Whether it is creating computer graphics models of underwater shipwrecks or using art and creativity to help students learn computational thinking, Professor Zoë Wood’s projects unite visual arts, mathematics and computer science. She is a recipient of the National Science Foundation funded research project where she works with colleagues and students on robotics and computer graphics algorithms for shipwreck discovery and mapping which resulted in the discovery of a rare World War II airplane wreck. As a two time co-Principle Investigator on National Science Foundation (NSF) International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) grants, her work takes California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) students abroad to engage in research and field activities. This has led to numerous peer reviewed publications with student co-authors.
As co-founder of the interdisciplinary minor, Computing for the Interactive Arts, which is a union between Computer Science and Art and Design, she believes in empowering students to realize their artistic visions via coding. Her courses involve independent projects of the student’s choosing, allowing them to express themselves and explore, apply, and master course material in personally meaningful ways. Dr. Wood has designed creative computing curriculum ranging from 5th grade, high school computational art, introductory college courses as well as designing and teaching a graduate-level computer graphics course which allows students to incubate and explore initial research projects which often lead to master’s thesis and publications. Recent NSF funded research to design curriculum for middle school students lead to the development of Fakesbook, a simple social media platform that allows lab participants to visualize their social network connections and see how their profile data can be viewed by larger and larger contingents on their network.
