Doug Roble M.S.’87 and Ph.D. ’92, computer science and engineering
When a 14-year-old Doug Roble saw “Star Wars” in 1977, he knew creating movie magic was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.
What he never could have imagined, however, happened more than three decades after that childhood dream. Early this year, the computer science and engineering alumnus accepted his second award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this time for developing a software tool that allows graphic artists in the movie industry to create surging water effects.
His fluid simulator software was featured in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”
“For a geek like me, this is the ultimate job,” says Roble, who is creative director of software for Digital Domain in Venice, Calif. “You have impressive software engineers, mathematicians and creative people sitting next to fantastic artists, and they can take the tools you create anddo fabulous things with them.”
This summer, Roble was honored once again by being invited to be a member of the visual effects branch of the academy, which requires members to have eight years of working in the industry and experience working in a supervisory role in the making of films, Roble explains.
“It’s a very exclusive club, and it’s great fun participating in academy stuff with people I’ve heard about all my life. It’s the ultimate if you’re into movies, and I am very much into movies!” Roble says.
After receiving his doctorate from Ohio State, Roble was immediately hired by Digital Domain as a software engineer. He expanded on his dissertation work to develop the TRACK system for camera position calculation and scene reconstruction. It essentially helps artists analyze filmed images tobetter determine where to add graphics.
TRACK earned Roble his first Technical Achievement Award, in 1998.
Computer science and engineering professor Rick Parent, under whom Roble studied while attending Ohio State, sees Roble as a role model for current students who hope to get into the film business.
“For students coming through Ohio State, or other places for that matter, seeing Doug receive these awards makes the possibility of success in the industry much more feasible,” Parent says.
Roble suggests fluency in math and programming both for students interested in the technical side of the industry and for artists.
“Good artists who aren’t afraid of programming or math are the most sought-after people in our biz,” Roble adds.
Roble’s recent work includes the summer 2009 movies “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” as well as “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which came out in December. Although Digital Domain is keeping the precise details under wraps, surely Roble will push the envelope for digital effects yet again.
Adam King is associate editor of onCampus, Ohio State’s faculty and staff newspaper.
