Faculty

Barbara Mones is a Teaching Professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering and Director of the Reality Studio, a part of the Reality Lab. She leads the Facial Expression Research Group (FERG) and the Octopus Research Group (ORG). She has worked in both academia and industry in the areas of computer graphics, animation production and immersive environments for over 30 years.

Barbara was founder and Director of the Visual Information Technology Graduate Program at George Mason University, a Visiting Researcher in the Department of Computer Science at George Washington University, Fellow at the Human Interface Technology Lab at University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and worked at the White House and National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Al Gore’s GLOBE Program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program. For this she was presented with a NASA Group Achievement award. She designed and wrote training programs for all aspects of the animation production pipeline at both Dreamworks/PDI and Industrial Light & Magic. In her role as faculty she has directed and produced twenty animated shorts since arriving in 1999. Most recently she is developing a curriculum that incorporates the potential of immersive environments into storytelling, content development and filmmaking.

She has lectured extensively on an international level on topics related to animation and curriculum development. Her films have been shown in theaters and museums internationally including the ACM SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater and the Smithsonian Institution. Recently she was awarded the SIGGRAPH 2021 Distinguished Teaching Award. She serves on the ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee and the ACM SIGGRAPH Education Committee.

Barbara received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. She earned post graduate certification in Animation from Sheridan College in Oakville, Canada and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design.