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During my time with ATLAS, I really enjoyed studying user-experience design and web development. Having the opportunity to develop so many projects that not only satisfied my course requirements but were also interesting to me was incredible because I never felt tied down to strict regulations on my creativity. Some highlights of my undergraduate experience involved developing my senior capstone,a wearable haptic audio transfer device; becoming a TA and engineering fellow to help my fellow students succeed; and developing countless other projects that tapped into both my creative and technical sides. Post-graduation, I plan to move into a full-time position as senior web developer and mission operation scientist at Southwest Research Institute.

"Michelle has always been an incredible representative of ATLAS in the combination of science, technology, design and art with all the work that she has done in my courses. I feel privileged to have been her advisor in the preliminary stages of her capstone project. It was novel and inspiring.  Michelle has a bright future ahead of her, I can’t wait to see what she does next." - Sheiva Rezvani, Instructor

"Michelle’s journey has been incredible and inspiring. I am so happy to have been a small part of it as a UROP advisor, and wish her all the best for taking all her ideas further!" - Daniel Leithinger, Assistant Professor

CTD has been the creative and technical launchpad for my interest in immersive storytelling work. Over the last four years, I’ve explored this through studying game design sequences, interactive digital narratives and story navigation in 360 video. I have also discovered my passion for photography, typography and was able to learn through teaching (7 lab sections). Dovetailing with my engagement in the Engineering Honors Program, CTD has provided me with the opportunity to study abroad in Latin America twice. All of this has culminated in my capstone project: a half-hour interactive & animated VR short film created with my project partner Emily Gould. After graduation, I hope to continue this trajectory and either work as an XR narrative and interaction designer, or as an UX designer for content creation tools in the same realm. ATLAS is where I’ve been inspired and welcomed by a generous, resilient, dedicated, and passionate interdisciplinary creative community. I’m so grateful for my time here and can’t wait to see where my experiences in this program lead me next!

"Lillie has done such amazing work in Storytelling for Virtual Reality - it has been a true pleasure to advise her UROP and follow her capstone project! Besides her own work, she also contributed to ATLAS, such as volunteering to walk through the building with a 360 camera to let incoming students experience it in VR. I can’t wait to see what’s coming next for Lillie!" - Daniel Leithinger, Assistant Professor

"Lillie’s creative endeavours have always been exemplary and show profound thoughtfulness with regards to integrating her broader studies into her coursework.  In addition to this, her work demonstrated a keen technical proficiency, and her active participation within the classroom (virtual or physical) promoted a sense of community and encouraged others to push their personal work farther as well." - Ian Hales, Instructor

I primarily focused my time in ATLAS on front-end web development and improving my understanding of design principles and user experiences. I think that my capstone project was a great experience because I liked having the opportunity to pursue an entirely self-determined project. I also enjoyed a number of my design courses, particularly those focusing on theory and typography. As of right now, I believe I will be taking a full time position with Meals on Wheels of Boulder as their Marketing and Communications Associate while I continue to look for other opportunities.

"I’ve really enjoyed working with Alana in my Experimental Typography class. She has a sophisticated aesthetic sensibility and consistently came up with fascinating ideas for her projects." - Joel Swanson, Assistant Professor

"I believe Alana has taken every class I have taught, and each time has been awesome and a welcome addition to the class. I’m looking forward to tracking her tech career in the future, along with her world domination in mountain biking." - David Schaal, Senior Instructor

I'm passionate about designing great products with user research at the forefront. Creating a capstone project that would be useful to many was a highlight of my undergraduate experience. I plan to attend graduate school, hopefully within the next year!

"Dureti is kind, thoughtful and purpose-driven in her work. Her collaborative nature and engagement in class has not only resulted in many successful creative projects, but also has contributed to connected and supportive dynamics with her peers. Her willingness to incorporate feedback and overall follow-through in her work will serve her extremely well in the future!" - Arielle Hein, Director of Undergraduate Programs & Instructor

Being a first generation college graduate, I was beyond excited to get the opportunity to further my education in hopes of someday being able to repay my parents for every single thing they have done for me. During my time in college, I found myself diving into everything design. I was intrigued by some of the technical and coding classes, but I was much more excited about the classes focused around design specifically.

Throughout my undergraduate degree, I was lucky enough to have so many professors that went beyond what they were required to do. Whether it was an elective or a core class, the majority of my professors would always show up to class excited to see us students. This made a huge difference in my college career because the excitement was contagious. They knew how to engage with their students and they knew how to convey the information in a way that made me want to learn. I cannot thank some of my favorite professors enough for the impacts they unknowingly made in my life and how they truly shaped me into the educated, considerate, appreciative person I am today.

"Logan’s commitment to self-development is impressive. I was always grateful for his engagement with his peers to help create an inclusive classroom environment. His willingness to communicate honestly and vulnerably helped set the tone in class and should serve as an inspiration for other young men!" - Annie Margaret, Instructor

While enrolled in the ATLAS program, I fell in love with User Experience Design and plan to pursue work in that field upon graduation. At ���񱦵� I also had the opportunity to be a Lab Assistant for several classes and discovered that I loved helping others improve their work and deepen their design passions. My newfound interest in software interactions led me to create a business called 4thWall, which is an app that raises money for various charities through streaming TV on the 4thWall application. I intend to continue running this business alongside my freelance work in the film production and web development industries.

"Gunnar’s professionalism and drive has been exciting to witness. In multiple classes together, I’ve seen him bring purpose and competence to his work, and he actively seeks out feedback and support in pursuit of excellence. He is collaborative, supportive of his classmates and brings an upbeat and engaging perspective to everything he is a part of. It’s been wonderful to get to know him, and I look forward to seeing where the future takes him!" - Arielle Hein, Director of Undergraduate Programs & Instructor

For me, my ATLAS experience was a journey where I rediscovered my interests and passions and pursued them to engineer special projects with creative solutions for the 21st century. The wide variety of classes and projects I did helped expand my passion for space exploration, science fiction and science communication, gave me the knowledge and techniques to work on a Colorado space grant mission to the moon, and allowed me to explore my game development hobby. My projects varied from creating scale models of space stations, developing card games based on rocket statistics, making a movie trivia game only possible through Zoom, or modeling a scale living room for a cat to act as a controller, to even constructing a life size marionette frame for a person to play Godzilla. These zany ideas could only have been pushed to maturity through the bespoke class structure and the caring supervision from faculty. After I graduate, I will be working more on public communication in space science. While doing that, I plan to pursue a Masters degree in science communication.

"Ben was wonderful to have in class. He had a tactful way of delivering criticism of the assigned readings, or other students’ interpretations, while also being respectful and kind. His sharp wit and theatrical skills combined with critical thinking and analysis resulted in a unique flavor of presentation and projects that were uniquely 'Ben.' "  - Annie Margaret, Instructor

"Ben’s creative mind and solid sense of humor were always welcome in my classroom. His projects were consistently imbued with his personality, and his honest, critical eye elevated the classes he was a part of." - Danny Rankin, Instructor

My first two years in the CTD program I focused on graphic design. Coding was always intimidating to me, so I put off taking all the computational requirements, which was both ironic and unfortunate because I ended up really enjoying them. I also really enjoyed working on my capstone project because I was able to apply knowledge from multiple classes and work with some amazing people. The goal behind my project was to create an interactive experience for children receiving anesthesia to help reduce their anxiety. I hope to test the project during elective surgeries at the end of this semester and continue working towards getting it implemented in hospitals.

"Max’s capstone project was genuinely touching and novel. His creativity shined brightly in our classes and through the way in which he presented his work. Max is a student who brings imagination and creativity to his design solutions in ways that truly can change the lives of people he is designing for. The level of passion he has for his work was clear." - Sheiva Rezvani, Instructor

"Max brings vision, excitement and dedication to his work and has an awareness and attention to solving meaningful problems in the world. I have been consistently impressed by his capacity to navigate new territory and work independently with great aptitude." - Arielle Hein, Director of Undergraduate Programs & Instructor

My ATLAS undergraduate experience included a wide variety of very enjoyable projects and experiences that encompassed graphic design, web design, photography, machine learning and physical computing. My favorite (and most challenging) project was conceptualizing and assembling a drone equipped with a speaker that was capable of extinguishing small fires with sound waves. After graduation, I plan to stay in the Denver area and search for a job in either graphic design or architectural drafting.

"I’ve witnessed incredible growth from the early days of Jack’s time in the CTD program to where he is now. He has always shown imagination, but Jack has grown in maturity to a place where he paired his creativity with the drive to get work finished." - Danny Rankin, Instructor

"Jack brought unique and creative perspectives to his coursework, and was collaborative and engaging with his peers. He took on large, complex problems with confidence and demonstrated skill in weaving together different disciplines into a cohesive final product." - Arielle Hein, Director of Undergraduate Programs & Instructor

I first started my journey at CU as an art major. I loved it, but I wanted to develop some more technical skills along with my passion for art. That is how I found the ATLAS program. Since then I have gained an incredibly diverse skill set. I have learned to make screen-based art as well as immersive, installation and sculptural work with embedded electronics. I also started doing graphic design, web design and building websites. This paved the way for an interest in coding that eventually led me to minor in computer science. During my study abroad program in Florence, Italy, I picked up another minor in art history. Recently, I have worked a lot with interaction design, user experience design, HCI, materials and even product design. These areas of interest culminate in my senior capstone project: a prototype for three interactive products designed to help users relax. In four and a half short years I have learned so many great skills and begun to develop the confidence in myself that I will need in my life post-graduation. As I leave CU and the ATLAS program, I hope to find a job that will embrace my diverse skill set and allow me to confidently use my technical and creative abilities to their full potential.

"I really enjoyed the quality of work and creativity that Sarah brought to all the courses. Her projects for Radical Design and Fundamentals of HCI were both insightful and fun! I can’t wait to see what Sarah is going to do next, her keen sense of design will certainly take her far." - Daniel Leithinger, Assistant Professor

"It was so exciting to be able to witness Sarah catch the “bug” of enthusiasm around designing and making things, and to then see her match her keen aesthetic eye with a growing fabrication skill set in the production of those things." - Danny Rankin, Instructor

At ATLAS I focused mostly on exploring graphic and motion design, and I learned so much more than I thought I would. I was able to get to know the two sides of the artist/engineer coin, and I'm grateful for being able to develop as a creative over these years. My portfolio is now filled with projects that I am proud of across many mediums. After graduating, I plan to join a creative firm or further my studies in the arts.

"Emily is an outstanding illustrator and animator and has a talent for thinking through user experiences. I got to know her in our Capstone Projects class, and was incredibly impressed with the creativity and overall quality of the work she produced. The scope of her project was immense, but her consistency, attention to detail, and vision for the project was inspiring." - Arielle Hein, Director of Undergraduate Programs & Instructor

"Emily possesses outstanding skills in both technical and the creative realms. Her work has always set a high standard excellence and has consistently impressed her peers and me.  She always remained positive, even when courses became stressful, and her presence (both physical and digital) has always enriched the classroom." - Ian Hales, Instructor

During my time in ATLAS, I loved all of the digital aspects of the program. Digital editing through video and UX/UI design was one of my favorite topics. I was able to utilize my experience in Esports and video games to shape the way I made most of my projects and this reflects in my work in the program.

While studying at ATLAS, I focused primarily on web development and design. Out of class, I spent time engaging in space projects by joining the Boulder NASA SUITS team and working for the space grant consortium. After graduation I will be working as a front-end developer for IBM and getting a dog.

"Cassidy has been an amazing member of the THING Lab team. She brings so much high-quality work and positive energy to the lab and our projects as a collaborator!" - Daniel Leithinger, Assistant Professor

"It was a pleasure having Cassidy in my class. Her strong work ethic showed through her individual and group projects." - Aileen Pierce, Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs & Senior Instructor

I'm a creative developer with a focus on mobile apps and game development. Highlights of my undergraduate experience include my game design and development classes, where I was able to create multiple games, such as Jumgeon and Table Tales. I also researched different forms of play through design. I created alternative controllers and games that utilized AR and location to enhance gameplay.

"Nathan was a joy to have in my class. He spent a lot of time on his projects and never settled for mediocrity." - Aileen Pierce, Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs & Senior Instructor

"Nathan approaches his work with full enthusiasm and joy. He took feedback and ran with it and really put his all into everything he did in my classes, coupling his effort with a sincere emphasis and focus on the people he was designing for." - Sheiva Rezvani, Instructor

I focused on industrial design and photography while studying at ATLAS. I will continue my design journey in graduate school.

"Haoyuan has a great knack for making design choices that most effectively communicate his message while also being aesthetically very beautiful in the presentation of his work. In his research work, he takes the time to listen to people who would potentially benefit from his skills and applies the research to create products that would make a major difference in the lives of people using them. He is a great designer and really listens not just to the people working with him, but to the people he is making the products for." - Sheiva Rezvani, Instructor

"Haoyuan is a talented product designer who brings compelling aesthetics and insightful usability solutions to his work. I was consistently impressed with his professionalism, attention to detail and thoughtful engagement. He has a bright future ahead of him!" - Arielle Hein, Director of Undergraduate Programs & Instructor

During my time with ATLAS, I focused on graphic design, web design and development, sound and color science, and photography. My capstone project focuses on analog video synthesis for artistic performance, which utilizes creative technology to create alternative video art. What I love about the CTD program is how it’s pushed me to expand my creative skillset in ways I would have never previously imagined possible. After graduating, I plan on exploring the wilderness of the United States and further developing my personal artistic style.

"Sarah has a knack for finding connections between seemingly disparate ideas, and her capacity for finding and articulating these relationships elevates the classroom discussion. She expresses herself clearly and confidently and actively listens when her peers are speaking – all skills that will take her far in life. Sarah is the kind of person you want to have tea with, because you can’t help but wonder what other interesting ideas are bumping around in her noggin." - Annie Margaret, Instructor

"Sarah was a treat to have in my class. She has a rare talent to combine critical thinking and imagination to provoke people into new ways of seeing technology and its implications in everyday life." - Laura Devendorf, Associate Professor

During my time with ATLAS, I mixed the broad design-heavy curriculum of CTD with a variety of environmental and energy-focused courses to prepare me to work in the renewable and sustainable energy industries. During my undergraduate studies, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to explore how disciplines like design, media and sustainability can work together for positive change. Post graduation I am planning on attending the Masters of the Environment program (following the Renewable and Sustainable Energy track) at ���񱦵�.

"I had the pleasure of working with Rosie as my student and as a lab assistant for the Helio Lab. She is not only talented in her creative and technical endeavors, but approaches all of her work with great professionalism and a fantastic attitude.  She’s on track to making a difference in the world, and I’m so proud to have been a part of her academic journey."  - Sheiva Rezvani, Instructor

"It has been a joy to get to know Rosie during her time in CTD. She has a contagious excitement for interdisciplinary work and her passion for environmentalism and sustainability has shined through the projects she’s made. She is engaging, collaborative and has greatly contributed to the ATLAS community." - Arielle Hein, Director of Undergraduate Programs & Instructor