PEOPLE
Christopher D. Watkins
Founder, Chairman & CEO
Industrial Mindworks, Inc.
Inwit Publishing, Inc.
Algorithm, Inc.
The Watkins-owned companies are outgrowths of a company that Chris founded in 1982 as a tenth-grade student. Throughout his life,
his passions have run along the lines of invention and human perception and cognition. He has particular interest in the creation of totally immersive
environments and the development of tools which make mathematics and science accessible to everyone. By the age of six he was heavily involved with
electronics; by ten he was designing complex circuitry, human interface hardware, music/sound synthesis equipment, and high-voltage and radio transmission
electronics; at fifteen he was designing and building robots. Around 1980 he began to concentrate on the interface of computer engineering, physics and
mathematics, with particular focus on dynamics and fractals. This inspired his development of 3-D graphics and signal processing algorithms. He also became
vitally interested in understanding human sensory perception and worked diligently to produce computer-based communication tools for students with disabilities in his high school.
Chris' high school science fair projects received industrial recognition and won top research awards: the United States Navy recognized him for significant
meteorological studies of electrical atmospheric phenomena, and Westinghouse recognized his valuable research on efficient electrical component design.
This research later led to the creation of power components which optimize transmission by adapting to environmental conditions. Following high school,
Chris continued his studies at The Georgia Institute of Technology, receiving his Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1989.
Throughout the past two decades, several of Chris' longstanding passions gave rise to new products. His high-frequency, high-voltage electronics and power
transmission experiments produced some of the early plasma globes and solid-state, special-effect neon sign transformers. His interest in guitar and
recording resulted in some of the early analog and digital special-effects signal processors and synthesizers. Interest in astronomy led to the creation of
a number of image and digital signal processing algorithms. His focus on computer graphics and physics simulation yielded one of the first simulators with
multi-channel surround-rendered 3-D visuals, used for training in barge handling, protocol, and crew management. A lifelong interest in optics and
holography inspired his invention of real-time 3-D holographic display technologies and an experimental 3-D picture tube, as well as production techniques for high-detail multi-color dichromated gelatin holograms viewable from many angles and under a variety of lighting conditions. Due to his interest in materials and his desire to prototype all aspects of his products, Chris acquired basic skills in fiberglass construction, silicone and alginate molding, urethane and foam casting, and vacuum forming of plastics. These skills were later used to create products for the movie and location-based entertainment industries.
For many years Chris has developed PC-based computer graphics and simulation hardware and software for the training, education, medical and entertainment
fields. This work required his mastery of 3D computer graphics, dynamics simulation, motion-platform control systems, electronics, image processing,
programming techniques, PC hardware, mathematics and physics, robotics and neural simulation technologies. He pioneered one of the first six-degrees-of-freedom,
real-time, near-photorealistic, texturing-and-shading renderers for the PC. His scientific breadth and in-depth knowledge of mathematics enables him to
create concise algorithms which afford interactive, near-workstation performance of realistic graphics and simulation on the inexpensive PC.
Throughout the 1990's Chris authored a multitude of technical papers and several popular best-selling books on computer graphics, simulation and the Internet
for publishers including Academic Press, Miller Freeman, Henry Holt & Company, and Harcourt Brace. He saw a need for books which combine rigorous technical
material with well-written software examples — books which make technical topics accessible and interesting to engineers, academicians, hobbyists and
enthusiasts alike. Several of his works have been translated into numerous foreign languages and have been adopted by university graduate programs as
textbooks and supplementary texts. Chris has also been a guest lecturer for many diverse groups on the subject of technology.
He particularly enjoys giving lectures and demonstrations to elementary and high school students on topics ranging from science and technology to business to philosophy.
Chris' current and future projects include intelligent toys, immersive and imaginative learning systems, low-cost 3-D holographic displays and
projected-display equipment, and computer-aided tools for medical diagnosis and continuing doctor education. He hopes to inspire curiosity, problem-solving
and creative thinking through his products and technical publications, which bar no expense when it comes to quality, rigor, relevance, clarity, and accessibility.
BOOKS WRITTEN BY CHRISTOPHER D. WATKINS
Vincent P. Mallette
Researcher, Science Writer
From 1970 to 1988 Vincent Mallette was a research scientist at The Georgia Institute of Technology School of Physics, where he created large classroom
physics demonstrations and public science shows for recruitment and entertainment. He worked briefly for the high-tech company Ionic Atlanta but has spent
most of his life educating people about science in a dramatic and entertaining manner. He has given over 300 lectures and demonstrations from New York to
Birmingham and is an important figure in Georgia education.
In 1991 Vincent spent three months as scientist-in-residence at Fowler Elementary School where he worked closely with teachers to improve science and math
education and to help students achieve regional science fair recognition. At the request of the Atlanta School Board, Vincent critiqued and amplified the
Atlanta Public Schools' master lesson plan resource, the Elementary & Middle School Science Curriculum. He also served on the SciTrek exhibit committee
creating new demonstrations, improving old ones, and conducting teacher training and enrichment programs like "Light, Color, and Sound," which called upon
his special interest in human sensory perception. For Georgia Tech's two-week SummerScape course, he developed and taught "The Hidden World" using hands-on
demonstrations to show kids how science illuminates that which escapes the unaided senses. From 1990 to 1993 he created and presented science demonstrations
and activities for local pre-college students through Georgia Tech's Dean's Office, and in 1998 he directed Clark-Atlanta University's outreach support
program supplying science curricula and equipment to disadvantaged students and schools. One of the few recognized by Westinghouse in his science fair days,
Vincent also enjoys helping students with their projects and manned the science hotline Sci-Line.
Vincent has made several network television appearances including ABC News and CNN, who recently commissioned him to reconstruct the physics of Princess
Diana's fatal accident. Atlanta TV presentations include a 100-year retrospective on the light bulb and a superconductivity program featuring the floating
magnet demonstration.
Vincent has been published in The Physics Teacher, American Journal of Physics, and Physics Today; he wrote a two-part series on human vision for Optics &
Photonics News. For juvenile magazines such as Smithsonian's Time Machine, he has contributed science history articles on topics from Edison's movie-making
and Columbus' navigation to the history of the erector set. In 1995 he co-authored Stereogram Programming Techniques with Christopher D. Watkins, and in
1996 he had published The Science of the Summer Games, a book exploring the role of science in Olympic sports which was originally commissioned by the
American Association for the Advancement of Science. Some of Vincent's writings and radio show transcripts can be found on the
Inwit web pages.
For Industrial Mindworks, Inc. and Inwit, LLC, Vincent is creating educational writings, curricula, demonstrations, toys and games, and is exploring every
avenue to enlighten and inspire kids of every age!
BIOGRAPHIES OF OTHER CONSULTANTS AND EMPLOYEES COMING SOON...
BOOKS WRITTEN BY CHRISTOPHER D. WATKINS
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Updated Tue 14 Mar 2006 | 9940 visitors since Thu 31 Mar 2005
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