Siena Heights Students Unite to Create Multi-Touch Computer Screen
Hands-On Technology
Siena students (from left) Nick Voicechovski, Joel Parrish and Daniel Pitts combined intellects to form the Computer Physics United group. They presented their first product at the Interactive Displays Conference in Silicon Valley.
Siena Heights Students Unite to Create Multi-Touch Computer Screen
(Note: This cover story appeared in the April 2009 edition of "Campus Connection," a collaborative publication of colleges and universities in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.)
Imagine the iPhone on steroids.
That is a concept a new, technology-oriented student group at Siena Heights University is developing.
Using what is called multi-touch technology, students from different academic disciplines have joined intellectual forces to form Computer Physics United (CPU). Recently they created a “hands-on” computer screen that operates with a touch of a finger.
“Multi-touch in a way is like an iPhone,” said group organizer Joel Parrish of the cellular phone that has revolutionized the mobile phone industry. “Its principles are the same. You do computing with multiple touches. You can look at pictures, and instead of clicking on a button to zoom in, you just take your fingers and pinch or pull, like you would in real life. It’s more about making the experience more natural.”
Parrish, a junior Computer and Information Systems major at SHU, first thought he could create the multi-touch screen on his own, but soon realized he needed help in areas like physics, mathematics – even art. He and fellow CIS major Daniel Pitts and physics major Nick Voicechovski formed CPU in the hope of accomplishing common goals.
“We started from scratch,” Voicechovski said. “We’re not part of a company. We’re just three guys who put our heads together and decided to go with it.”
“Joel was interested in what I was doing in 3-D modeling,” said Pitts, a former Marine attending SHU on the GI Bill. “He told me about the group he was putting together, and, of course, I was really excited to get into it.”
Using a trial-and-error process, CPU recently created its first multi-touch screen – for less than $200.
“Everyone has a part in it,” Parrish said of the project process. “Everyone has different skills they bring, and through that we worked out all the kinks and got a working model.”
Voicechovski addressed the physics/chemistry/mathematics elements of the project, while Pitts contributed his video gaming expertise. They credit Parrish as the “genius” behind it all.
Although the CPU group is just a few months old, members have already attracted the attention of the NUI Group, a national interactive technology media organization. NUI invited CPU members to its Interactive Displays Conference April 21-23 in Silicon Valley, Calif.
“I’ve never been this excited,” Pitts said of attending the conference.
Group members said the collaboration of diverse academic interests has had unexpected benefits. After completing a web design class last fall, Parrish, a hard-core programmer, said he has a new appreciation for art.
“It made me think on the art side of things,” he said. “Art students, and teachers, too, give you the next idea, the next big thing.”
That next big thing could be a program Parrish is writing. Still in the early stages, he said it could take the concept of a “smart” phone to the next level.
“You can set your phone on the (multi-touch screen) table, and it will connect to your phone and will drop your pictures on the table,” Parrish explained. “If another person puts their phone on the table, you can take the picture with your finger and drag it to their phone, and it will be put on their phone. It’s a new way of sharing.”
Voicechovski said the group’s main goal is to increase its numbers.
“We don’t want to stop,” he said. “We want to pull more minds together and keep going and see how far we can get.”
“There’s really no limit right now with what you can do with multi-touch,” Parrish said. “The only limit is your mind. It’s really emerging. People are thinking of new things to do with it.”
Learn more about the Computer & Information Systems program.
Our dedicated faculty who are practitioners in the field will prepare you for future challenges. All CIS classes are small in size, generally less than 20 students, and meet in a laboratory-style classroom where one-on-one discussion with the faculty is the norm. Your career prospects are strengthened by our on-the-job experiences and senior projects.
Siena’s CIS major allows students to acquire general knowledge required for a CIS generalist while providing flexibility for students to select a concentration in the following high job demand specialties: Information Systems, Networking, and Web
Development. Additionally, each student concentration requires an internship experience and senior project.
Information Systems
This concentration builds upon the general CIS curriculum with courses such as Java Programming, Data Communications, and Management Information Systems to assist students toward careers such as:
- System Developer
- Software Programmer
- Software Engineer
- Systems Analyst
- Data Base Administrator
- Information Systems Manager
Networking
This concentration builds upon the general CIS curriculum with courses such as Network Operating Systems, Data Communications and Data & Network Assurance to assist students toward careers such as:
- Network Manager
- Network Specialist
- Help Desk Administrator
- Network Trouble Shooter
Web Development
This concentration builds upon the general CIS curriculum with courses such as Java Programming, Web Development, and a Special Topics course to assist students toward careers such as:
- Web Developer
- E-commerce
- Content Managers
“I am so grateful to the faculty and the CIS program at Siena Heights University for preparing me to become a successful IT professional. I was offered a systems analyst position with a respectable firm even before my graduation. The education, training, advice and mentoring I have received while I was a student in Siena will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thank you, Siena!”
Benjamin Riggleman
CIS Graduate