Andrew Pish
Major: Electrical Engineering
Type of Experience: Independent Creative Project
Mentor: Bruce Pennycook, Music and Radio-Television-Film
Andrew Pish participated in the team-based Game Development course with Professor Bruce Pennycook. Andrew worked on designing games from concept ideas to execution. This process included building characters, developing stories, and creating a three-dimensional game world.
Sarah Imboden
Major: Computer Sciences
Type of Experience: Research in Austin
Mentor: Bruce Pennycook, Music and Radio-Television-Film
Sarah assisted in exploratory research that focused on new interfaces for video and computer game controllers in the spring of 2008. The project she worked on contributed toward the development of new ideals for alternative methods of gaming. Her computer science background contributed a great deal to this project. She decoded signals from controllers and created code for new wireless and Bluetooth-enabled controllers. Her innovative work was showcased in Portugal as chosen representative of undergraduate research for UT Austin.
Ebony Jackson
Major: Radio-Television-Film
Type of Experience: Research in Salvador, Bahia
Mentor: Joseph Straubhaar, Radio-Television-Film
Ebony investigated the use of music to improve the self-image and self-esteem of Afro-Brazilian women and children in Bahia. For this project, Ebony conducted interviews with a drum ensemble group, Banda Feminina Dida, to gain a better understanding of racism in Brazil. The Banda Feminina Dida focuses on using music to better the lives of Afro-Brazilian women and expose others to the rampant racism in Bahia. Her final project is a documentary about the experiences of the women and children with Banda Feminina Dida, as well as the experiences of the ensemble members.
Andy Kahn
Major: Sociology
Type of experience: Internship in Austin
Mentor: Bruce Pennycook, RTF and Music
In Spring 2007, Andy had the opportunity to intern at the South By Southwest Music Conferences and Festival. His responsibilities included assisting in the planning and coordination of production-related materials for the entire festival, assisting in production labor crews, and other related tasks. Overall, the experience at SXSW broadened Andy’s appreciation of not just the music industry, but also in his interest in Sociology. He was glad to find a place where his love of music and people could intersect, and the chance to see things from different perspectives as he met with artists from the U.S. and around the world.
Alisha Cloud
Major: American Studies
Type of experience: Research abroad
Mentor: Bruce Pennycook, RTF and Music; Stephen Hoelscher, American Studies
Alisha conducted research in Vienna, Austria, focusing on the ways in which technology has changed people’s interaction with geography. By participating in the Maymester Abroad Program “Memory and the City” in Vienna, taught by Stephen Hoelscher, Alisha was able to study concepts of place and space within the context of public memory and social processes. Furthermore, under the supervision of Bruce Pennycook, Alisha is producing a video podcast about the ways in which technology has changed the Viennese’s interaction with their urban environment. Alisha is interested in whether becoming more densely populated but more isolated from others is just an American phenomenon, or if this social situation is more global.