Damian Conway

Career goal

Ongoing excellence as a researcher and educator in Computer Science.

Bachelor of Science (Honours, 1st class)

Monash University, 1987

Major: Computer Science

Honours Thesis: "A Software System for Image Processing Chinese Character Fonts"

View Abstract



Doctor of Philosophy

Monash University, 1993

Thesis: "Fast 3D Rendering Using Isoluminance Contours"

View Abstract

Senior Lecturer, Computer Science Department, Monash University


I was appointed as a Lecturer B in February 1991. In May 1994 I was appointed to a continuing position as Lecturer B. In January 1996 I was appointed to a continuing Lecturer C position.

1993-1996: Director, Centre for Image Processing and Graphics, Monash University


As Director of CIPAG my major responsibility was to pro-mote and encourage individual and co-operative research within the Centre and throughout the wider academic community. Upon my appointment I was keen to refocus the efforts of the various research groups within CIPAG, moving them away from presenting commercial training courses and redirecting their efforts towards the Centre's principal strength: research. My efforts in this endeavour have been amply rewarded by the publication of 78 scholarly works by members of the Centre in the past three years. In the same period the Centre has garnered over $600,000 of grant funding.



1989-1991: Research Scientist (Class 1) for Telecom Australia Research Laboratories


As a member of the Network Analysis Section, I was responsible for much of the design and development of a graphically-oriented integrated software management/CAD package. This involved the creation of new data repre sentation and interface techniques, the presentation of seminars to fellow researchers, liaison with technical and non-technical clients, and the design and implementation of a graphical user interface using an object-oriented approach.



1986-1991: Part-time tutor, Computer Science Department, Monash University


As a part-time tutor I was responsible for supervising two weekly First Year computing laboratory sessions. These sessions involve tutoring of individual students, a weekly review of course work and assessment of student assignments. In addition I presented several seminars on computer graphics to the Monash Computer Science Department.



1985-1987: Analyst/programmer, Forward Network Planning, Telecom Australia


During the summer vacations of 1985/86 and 1986/87 I designed, implemented and made enhancements to a Capital Works database using the RAMISII 4GL. I also prepared system and user documentation of the database and provided in-house training and user support.



1984-1985: User support assistant, 4GL Support Group, Telecom Australia


My duties included consultation with users of the RAMISII 4th generation language and design and implementation of administrative databases.

Computer Graphics

Fast Rendering

Object-Oriented Programming

Multi-methods

C++ Programming Idioms

Education

Computer-Mediated Presentation

Programming Languages for Teaching

Teaching and Learning

Human-Computer Interaction

Automated Construction of Hypertext

Automated Construction of Command-Line Interfaces

Automated Construction of Graphical User Interfaces

Written Gesture Recognition

Christopher Betts

PhD: Simulated electron microscopy of plasmodesmata

David Chatterton

PhD: Multi-methods in C++

Alan Dorin

PhD: Artificial life

Current Postgraduate Supervision

Linda McIver

PhD: The GRAIL introductory programming language

Steve Welsh

PhD: 3D Animimation via Morphing

Roddi Walker

Masters: Layered models of articulated figures

Follow this link to the complete list of my academic publications.

Vis - A boundary model surface visualization system.


Vis is a special-purpose surface renderer, designed to facilitate the exploration of boundary-surface geometric models by undergraduate students. Vis is currently used as a fundamental learning tool in the Computer Science Department's Honours geometric modelling course.



IC - An isoluminance contour-based renderer.


IC is a fast-rendering system based on my innovative isoluminance contour solid modelling scheme. The IC software produces animated rendering performance comparable to special-purpose polygon-rendering hardware for a limited range of CSG primitives.



HyperLecture - A hypertextual lecture presentation system.


HyperLecture is a hypertextual, gesturally-controlled lecture presentation system originally designed for teaching introductory computer programming using a Macintosh PowerBook.



Parser - A C++ parsing library.


The Parser library is a collection of 33 classes which implement an embedded top-down parser specification language. The language permits arbitrary look-ahead, lazy and/or strict tokenization schemes, context-sensitivity, and delayed parsing actions.



Maestro - A Visual Experimentation system.


Maestro a system for creating computer-based visual experiments (motion after-effects, sterograms, visual illusions). The system provides a large number of predefined stimuli (periodic gratings, spirals, autostereograms, 2D and 3D dot sets, etc.) as well as facilities for gamma correction of monitors, creation of equiluminant colour sets, the calibration and use of multiple colour spaces, logging of experimental descriptions, and feedback by subjects.

In 1996, Dr Kim Marriott and I received an ARC Large Grant with indicative funding totalling $189,000 over the next three years. The grant will fund research into the use of constraint solving in the automated creation of pen- based user interfaces.

In 1995, in collaboration with Dr Rosemary White of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Monash University, I received an ARC Large Grant with indicative funding totalling $159,000 over three years. The grant is funding research into the computer simulation of electron micrography of plant cell plasmodesmata.

• 1991-present: Computer Science examiner for the Monash University Foundation Year
• 1991-present: Volunteer speaker for the Schools Liaison Service
• 1992-1996: Departmental responsibility for the BCSE and International Students admissions
• 1992-present: Membership of the Science 1st Year Quota committee
• 1992-present: Referee for the Australasian Computer Science Conference
• 1993-present: Invited referee for Australian Telecommunications Research Journal
• 1993-present: Invited referee for the international journal "Computers and Graphics"
• 1993-present: Invited reviewer for Thomas Nelson and Addison-Wesley publishers
• 1993-present: Nominated referee for ARC large and small grants schemes
• 1994: External reviewer for VCAB review of the 1995 VCE Information Technology course
• 1994: Invited reviewer for the second edition of "Object-Oriented Design with Applications", Grady Booch (Benjamin-Cummings)
• 1994-present: Chairman of the organizing committee for the annual Departmental Retreat
• 1995-present: Invited referee for CAUT teaching development grant scheme
• 1995-present: Book reviewer for Australian Computer Journal
• 1995-present: Coordinator of Departmental Mentor Scheme
• 1996-present: Referee for the Australasian Computer Science Education Conference

---

Contact Details

Dr Damian Conway
Department of Computer Science
Monash University
Clayton, 3168
Australia

damian@csse.monash.edu.au

---

Last updated: 26 January 2000