Extra Fluffy StudiosIndependent game development
Sujal Bista
About the Creator

Sujal Bista

Research Scientist / Graphics Engineer / Game Developer

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Research Interests

3D Graphics & Visualization

Real-time and multi-view rendering, scientific and medical visualization, and advanced 3D display technologies.

Immersive Technologies

Virtual, augmented, and extended reality; depth perception; visual saliency; spatial audio; and cybersickness mitigation.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Generative AI and deep learning models for graphics and simulation.

Interactive Media & Game Technology

Game development and rendering techniques, physics engines, real-time simulations, GPU optimization, and distributed rendering.

Geospatial Computing

Geographic information systems, spatial databases, and large-scale data visualization.

Awards

Larry S. Davis Doctoral Dissertation Award, 2014

IEEE SciVis Best Paper Award, 2014

ASME CIE Best Paper Award, 2012

Charley V. Wootan Best Paper Award, 2007

Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarship

Presentations

Immersive visualization and AI
Presented to the Lt. Governor during the visit to the UM – Institute for Health Computing,
North Bethesda, Mar 2024.

Overview of the Institute for Health Computing
Presented to the University System of Maryland Board of Regents,
Baltimore, MD, Dec 2023.

AI in Medicine
Presented at Artificial Intelligence for Maryland, Senior Leadership Retreat, University of Maryland,
College Park, MD, Sept 2023.

Supporting Health Through Computing
Panelist at University of Maryland Computer Science 50th Anniversary Celebration,
College Park, MD, Oct 2023.

Power of Computing
Invited presentation at Research Symposium: Precision Medicine for Learning Health Systems,
Baltimore, MD, May 2023.

Visualization of Brain Microstructure through Spherical Harmonics Illumination of Spatio-Angular Fields
Paper presented at IEEE TVCG Special Session on Visualization in ACM SIGGRAPH,
Los Angeles, CA, Aug 2015.

Visualization of Brain Microstructure through Spherical Harmonics Illumination of Spatio-Angular Fields
Paper presented at IEEE Scientific Visualization (SciVis) Conference,
Paris, FR, Nov 2014.

Using GPUs for Realtime Prediction of Optical Forces on Microsphere Ensembles
Paper presented at the ASME 2012 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference,
Chicago, IL, Aug 2012.

Publications

Performance of a Deep Neural Network Trained on Professionally Generated Gaussian Splat Imagery for Autonomous Aerial Refueling

Ryan Lowe, Violet Mwaffo, Matthew Johnson, Sujal Bista, Jon Heagerty, Olivia Mercurio, Barbara Brawn, Amitabh Varshney, Donald H. Costello. AIAA SCITECH 2026 Forum, pp. 0309, Jan 2026.

HoloCamera publication image

HoloCamera: Advanced Volumetric Capture for Cinematic-Quality VR Applications

Jonathan Heagerty, Sida Li, Eric Lee, Shuvra Bhattacharyya, Sujal Bista, Barbara Brawn, Brandon Y Feng, Susmija Jabbireddy, Joseph JaJa, Hernisa Kacorri, David Li, Derek Yarnell, Matthias Zwicker, Amitabh Varshney. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics 30(5) pp. 2767-2775, 2024.

Paper

Kinetic Depth Images publication image

Kinetic depth images: Flexible generation of depth perception

Sujal Bista, Ícaro Lins Leitão da Cunha, and Amitabh Varshney. The Visual Computer 33(10) pp.1357-1369, 2017.

Paper Video

Ribosome visualization publication image

Tracking fluctuation hotspots on the yeast ribosome through the elongation cycle

Suna P. Gulay, Sujal Bista, Amitabh Varshney, Serdal Kirmizialtin, Karissa Y. Sanbonmatsu, and Jonathan D. Dinman. Nucleic Acids Research 45(8) pp. 4958-4971, 2017.

Paper

Video Fields publication image

Video fields: fusing multiple surveillance videos into a dynamic virtual environment

Ruofei Du, Sujal Bista, and Amitabh Varshney. Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Web3D Technology. 2016.

Paper Video

Diffusion kurtosis visualization publication image

Visual Knowledge Discovery for Diffusion Kurtosis Datasets of the Human Brain

Sujal Bista, Jiachen Zhuo, Rao P. Gullapalli, and Amitabh Varshney. Visualization and Processing of Higher Order Descriptors for Multi-Valued Data. Springer International Publishing, pp. 213-234, 2015.

Paper

Brain microstructure visualization publication image

Visualization of Brain Microstructure through Spherical Harmonics Illumination of Spatio-Angular Fields

Sujal Bista, Jiachen Zhuo, Rao P. Gullapalli, and Amitabh Varshney. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. Vol. 20, No. 12, pp. 2516-2525, 2014. [Best Paper Award].

Paper Video

Optical force prediction publication image

Using GPUs for realtime prediction of optical forces on microsphere ensembles

Sujal Bista, Sagar Chowdhury, Satyandra. K. Gupta, and Amitabh Varshney. ASME Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering, 13(3), pp. 031002-031002, Apr. 2013.

Paper Video

Optical trapping publication image

Using GPUs for Realtime Prediction of Optical Forces on Microsphere Ensembles

Sujal Bista, Sagar Chowdhury, Satyandra K. Gupta, and Amitabh Varshney. Proceedings of the ASME 2012 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference IDETC/CIE, 2012. [Best Paper Award]

Paper Video

Speeding up Particle Trajectory Simulations under Moving Force Fields using GPUs

Rob Patro, John P. Dickerson, Sujal Bista, Satyandra K. Gupta, and Amitabh Varshney. ASME Journal of Computing and Information Science in Engineering, 2012.

Paper

MDMap publication image

MDMap: A System for Data-Driven Layout and Exploration of Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Robert Patro, Cheuk Yiu Ip, Sujal Bista, Samuel Cho, Dave Thirumalai, Amitabh Varshney. IEEE Symposium on Biological Data Visualization, 2011.

Paper Video

Social Snapshot publication image

Social Snapshot: A System for Temporally Coupled Social Photograph

Robert Patro, Cheuk Yiu Ip, Sujal Bista, and Amitabh Varshney. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 31(1), pp. 74-84, 2011.

Paper Video

Global contours publication image

Global contours

Sujal Bista and Amitabh Varshney. UMIACS Technical Report, CS-TR-4957, 2010/05/05/ 2010.

Paper

Transportation visualization publication image

Wide-area, Four-Dimensional, Real-time, Interactive Transportation System Visualization

Michael L. Pack, Phillip Weisberg, and Sujal Bista. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, pp. 97-108, 2007. [Best Paper Award]

Paper Video

Real-Time Massive Data Simulation Visualization

Sujal Bista, Michael L. Pack. 2008 IEEE Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security, pp. 543–548, May 2008.

Four-dimensional interactive visualization publication image

Four-Dimensional Interactive Visualization System for Transportation Management and Traveler Information

Michael L. Pack, Phillip Weisberg, and Sujal Bista. Human Performance, Simulation and Visualization: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, pp. 152-158, 2005.

Paper

Activities

Weightlifting

  • Volunteer Coach, Mach 10 Weightlifting, 2015 – Present
  • 5th Place, 56kg Men, US National Weightlifting Championships, 2012
  • 1st Place, 56kg Men, Maryland State Championships, 2011

Martial arts (Wushu/Kungfu)

  • 2nd in Intermediate Changquan and Staff in USA Wushu Kungfu Federation National Championships, 2005
  • 2nd in Intermediate Changquan, Mantis, and Staff in 8th International Wushu-Kungfu Festival & Championships, 2004
  • 3rd in Intermediate Changquan in 8th Annual Collegiate Wushu Championship, 2004
  • President, Terp Wushu Club, University of Maryland, 2004
  • Vice-President, Terp Wushu Club, University of Maryland, Fall 2003
  • Developer & Manager, Wushu Judging Software for collegiates and national team trials, 2005 – 2016