James O'Brien

James O'Brien is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley, affiliated with the College of Engineering. His research spans computer graphics, physical simulation, human perception, and image forensics, with applications in film, gaming, and virtual reality. He serves as Chief Scientist/co-founder at Get Klothed and technical advisor to Juice Labs.

• Education: Ph.D. (2000), M.S. (1997) in Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology; B.S. (1992) in Computer Science from Florida International University.

O'Brien's research focuses on destruction modeling, facial deformations, and VR motion data analysis, including forensic techniques for detecting image manipulation and adaptive cloth simulation. His work has been commercialized in over 200 feature films and games.

Scientific Awards:

• Academy Award for Technical Achievement (2015)
• ACM Distinguished Scientist Award (2009)
• Sloan Research Fellow (2003)
• Okawa Research Grant (2000)

O'Brien has directed ACM SIGGRAPH (2010–2016) and received recognition for teaching and innovation from MIT Technology Review and Georgia Tech.