Barb Cutler
Office: Lally 302
Phone: (518) 276-3274  
Mailing Address: 110 8th Street Troy, NY 12180-3590
 
I'm an Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department and an EMPAC Affiliated Faculty member at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. My research interests include computer graphics, interactive visualization, computational geometry, and open source software for education.

Previously I was a student and then Post-Doctoral Lecturer at MIT in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science doing research in the Computer Graphics Group which is part of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).

I received an NSF Early CAREER Award in 2009, the Rensselaer School of Science Outstanding Teaching Award in 2017, and the Rensselaer Trustees' Outstanding Teacher Award in 2019.

Pronouns: She/Her


  Teaching

CSCI-4550/6550 Interactive Visualization (Fall 2010) (Spring 2012) (Fall 2014) (Spring 2016) (Spring 2018) (Spring 2020) (Spring 2024)

CSCI-4560/6560 Computational Geometry (Spring 2022) (Fall 2023)

CSCI-4530/6530 Advanced Computer Graphics (Fall 2005) (Spring 2007) (Spring 2008) (Spring 2009) (Spring 2010) (Spring 2011) (Spring 2012) (Spring 2013) (Spring 2014) (Spring 2015) (Spring 2017) (Spring 2019) (Spring 2021) (Spring 2023)

CSCI-1200 Data Structures [formerly Computer Science II] (Fall 2009) (Fall 2010) (Fall 2011) (Fall 2012) (Spring 2013) (Fall 2013) (Spring 2014) (Fall 2014) (Spring 2015) (Fall 2015) (Fall 2016) (Fall 2017) (Fall 2018) (Fall 2019) (Fall 2020) (Fall 2021) (Fall 2022)

CSCI-1200 Computer Science II (Spring 2006) (Fall 2006) (Fall 2007) (Fall 2008)

CSCI-4963 Architectural Daylighting Tools (Fall 2009)

COMM-6965 Daylighting Design and Simulation (Spring 2006) (Fall 2006)

[@MIT] 6.837 Computer Graphics (Fall 2003) (Fall 2004)

[@MIT] 6.001 Structure & Interpretation of Computer Programs (Spring 2004) (Spring 2005)

[@MIT] 3D Equilibrium Tools for Architectural Design (Spring 2004) (Fall 2004)

 
  Current Students

Evan Maicus, PhD student, Computer Science

Former Students

Joshua Nasman, PhD Computer Science, June 2016, now at Mathworks
Max Espinoza, MS Computer Science, June 2016, now at ViaSat
Rebecca Nordhauser, MS Computer Science, June 2016, now at Microsoft
Ian Ooi, MS Computer Science, June 2016, now at General Dynamics Missions Systems
Eric Zhang, MS Computer Science, August 2016, now at Athena Health
Sean Kim, MS Computer Science, August 2014, now at Amazon
Ryan Baltazar, BS Computer Science, June 2014, now at Microsoft
Steven Tianning Han, MS Computer Science, June 2014, now at Cisco
Matthew McMullan, BS Computer Science, June 2014, now at Microsoft
Tyler Sammann, MS student, Computer Science, August 2013, now at Yodle
Chris Stuetzle, PhD Computer Science, June 2012, now at Merrimack College
Andrew Dolce, MS Computer Science, June 2011, Gradient Studios, now at Intrepid Pursuits
Yu Sheng, PhD Computer Science, January 2011, now at Robert Bosch Research
Eric Li, MS Computer Science, December 2010, Gradient Studios, now at Harmonix
Zhongxian (Jonathan) Chen, MS Computer Science, December 2010, now at Facebook
(Robert) Allan Pendergrast, MS Computer Science, June 2010, now at Rhythmia Medical
Ted Yapo, graduate student, Computer Science
Christopher Young, BS Computer Science, June 2009
Steven Martin, BS Electrical Engineering, June 2007

 
 

 
Submitty: An Open-Source Homework Submission, Autograding, and TA Grading System
 
Fall Workshop on Computational Geometry 2008


 
  Publications  
Autograding Interactive Computer Graphics Applications
Evan Maicus, Matthew Peveler, Andrew Aikens, and Barbara Cutler
Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE '20), February 2020.
Random Input and Automated Output Generation in Submitty
Evan Maicus, Drumil Patel, Matthew Peveler, and Barbara Cutler
Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), March 2020.
Automated and Manual Grading of Web Assignments
Matthew Peveler, Evan Maicus, and Barbara Cutler
Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), March 2020.
Autograding Distributed Algorithms in Networked Containers
Evan Maicus, Matthew Peveler, Stacy Patterson, and Barbara Cutler
Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE '19), February 2019.
Comparing Jailed Sandboxes vs Containers Within an Autograding System
Matthew Peveler, Evan Maicus, and Barbara Cutler
Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE '19), February 2019.
Facilitating Discussion-Based Grading and Private Channels via an Integrated Forum
Andrew Aikens, Gagan Kumar, Shail Patel, Evan Maicus, Matthew Peveler, and Barbara Cutler
Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), February 2019.
Lichen: Customizable, Open Source Plagiarism Detection in Submitty
Matthew Peveler, Tushar Gurjar, Evan Maicus, Andrew Aikens, and Barbara Cutler
Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), February 2019.
Supporting Team Submission and Peer Grading within Submitty
Matthew Peveler, Samuel Breese, Evan Maicus, Andrew Aikens, Timothy Cyrus, Elizabeth Dinella, James Anderson, Joshua Barthelmess, Marisa Lee, Leon Montealegre, Jessica Wang, Jasmine Plum, Barbara Cutler, and Ana Milanova
Demo Presentation at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), February 2018.
Correlation of a Flexible Late Day Policy with Student Stress and Programming Assignment Plagiarism
Samuel Breese, Evan Maicus, Matthew Peveler, and Barbara Cutler
Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), February 2018.
Program Analysis Tools in Automated Grading
Elizabeth Dinella, Samuel Breese, Evan Maicus, Barbara Cutler, Jasmine Plum, and Ana Milanova
Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), February 2018.
Analysis of Container Based vs. Jailed Sandbox Autograding Systems
Matthew Peveler, Evan Maicus, Jasmine Plum, and Barbara Cutler
Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), February 2018.
Identifying Inexpensive Off-the-Shelf Laser Pointers for Multi-User Interaction on Large Scale Displays
Christopher Stuetzle, Barb Cutler, and Tyler Sammann,
Presentation at The Tenth International Conference on Advances in Computer-Human Interactions, March 2017.
Submitty: An Open Source, Highly-Configurable Platform for Grading of Programming Assignments
Matthew Peveler, Jeramey Tyler, Samuel Breese, Barbara Cutler, and Ana Milanova
Demo Presentation at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), February 2017,
Using Static Analysis for Automated Assignment Grading in Introductory Programming Classes     (poster)
Samuel Breese, Ana Milanova, and Barbara Cutler
Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), March 2017,
A Flexible Late Day Policy Reduces Stress and Improves Learning     (poster)
Jeramey Tyler, Matthew Peveler, and Barb Cutler
Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), March 2017,
User Experience and Feedback on the RPI Homework Submission Server     (poster)
Andrea Wong, Eric Tran, Joe Jung, Ben Shaw, Marina Espinoza, Beverly Sihsobhon, Melissa Lindquist, Samuel Breese, Matthew Peveler, and Barbara Cutler
Poster at ACM Technical Symposium on Computing Science Education (SIGCSE), March 2016,
Evaluation of User Interaction with Daylighting Simulation in a Tangible User Interface
Joshua Nasman and Barbara Cutler
Automation in Construction, December 2013.
Physical Avatars in a Projector-Camera Tangible User Interface Enhance Quantitative Simulation Analysis and Engagement
Joshua Nasman and Barbara Cutler
IEEE International Workshop on Computational Cameras and Displays (formerly PROCAMS), June 2013.
Evaluation of a tangible interface for architectural daylighting analysis   (poster)
Joshua Nasman and Barbara Cutler
I3D '12 Proceedings of the ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games, 2012.
Validation of erosion modeling: Physical and numerical
Mehrad Kamalzare, Christopher Stuetzle, Zhongxian Chen, Thomas F. Zimmie, Barbara Cutler, and W. Randolph Franklin
GeoCongress, March 2012.
ARmy: A Study of Multi-User Interaction in Spatially Augmented Games Best Paper Award
Andrew Dolce, Joshua Nasman, and Barbara Cutler
IEEE International Workshop on Projector-Camera Systems, June 2012.
Measuring Terrain Distances Through Extracted Channel Networks
Christopher Stuetzle, Barbara Cutler, Zhongxian Chen, W. Randolph Franklin, Mehrad Kamalzare, and Thomas Zimmie,
PhD Showcase at ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM GIS), November 2011.
Perceptual Global Illumination Cancellation in Complex Projection Environments
Yu Sheng, Barbara Cutler, Chao Chen, and Joshua Nasman
Eurographics Symposium on Rendering (EGSR), June 2011. (video)
Analyses, Simulations and Physical Modeling Validation of Levee and Embankment Erosion
Zhongxian Chen, Christopher S. Stuetzle, Barbara Cutler, Jared A. Gross, W. Randolph Franklin, and Thomas F. Zimmie
Proceedings of Geo-Frontiers 2011 Advances in Geotechnical Engineering, March 2011.
Quantitative Analysis of Simulated Erosion for Different Soils
Zhongxian Chen, Christopher Stuetzle, Barbara Cutler, Jared Gross, W. Randolph Franklin, and Thomas Zimmie
Proceedings of ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM GIS), November 2010.
Interpreting Physical Sketches as Architectural Models
Barbara Cutler and Joshua Nasman
Advances in Architectural Geometry 2010, September 2010.
Dynamic Projection Surfaces for Immersive Visualization
Theodore C. Yapo, Yu Sheng, Joshua Nasman, Andrew Dolce, Eric Li, and Barbara Cutler
PROCAMS 2010 IEEE International Workshop on Projector-Camera Systems, June 2010.
Simulating Levee Erosion with Physical Modeling Validation
Jared A. Gross, Christopher S. Stuetzle, Zhongxian Chen, Barbara Cutler, W. Randolph Franklin, and Thomas F. Zimmie
The 5th International Conference on Scour and Erosion, November 7-10, 2010, San Francisco, CA.
Computer Simulations and Physical Modelling of Erosion
Christopher S. Stuetzle, Jared Gross, Zhongxian Chen, Katrina Perez, Barbara Cutler, W. Randolph Franklin, and Thomas Zimmie
Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics, June 2010.
Global Illumination Compensation for Spatially Augmented Reality
Yu Sheng, Theodore C. Yapo, and Barbara Cutler
Computer Graphics Forum, Eurographics 2010, April 2010.
Segmented Height Field and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics in Erosion Simulation
Christopher S. Stuetzle, Zhongxian Chen, Katrina Perez, Jared Gross, Barbara Cutler, W. Randolph Franklin, and Thomas Zimmie
Fall Workshop on Computational Geometry, November 2009.
Efficient Viewshed Computation on Terrain in External Memory
Marcus Andrade, Salles Magalhaes, Mirella Magalhaes, W. Randolph Franklin, and Barbara Cutler
Geoinformatica, 2009. (preprint)
A Spatially Augmented Reality Sketching Interface for Architectural Daylighting Design
Yu Sheng, Theodore C. Yapo, Christopher Young, and Barbara Cutler
IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, accepted October 2009.
Rendering Lunar Eclipses
Theodore C. Yapo and Barbara Cutler
Proceedings of Graphics Interface 2009, May 2009.
Robust Adaptive 3-D Segmentation of Vessel Laminae from Fluorescence Confocal Microscope Images & Parallel GPU Implementation
Arunachalam Narayanaswamy, Saritha Dwarakapuram, Christopher S. Bjornsson, Barbara M. Cutler, William Shain, Badrinath Roysam
IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, accepted March 2009.
Screen Space Ambient Occlusion for Non-Photorealistic Rendering
Brett Lajzer, Daniel Nottingham, and Barbara Cutler
Poster at ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games (I3D), February 2009.
Inferring Architectural Designs from Physical Sketches: Application to Daylighting Analysis
Barbara Cutler, Theodore C. Yapo, and Yu Sheng
Proceedings of Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI) Sketch Recognition Workshop, February 2009.
Virtual Heliodon: Spatially Augmented Reality for Architectural Daylighting Design
Yu Sheng, Theodore C. Yapo, Christopher Young, and Barbara Cutler
Proceedings of IEEE Virtual Reality 2009.
Parallel ODETLAP for Terrain Compression and Reconstruction
Jared Stookey, Zhongyi Xie, Barbara Cutler, W. Randolph Franklin, Dan Tracy, and Marcus V. A. Andrade
Proceedings of ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM GIS), November 2008.
Evaluating Hydrology Preservation of Simplified Terrain Representations
Christopher Stuetzle, W. Randolph Franklin, Barbara Cutler, Jonathan Muckell, Marcus Andrade, Jared Stookey, Metin Inanc, and Zhongyi Xie
PhD Showcase at ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM GIS), November 2008.
Path Planning on a Compressed Terrain
Daniel M. Tracy, W. Randolph Franklin, Barbara Cutler, Franklin T. Luk, Marcus Andrade, Metin Inanc, Zhongyi Xie, and Jake Stookey
Poster Paper at ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM GIS), November 2008.
An Intuitive Daylighting Performance Analysis and Optimization Approach
Marilyne Andersen, Sian Kleindienst, Lu Yi, Jaime Lee, Magali Bodart, and Barbara Cutler
Building Research & Information, November 2008.
Slope Accuracy and Path Planning on Compressed Terrain
W. Randolph Franklin, Daniel M Tracy, Marcus A Andrade, Jonathan Muckell, Metin Inanc, Zhongyi Xie, and Barbara M Cutler
13th International Symposium on Spatial Data Handling, June 2008.
Interactive Selection of Optimal Fenestration Materials for Schematic Architectural Daylighting Design
Barbara Cutler, Yu Sheng, Steven Martin, Daniel Glaser, and Marilyne Andersen
Elsevier Automation in Construction, vol 17/7, pages 809-823, September 2008.
Drainage Network and Watershed Reconstruction on Simplified Terrain
Jonathan Muckell, Marcus A. Andrade, W. Randolph Franklin, Barbara Cutler, Metin Inanc, Zhongyi Xie, and Daniel M. Tracy
Poster at 17th Fall Workshop on Computational Geometry, November 2007.
Approximating Terrain with Over-Determined Laplacian PDEs
Zhongyi Xie, Marcus A. Andrade, W. Randolph Franklin, Barbara Cutler, Metin Inanc, Daniel M. Tracy, and Jonathan Muckell
Poster at 17th Fall Workshop on Computational Geometry, November 2007.
Smugglers and Border Guards - The GeoStar Project at RPI
W. Randolph Franklin, Metin Inanc, Zhongyi Xie, Daniel M. Tracy, Barbara Cutler, and Marcus V. A. Andrade
15th ACM International Symposium on Advances in Geographic Information Systems (ACM GIS 2007), Nov 2007.
Surface Compression using Over-determined Laplacian Approximation
Zhongyi Xie, W. Randolph Franklin, Barbara Cutler, Marcus A. Andrade, Metin Inanc, and Daniel M. Tracy
Proceedings of SPIE 2007, Aug 2007.
Multiple Observer Siting and Path Planning on a Compressed Terrain
Daniel M. Tracy, W. Randolph Franklin, Barbara Cutler, Marcus Andrade, Franklin T. Luk, Metin Inanc, and Zhongyi Xie
Proceedings of SPIE 2007, Aug 2007.
Interactive Rendering of Fenestration Materials for Architectural Design
Yu Sheng, Steve Martin, and Barbara Cutler
Poster at SIGGRAPH 2007, Aug 2007.
Interactive Selection of Optimal Fenestration Materials for Architectural Design
Steve Martin, Yu Sheng, Barbara Cutler, and Daniel C. Glaser
Poster at Graphics Interface 2007, May 2007.
Constrained Planar Remeshing for Architecture
Barbara Cutler and Emily Whiting
Proceedings of Graphics Interface 2007, May 2007.
Constrained Planar Remeshing for Architecture
Barbara Cutler and Emily Whiting
Poster Presentation at Eurographics Symposium on Geometry Processing 2006, June 2006.
Using Video for Analyzing Daylighting Simulation Tools
Dan C. Glaser, F. Whitney Smith, and Barbara Cutler
SimBuild 2006: Building Sustainability and Performance through Simulation, August 2006.
Simplification and Improvement of Tetrahedral Models for Simulation
Barbara Cutler, Julie Dorsey, and Leonard McMillan
Proceedings of the Eurographics Symposium on Geometry Processing 2004, July 2004.
Procedural Authoring of Solid Models
PhD Dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, August 2003.
A Procedural Approach to Authoring Solid Models
Barbara Cutler, Julie Dorsey, Leonard McMillan, Matthias Mueller, Robert Jagnow
Proceedings of ACM SIGGRAPH 2002, July 2002.
Stable Real-Time Deformations
Matthias Müller, Julie Dorsey, Leonard McMillan, Robert Jagnow, and Barbara Cutler
Proceedings of ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Computer Animation 2002, July 2002.
Aggregating Building Fragments Generated from Geo-Referenced Imagery into Urban Models
MEng Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, June 1999.
   
We have photovoltaic solar panels on our roof.
I helped my dad with his puzzles website.
 
 
I like figure skating and pottery.
I care for several abandoned cacti.