Dan Mapes

home | applications | research | people

contact

e-mail:dmapes@ist.ucf.edu
phone:407.882.1453

appointments

Research Associate, Institute for Simulation & Training

education

University of Central Florida, M.S., Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University, B.S., Physics

information

Advanced degrees include a B.S. in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.S. in computer science from the University of Central Florida. Between degrees, he gained formative entrepreneurial experience as Vice President of FGR Inc., a small publishing startup. Concluding his masters thesis in 1994, he was awarded the student research award for his PolyShop testbed at IST/UCF in Orlando. In a move to commercialize PolyShop he managed the software engineering team that developed Multigen’s breakthrough SmartScene product. In pursuit of deeper industry adoption of SmartScene he accepted a research position within LEGO's advance toy research division in Denmark. He then established RoninWorks BV in the Netherlands to pursue commercialization of consumer solutions in professional animation and game applications. After a short sabbatical teaching at the school of Film and Digital Media at UCF in Orlando and a sub-contracting he joined the Media Convergence Lab at IST/UCF as research faculty and continues making toys into tools and tools into toys.