Ethan Kerzner

Hi there! My name is Ethan, and I'm a software engineer focused on building tools that help experts understand, analyze, and share complex data.

In my current work, I'm building tools to visualize and analyze large distributed applications. Previously, I've built tools that accelerated neuroscience discoveries, contributed to safer military vehicles, and significantly impacted an early-stage project at Google X.

I hold a PhD in computer science, which focused on best practices for workshops in the early stages of applied visualization projects. It was based on my experiences building visualization software for neuroscientists, defense analysts, physicians, and biologists. It was advised by Miriah Meyer at the Vis Design Lab at the University of Utah.

Selected Projects and Publications

Here are some of the projects that I've worked on. Please see my scholar profile for a full publication list.

Network architecture of gap junctional coupling in the mammalian retina

Network motifs for understanding mesopic vision and therapeutic interventions for blindness.
Analysis supported with the tools below. Published in J. Neuroscience.

A framework for workshops in applied visualization (dissertation)

Reflections on using workshops in projects with defense analysts and neuroscientists.
Received School of Computing Outstanding Dissertation Award, 2019

Visualization tools for a moonshot

Prototype visualization tools used by an early-stage project at Google X.
Work completed as an intern and then as a full-time employee.

Creative visualization-opportunities workshops

Practical guidance for using workshops to jump-start applied visualization projects.
Published in IEEE Trans. Vis. and Comput. Graphics (InfoVis '18)

Graffinity: visualizing connectivity in large graphs

Software for visualizing paths in graphs, optimized for neuroscientists.
Published in Computer Graphics Forum (EuroVis '17)

TulipPaths: plugins for analyzing connectome data

Plugins to support connectome analysis in Tulip.
Results appear in Journal of Comparative Neurology

Visual vulnerability analysis

Visualization software for vulnerability analysts to improve the safety of military vehicles.
Published in Computer Graphics Forum (EuroVis '15)

Streaming g-buffer compression for anti-aliasing

Algorithm to reduce memory usage and shading costs of anti-aliasing in deferred shading.
Published in High Performance Graphics '14

Multi-hit ray traversal

Ray tracing algorithm for robust rendering of optical transparency and ballistic simulations.
Published in Journal of Computer Graphics Techniques '14

Toward accurate and efficient order-independent transparency

Algorithm for improved rendering of optical transparency and ballistic simulations.
Poster at SIGGRAPH '13