Patrick E. Connolly, Ph.D., has been appointed head of the Department of Computer Graphics Technology, effective June 1. Connolly has been serving as interim department head since July 2013.
Connolly’s research interests include solid modeling applications, virtual and augmented reality, visualization techniques, innovative teaching methods, and distance learning. He is the co-principal investigator of a National Science Foundation-funded project named "Engineering Technology Pathways: The Food and Foodstuff Supply Chain." In 2014, he was the recipient of a summer research grant from Purdue Research Foundation.
The department began working more than two years ago to transform its curricula to reflect the college's new polytechnic environment, according to Connolly. New majors in human centered design and development, video compositing, and video effects have been created, and existing majors in animation, web design and programming, game studies, building information modeling, and virtual product integration continue to be offered.
"This focus and these programs will empower us to achieve and maintain our goal of being preeminent in computer-based graphics applications, human computer interaction, data visualization, and visual perception," Connolly said. "We are striving to be outstanding providers of technology-based education and training for our students, their families, communities, and employers. Our goal is to have our graduates always be contributors to the advancement and progress of our society."
Connolly has been teaching at Purdue since 1996.