UMBC Imaging Research Center

January 20, 1997-In just 10 years, UMBC's Imaging Research Center (IRC) has gained national recognition for its graduates, students, and award-winning computer animation productions. Unique to the region, the IRC is one of only a few research and development centers nationally that combines undergraduate and graduate education with professional training in animation and computer imaging.

Claudia Herbst, a 1996 Master of Fine Arts graduate, recently joined Disney Interactive as a promotional manager, implementing training programs to familiarize 2D and 3D artists with software and animation techniques. Using her experience from the IRC, Herbst is now teaching new techniques to Disney's world-class animators.

Through internships led by IRC Assistant Director Alan Price, undergraduates gain professional training in animation and computer imaging through projects for national clients. Their work has been aired on CNN and the Discovery Channel and has been used as cover art for national magazines.

Under the guidance of Associate Professor Dan Bailey, 11 UMBC student-interns recently teamed with the Minnesota Orchestra and children's author Debra Frasier to animate the award-winning book, On the Day You Were Born. The first month following it s release, the video won the Parent's Choice Honor Award from the Parent's Choice Foundation and an Oppenheim 1997 Platinum Award, the highest recommendation from the Bank Street College of Education.

The IRC is directed by David Yager, visual arts chairperson, and illustrates UMBC's interdisciplinary approach to the arts at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Imaging and digital arts students receiving Masters of Fine Arts degrees integ rate artistic theory with contemporary technology. UMBC's first MFA recipients graduated in spring 1996 and all were offered tenure-track faculty positions in this highly competitive field.