SNOW XU

Design & development for VR, AR, interactive installation, 3D animation

snowxushinuo.com | 312-889-4143 | sxu2@saic.edu

Education
School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), BFA in Art and Technology Studies Sept. 2015 – May 2019

Experience
Unspecified Research Lab – Marlena Novak Studio, Chicago, IL Sept. 2018 – Present
Studio Assistant
- Produced 3D contents and conceptualized narrative framework for premiering commissioned 3D
animation film Choral at Chicago venue.
- Delivered 3D assets independently and collaboratively using Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, and
Substance Designer. Specialized in iterative 3D modeling, 3D texturing, lighting, and animation.
- Assisted with project management in digital asset inventory, progress planning, benchmarking, task
distribution, collective idea-sharing and discussion. Provided technical feedbacks on 3D contents.
- Created Substance Painter tutorial to teach procedural 3D texture generation.
- Troubleshot teammates’ technical issues in rigging, lighting, rendering, and file optimization.
- Optimized 16K rendering pipeline for a 150-foot-long video installation. Strategized to maximize
render efficiency and asset resolutions with minimal file sizes.
- Worked in post-production team to test, adjust, and edit render results in Adobe After Effects.

Viacom Experience Room, Viacom, New York City, NY

Experience Room Intern Jun. 2018 – Aug. 2018
- Developed iOS AR app DataSplat! to visualize content-specific Facebook and Instagram user
engagement data.
- Collaborated with data analytics and software architecture teams to pipeline social media API with
Unity3D. Communicated with Nickelodeon game team to integrate pre-made game assets.
- Researched and analyzed consumers’ nostalgic sentiment for successful 90s TV shows to facilitate
current show making, marketing and franchise.
- Pitched and conducted experiments with VR and AR to analyze audience data for Viacom shows.
- Prototyped face filter app Imaginary Friend Matcher for smart mirror installation using
OpenFrameworks.
- Documented and presented final products to different departments to promote future exploration
of interactive technologies.
- Assisted with Viacom Experience Room demos, including projects with VR, AR, smart home
devices, and DIY robots to employees, clients and visitors.
- Showcased projects on Viacom social media account and produced a short video interview with
supervisor to offer insight about VR production.

Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL

VR Data Visualization Intern Jun. 2017 – May 2018
- Developed pipelines across multi-media platforms to reconstruct, texture and immersively display
Kasthuri lab’s (University of Chicago) segmented neurobiological data.
- Automated exportation of reconstructed high-resolution isosurfaces to divided Level of Detail
(LOD) 3D models using ParaView Python Shell. Optimized management of LOD assets in
Unity3D and UE4 using C# and Blueprints.

1
 SNOW XU
Design & development for VR, AR, interactive installation, 3D animation
snowxushinuo.com | 312-889-4143 | sxu2@saic.edu

- Tailored HTC Vive UI utilizing commercial game engines while working with scientists and
researchers to propel real-time visualization and interaction with data from supercomputers.

Skills
Design Unity3D, Unreal Engine 4, Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter &
Designer, Adobe Creative Suite, ParaView
Devices/Platforms HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, ARKit, openFrameworks, Arduino,
Processing
Programming Languages C++, C#, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Blueprints, Git

Honor
Engineering Fellow ($1000), Summer Program Lab, Open Style Lab June. 2019 – Aug. 2019
Start-up Starter Pack Award, Make The Breast Pump Not Suck Hackathon, MIT Media Lab Apr. 2018
- Collaborated with HCI researchers to innovate breast-pumping assistive design for visually
impaired parents.
- Experimented with integrating haptic and sound cues to existing breast pumps. Conducted user
study with experienced parents to sample feedback on breast pump design.
- Awarded consulting hours and resources from breast pump brand Moxxly to extend ongoing
research.
Level-up Grant ($500), Shapiro Center, SAIC Jun. 2018
Honor Merit Scholarship ($60,000), SAIC Sept. 2015 – May 2019

Talks
Future Innovators Summit (FIS), Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria Sept. 2018
- Invited as one of the 23 globally selected participants. Worked in team to brainstorm and present
on topics regarding diversifying future society in education, culture and environment.

Invited Substitute Instructor, Virtual Reality Class, SAIC, Chicago Oct. 2018
- Presented on personal projects and critique students’ mid-term projects.

Invited Speaker, Art and Technology Studies Department, SAIC, Chicago Nov. 2018
Spoke about experiences of presenting at FIS and exhibiting at Ars Electronic Festival.