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Linking Utah's Innovation Community
Digital Media
Team goal
Develop and take advantage of Utah's talent base in the areas of animation and information technology to make Utah a world leader in the field of Digital Media.
Faculty
Team description
Digital media is at the confluence of computer science, the fine arts, and architecture. This cluster will build on existing strengths in graphics and animation and raise them to a level of preeminence in keeping with past achievements and present aspirations. Utah already has a large number of successful game studios, and there is a huge untapped emerging market in “serious games” where video game technology is used to train for healthcare, disaster response, and other scenarios.
The Digital Media area is the first USTAR investment that integrates with the local software industry, which represents over 50% of new venture capital funding in the state. The Digital Media USTAR cluster will serve as a research hub within the university involving departments from the College of Engineering and the College of Fine Arts. The area is targeting a senior hire in the School of Computing and a senior hire in Film Studies.
These two hires will collaborate with current faculty in both departments to amplify an emphasis in Digital Media and grow Utah into a world leader in Digital Media.
Recent news
In March 2011, the Princeton Review placed Video Game studies at the University of Utah very high in its annual rankings. The U of U’s undergraduate program received the #2 spot behind the University of Southern California, while the Entertainment Arts and Engineering graduate program took the #6 spot nationwide.
The undergraduate program has more than 150 students enrolled, and the graduate program has 22 and is expected to double in size quickly.
In an interview, Caldwell provides insights as to why the university ranked so high.
About the EAEMS Program: In the fall of 2010, the U of U began offering the Entertainment Arts and Engineering Master Studio (EAEMS) program. Students not only take classes in Computer Science and Film, but also work together on teams that include both artists and engineers. This environment simulates how the video game and computer animation industry operates today, where creative and technical resources work side by side. The program has gained national standing and has become a model for cross-disciplinary education and collaboration. EAEMS builds off of the success of the undergraduate program and seeks to further the interdisciplinary goals and collaborative atmosphere. It carries on the traditions of the EAE program and brings them into a high-level intensive master’s program. For more information, please visit: http://www.eaems.utah.edu/