/2020.
  • M. Majid al-Rifaie & E. Brunvand (2020). Adding Bling: Using LEDs with Arduino. in "The Art of Coding: The Language of Drawing, Graphics and Animation". Published, 02/01/2020.
  • E. Brunvand & W. Wischer (2019). Collective Currents: Exploring Sustainability through a Collaborative and Interactive Installation. Leonardo Journal. Published, 11/01/2019.
  • E. Brunvand (2019). Image Glitching: Manipulating Images with Audio Effects. ACM SIGGRAPH Conference. Published, 07/29/2019.
  • E. Vasiou & K. Shkurko ,E. Brunvand, C. Yuksel (2019). Mach-RT: A Many Chip Architecture for Ray Tracing. High Performance Graphics conference. Published, 07/08/2019.
  • E. Brunvand (2019). Extending Student Labs with SMT Circuit Implementation. ACM Great Lakes Symposium on VLSI (GLSVLSI). Published, 05/10/2019.
  • E. Brunvand (2019). SIGGRAPH Reprise at SIGCSE. ACM SIGCSE special session. Published, 03/08/2019.
  • K. Shkurko, C. Yuksel, D. Kopta, I. Mallett & E. Brunvand (2018). Time Interval Ray Tracing for Motion Blur. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. Vol. 24. Published, 12/01/2018.
  • E. Brunvand, D. Kline & A. Jones (2018). Dark Silicon Considered Harmful: A Case for Truly Green Computing. International Green and Sustainable Computing Conference (IGSC). Published, 10/12/2018.
  • E. Vasiou, K. Shkurko, I. Mallett, E. Brunvand & C. Yuksel (2018). A Detailed Study of Ray Tracing Performance: Render Time and Energy Cost. Computer Graphics International (CGI). Published, 06/14/2018.
  • K. Shkurko, T. Grant, E. Brunvand, D. Kopta, J. Spjut, E. Vasiou, I. Mallett & C. Yuksel (2018). SimTRaX: Simulation Infrastructure for Exploring Thousands of Cores. ACM Great Lakes Symposium on VLSI (GLSVLSI). Published, 05/10/2018.
  • S. Reiser, E. Brunvand, P. Conrad, W. Kirby & C. Starrett (2018). CS+Art Curriculum. ACM SIGCSE (Computer Science Education conference) panel. Published, 03/2018.
  • E. Brunvand & D. Kopta (2017). Power and Energy Implications of Misunderstanding DRAM. International Green and Sustainable Computing Conference (IGSC). Published, 10/2017.
  • D. Kline, N. Parshook, A. Johnson, J. Stine, W. Stanchina, E. Brunvand & A. Jones (2017). Sustainable IC Design and Fabrication. International Green and Sustainable Computing Conference (IGSC). Published, 10/2017.
  • S. Reiser, E. Brunvand, P. Conrad & C. Reas (2017). Curriculum Matters: Melding Art + Computer Science. ACM SIGGRAPH (panel). Published, 08/2017.
  • K. Shkurko, T. Grant, D. Kopta, I. Mallett, C. Yuksel & E. Brunvand (2017). Dual Streaming for Hardware-Accelerated Ray Tracing. ACM/Eurographics High-Performance Computer Graphics conference (HPG). Published, 07/2017.
  • E. Brunvand and N. McCurty, “Making Noise: Using Sound-Art to explore Technological Fluency,” ACM SIGCSE, Seattle, WA, 2017. Awarded Best Paper at SIGCSE 2017. Published, 03/2017.
  • D. Kline, N. Parshook, X. Ge, E. Brunvand, R. Melhem, P. Chrysanthis and A. Jones, “Holistically Evaluating the Environmental Impacts in Modern Computing Systems,” International Sustainable and Green Computing (ICSG) Conference, Hangzhou, China, Nov 2016. Published, 11/2016.
  • Erik Brunvand, ”CS+X: Cross Campus Collaborations,” ACM SIGGRAPH 2016 (panel), Anaheim, CA, August 2016. Published, 07/2016.
  • J G Alford and Erik Brunvand, ”Leveraging CS Teachable Moments in the Maker Movement,” ACM SIGCSE, Memphis, TN, 2016. Published, 03/2016.
  • E. Brunvand, “Kinetic Sculptures: Creating Programmable Art,” ACM SIGGRAPH 2015, Los Angles, CA, August 2015. Published, 08/14/2015.
  • E. Brunvand, “A Noise-Based Curriculum for Technological Fluency,” ACM SIGGRAPH 2015, Los Angeles, CA, August 2015. Published, 08/2015.
  • E. Brunvand, “Using Surface-Mount Components in an Embedded Systems Lab,” ACM Workshop on Computer Architecture Education (WCAE), Portland, OR, June 2015. Published, 06/2015.
  • E. Brunvand, “Technological Fluency through Circuit Bending,” International Conference on Microelectronic Systems Education, Pittsburgh, PA, May 2015. Published, 03/2015.
  • D. Kopta, K. Shkurko, J. Spjut, E. Brunvand, A. Davis. “Memory Considerations for Low-Energy Ray Tracing,” Computer Graphics Forum, Vol 34, No. 1, Feb 2015. Published, 02/01/2015.
  • E. Brunvand, ``Speculatorum Oculi,'' Leonardo, Vol 47, No. 4, Aug 2014. Published, 08/2014.
  • E. Brunvand, N. Chatterjee, D. Kopta, ``Why Graphics Programmers Need to Know about DRAM,'' in ACM SIGGRAPH 2014 Courses, SIGGRAPH '14, (Vancouver, Canada). Published, 08/2014.
  • `` Drawing Machines: Mechanical Computer Graphics,'' Studio workshop and contest, SIGGRAPH, Vancouver, Canada, 2014. Published, 08/2014.
  • E. Brunvand, S. Brunvand, ``Drawing Machines: An Arts and Engineering Collaboration,'' NAEA conference, San Diego, CA, Mar 2014. Published, 03/2014.
  • Erik Brunvand, "Automated Drawing Machines: History and Practice," Impact 6 conference, Dundee Scotland, Aug 2013. Published, 08/2013.
  • Erik Brunvand, "Electrified Printmaking: Using Conductive Ink to Create Active Images," Impact 6 confrence, Dundee, Scotland, Aug 2013. Published, 08/2013.
  • Erik Brunvand, ``Arts/tech collaboration with embedded systems and kinetic art,'' in ACM SIGGRAPH 2013 Talks, SIGGRAPH '13, (New York, NY, USA), pp. 23:1--23:1, ACM, 2013. Published, 08/2013.
  • Erik Brunvand, ``Lights! Speed! Action!: Fundamentals of physical computing for programmers,'' in ACM SIGGRAPH 2013 Courses, SIGGRAPH '13, (New York, NY, USA), pp.13:1--13:108, ACM, 2013. Published, 08/2013.
  • Daniel Kopta, Konstantin Shkurko, Josef Spjut, Erik Brunvand, Al Davis, ``An Energy and Bandwidth Efficient Ray Tracing Architecture,'' in High-Performance Computer Graphics (HPG 2013), July 2013. Published, 07/2013.
  • Erik Brunvand, ``Automated Drawing Machines: Blurring the Line between Drawing and Print,'' Southern Graphics Council International (SGCI) conference, Mar 2013. Published, 03/2013.
  • Erik Brunvand, Paul Stout, Jennifer Alford, ``Drawing Machines: Exploring embedded system programming and hardware with an artistic flair,'' ACM SIGCSE Symposium on Computer Science Education (3-hour workshop, referred acceptance), Mar 2013. Published, 03/2013.
  • Konstantin Shkurko, Thiago Ize, Christiaan Gribble, Erik Brunvand, and Lee Butler, ``Simulating Radio Frequency Propagation via Ray Tracing,'' GPU Technology Conference, March 2013 (poster). Published, 03/2013.
  • Josef Spjut, Andrew Kensler, Daniel Kopta, and Erik Brunvand, “TRaX:, A Multicore Hardware Architecture for Real-Time Ray Tracing,” IEEE Transacations on CAD, Vol 28, N 12, December 2009. Published, 12/2012.
  • Daniel Kopta, Thiago Ize, Josef Spjut, Erik Brunvand, Al Davis, Andrew Kensler, “Fast, Effective BVH Updates for Animated Scenes,” ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games (I3D), Mar, 2012. Published, 03/2012.
  • Erik Brunvand, Paul Stout, “Collaborative Design Experience with Kinetic Sculpture.” College Art Association (CAA), Feb 2012. Published, 02/2012.
  • Joseph Spjut, Daniel Kopta, Erik Brunvand, Al Davis, “A Mobile Accelerator Architecture for Ray Tracing,” 3rd Workshop on SoCs, Heterogeneous Architectures and Workloads (SHAW-3), Feb 2012. Published, 02/2012.
  • Erik Brunvand, Al Denyer, “Printmaking on a Micro Scale: An Art and Science Collaboration ,” Southeastern College Art Conference (SECAC), Nov 2011. Published, 11/2011.
  • Daniel Kopta, Andrew Kensler, Thiago Ize,Josef Spjut, Erik Brunvand, Al Davis, “Fast, Effective BVH Updates for Dynamic Ray-Traced Scenes Using Tree Rotations,” University of Utah, School of Computing, UUCS-11-002, 2011. Published, 10/2011.
  • E. Brunvand, A, Denyer,“Micro-Scale Printmaking on Silicon,” Leonardo, Vol 44, No. 5, Sept/Oct 2011. Published, 09/2011.
  • E. Brunvand, “Games as Motivation in Computer Design Courses: I/O is the Key,” SIGCSE, Dallas, March 2011. Published, 03/2011.
  • E. Brunvand, P. Stout, “Kinetic Art and Embedded Systems: A Natural Collaboration,” SIGCSE, Dallas, March 2011. Published, 03/2011.
  • D. Kopta, J. Spjut, E. Brunvand, A. Davis, “Efficient MIMD Architectures for High-Performance Ray Tracing,” International Conference on Computer Design (ICCD), Oct 2010. Published, 10/2010.
  • D Nellans, K. Sudan, E. Brunvand, R. Balasubramonian, “Improving Server Performance on Multi-Cores via Selective Off-loading of OS Functionality, WIOSCA, June 2010. Published, 06/2010.
  • D. Nellans, K. Sudan, E. Brunvand, R. Balasubramonian, “Improving Server Performance on Multi-Cores via Selective Off-loading of OS Functionality, LNCS 2010. Published, 05/2010.
  • D Nellans, K. Sudan, E. Brunvand, R. Balasubramonian, “Hardware Prediction of OS Run-Length for Fine-Grained Resource Customization,: ISPASS, March 2010. Published, 03/2010.
  • E. Brunvand, A. Denyer “Printmaking at a Micro Scale,” Impact Conference, Bristol, U.K., September 2009. Published, 09/2009.
  • David Nellans, Rajeev Balasubramonian, and Erik Brunvand, “OS Execution on Multi-Cores: Is Out-Sourcing Worthwhile?” ACM Operating Systems Review, Vol 43, No. 2, April 2009. Published, 04/2009.

Research Statement

My research interests are generally related to computer design and implementation, from high-level computer architecture designs to integrated circuit implementation. My research group is currently working on designing special-purpose graphics processors for ray tracing, a technique for rendering extremely realistic computer graphic images. 

I am also intrigued by arts/technology collaborations in both research and education settings.   This interest has led me to explore a variety of kinetic mixed media art pieces, many involving electronic control. This marriage of arts and technology resonates with me, and manifests as a fascination with the physical and conceptual aspects of machine-making as a fine-art sculpture process. I'm also fascinated by the posibilities of arts and technology collaborations in educational settings. 

Research Keywords

  • Fine Arts
  • Creativity
  • Computer Graphics
  • Computer Architecture

Presentations

  • Design for Environmental Sustainability in Computing, Festschrift on the occasion of the Retirement of Prof. Steve Furber, University of Manchester, UK. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/12/2024.
  • Arts and Technology Collaborations (An ACM Distinguished Speakers Series talk) at Iowa State University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Accepted, 02/2023.
  • "NSF Funding Opportunities and Priorities in CNS'" The 29th IEEE International Symposium On Field-Programmable Custom Computing Machines (FCCM). Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/2020.
    https://www.fccm.org/
  • Re-presentation of my SIGGRAPH 2019 paper at SIGCSE as part of their "Sister SIG" program. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 03/13/2020.
  • Presentation on SIGGRAPH / SIGCSE collaborative programs at SIGCSE 2020 conference. Invited Talk/Keynote, Accepted, 03/13/2020.
  • Invited talk at the College of Charleston, Charleston S.C. on Computing in the Arts. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/17/2019.
    https://blogs.cofc.edu/compsci/2019/02/01/join-us-...
  • Presentation on SIGGRAPH / SIGCSE collaborative programs at SIGCSE 2019 conference. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/08/2019.
  • “Dark Silicon Considered Harmful: A Case for Truly Green Computing,” International Green and Sustainable Computing Conference (IGSC), Pittsburgh, PA, Oct 2018. Awarded Best Paper at IGSC’18. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 10/12/2018.
  • Gave two days of invited workshops on circuit bending for the Department of Music, Harvard University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/08/2018.
  • Organized special session of invited papers at ACM SIGCSE (Computer Science Education) conference. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/24/2018.
  • Invited member of a panel at ACM SIGCSE (Computer Science Education) conference. Other, Presented, 02/24/2018.
  • Member of invited panel at ACM SIGCSE: “ CS+Art Curriculum,” ACM SIGCSE (panel), Baltimore, MD, Feb 2018. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/2018.
  • Invited talk on Arts/Technology collaborations at the University of Redlands, Redlands, CA. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/09/2018.
  • “Power and Energy Implications of Misunderstanding DRAM,” International Green and Sustainable Computing Conference (IGSC), Orlando, FL, Oct, 2017. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 10/2017.
  • Member of invited panel at ACM SIGGRAPH : “Curriculum Matters: Melding Art + Computer Science,” ACM SIGGRAPH (panel), Los Angeles, CA, August 2017. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 08/2017.
  • Keynote talk on Circuit Bending at the Mountain West Conference on the Arts (MWCA). Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/04/2017.
  • Making Noise: Using Sound-Art to Explore Technological Fluency, ACM SIGCSE conference. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 03/11/2017.
  • Integrating Computer Science into Music Education, ACM SIGCSE conference . Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 03/10/2017.
  • A Tale of Two Rendering Algorithms: Ray Tracing, Rasterization, and their Supporting Hardware, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/30/2017.
  • Technology and Arts Collaborations, BYU Visiting Artist Lecture Series. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/14/2016.
  • Birds of a Feather session organizer, ACM SIGCSE conference, with Ginger Alford from the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History: "Leveraging CS Teachable Moments in the Maker Movement," . Other, Presented, 03/03/2016.
  • Invited talk, "Technology and Arts Collaborations," Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/07/2016.
  • Invited Talk, "Technology and Arts Collaborations," University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/06/2016.
  • Keynote Address, "Computational Thinking Meets Design Thinking:Technology and Arts Collaborations," International Conference on VLSI Design, Kolkata, India. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/05/2016.
  • Invited talk, "Hardware Considerations for High Performance Ray Tracing," Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 12/29/2015.
  • Keynote Address, “Computational Thinking Meets Design Thinking:Technology and Arts Collaborations,” ACM Great Lakes Symposium on VLSI, Pittsburgh, PA, May 2015. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/2015.
    http://www.glsvlsi.org/archive/glsvlsi15/program.h...
  • “Drawing Machines: An Arts and Engineering Collaboration,” Visiting artist lecture, Frostic School of the Arts, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, April 2015. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/2015.
    http://www.wmich.edu/art/exhibitions/visitingartis...
  • ``Design Thinking meets Computational Thinking: Kinetic Art and Embedded Systems,'' Newcastle University, Newcastle, U.K., August 2013. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 08/2013.
  • ``The Heroic Hacker: Computer Folklore and Hacker Culture," Invited Keynote speaker, IEEE Symposium on Asynchronous Circuits and Systems, May 2013. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/2013.
  • ``Embedded Systems and Kinetic Art: A Natural Collaboration,'' Western State Colorado University, Gunnison, CO 4/2013 . Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/2013.
  • ``Embedded Systems and Kinetic Art,'' University of Washington, Seattle, WA Nov 2012. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/2012.
  • ``High Performance Ray Tracing: Implications for System Architectures," Keynote address, IEEE VLSI-SoC conference, Santa Cruz, CA Oct 2012. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/2012.
  • “Arts and Technlogy: Strange Bedfellows or Congenial Colleagues?,” College of Charleston, Nov 2011. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/2011.
  • J. Spjut, A. Kensler, and E. Brunvand, “Hardware-Accelerated Gradient Noise for Graphics,” ACM Great Lakes Conference on VLSI (GLSVLSI09). Conference Paper, Refereed, Other, 2009.
  • Daniel Kopta, Josef Spjut, Andrew Kensler, Erik Brunvand, Al Davis, Efficient MIMD Architectures for High-Performance Ray Tracing. Conference Paper, Refereed, Submitted, 2009.
  • David Nellans, Kshitij Sudan, Manu Awasthi, Erik Brunvand, Rajeev Balasubramonian, Leveraging OS-User Virtual Threads In Private Caches. Conference Paper, Refereed, Submitted, 2009.
  • David Nellans, Kshitij Sudan, Erik Brunvand, Rajeev Balasubramonian, Hardware Prediction of OS Run-Length For Fine-Grained Resource Customization, ISPASS, March 2010. Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 2009.
  • David Nellans, Kshitij Sudan, Erik Brunvand, Rajeev Balasubramonian, Improving Server Performance on Multi-Cores via Selective Off-loading of OS Functionality . Conference Paper, Refereed, Submitted, 2009.
  • Erik Brunvand and Alison Denyer, Printmaking at a Micro Scale, Impact Conference, Bristol, U.K. Sept 2009. (Paper based on joint research with my colleague in the Department of Art and Art History). Conference Paper, Refereed, Other, 2009.
  • D. Kopta, J. Spjut, and E. Brunvand, “Grid-based Ray Tracing with CUDA,” ACM/Eurographics High Performance Graphics, New Orleans, August 2009. Conference Paper, Refereed, Other, 2009.
  • D. Kopta, J. Spjut, E. Brunvand, and S. Parker, “Comparing Incoherent Ray Performance of TRaX vs. Manta,” IEEE Symposium on Interactive Ray Tracing, August 2008. Conference Paper, Refereed, Other, 08/2008.
  • J. Spjut, D. Kopta, S. Boulos, S. Kellis, and E. Brunvand, “TRaX: A multi-threaded architecture for real-time ray tracing,” In 6th IEEE Symposium on Application Specific Processors (SASP), June 2008 Winner of Best Paper award for SASP08. Conference Paper, Refereed, Other, 06/2008.

Research Groups

  • Elena Vasiou, Graduate Student. School of Computing. 08/01/2016 - 12/05/2019.
  • Tim Grant, Undergraduate Student. School of Computing. 12/2013 - present.
  • Paymon Saebi, Graduate Student. School of Computing, BS/MS program. 08/2012 - present.
  • Daniel Kopta, Graduate Student. School of Computing. 02/2010 - 06/2015.
  • Josef Spjut, Graduate Student. School of Computing. 01/2010 - 12/2013. Awards/Scholarships/Stipends: Awarded UTA (University Teaching Assistantship) for the 2010/2011 academic year.

Grants, Contracts & Research Gifts

  • Embedded Systems / Kinetic Sculpture Collaboration. PI: Erik Brunvand. Co-PI(s): Paul Stout. University of Utah Teaching Committee, 2009 - 2010. Total project budget to date: $4,300.00

Software Titles

  • SimTRaX Extensions. Extensions to our SimTRaX multi-core hardware simulation softwarte. Release Date: 07/01/2015. Inventors: Erik Brunvand, Daniel Kopta, Konstantin Shkurko, Josef Spjut. Distribution List: The original Google Code repository has been moved to Git Hub: https://github.com/dkoptacs/simtrax .
  • simTRaX. Simulation infrastructure (simulation engine and compiler) for the multi-core graphics architecture developed by my research group. This was initially released in 2012, and has been continually improved and updated since then. Release Date: 05/2012. Inventors: Erik Brunvand, Josef Spjut, Daniel Kopta, Konstantin Shkurko.