Web3D Board of Directors

The Web3D Consortium Board of Directors considers and makes strategic decisions on behalf of all Web3D Consortium members. Web3D Consortium Board members exercise influence over the development and adoption of Web3D standards. They also provide valuable industry expertise to support the forward-thinking market strategy of the Consortium.

The Web3D Consortium Board has three primary roles: to establish policies, to make strategic decisions, and to oversee the organization's activity. They oversee management, finances, and quality; set strategic direction; build community relationships; establish ethical standards, values, and compliance. The Board typically meets once a month via teleconference, as scheduled on the Calendar. Agenda topics of interest are welcome. 

For more information about the Web3D Board of Directors (BoD), please see our By-Laws and board member roles and responsibilities. You are welcome to contact the Web3D Board by sending email to our Executive Director - Anita Havele.

Elected Positions

Dr. Johannes Behr
Organization Member
supporting Threedy
Dr. Johannes Behr

Head of the “Visual Computing System Technologies” group (igd.fraunhofer.de/vcst)

CPO & Co-Founder of Threedy GmbH - instant3Dhub.

Dr.-Ing. Johannes Behr received his doctoral degree from the Darmstadt University of Technology in 2005. Johannes Behr has been working in the field of visual computing since 2003, when they began their role as department head of visual computing system technologies at Fraunhofer IGD. From 2008 to 2020  he lead the VR-group of the "Virtual and Augmented Reality" department and then as head of the "Visual Computing System Technologies"  department which coordinates the current and future efforts to develop the InstantReality and the X3DOM frameworks. In this role,  led a group of researchers working on various applied R&D projects in the field of visual computing, including virtual- and augmented reality, computer graphics, and computer vision. Johannes also led the extended team that developed instant3dhub.

In 2020, he became CPO & Co-Founder of Threedy GmbH - instant3Dhub.

 

Mr. William Benman
Directing Member
supporting Integrated Virtual Networks, Inc.

Chief Executive Officer, Integrated Virtual Networks

Bill is the Chief Executive Officer of Integrated Virtual Networks (IVN). He holds degrees in Electrical Engineering (Bradley University) and Law (a Juris Doctor, University of Michigan).  Bill is the inventor of multiple patents on IVN’s Silhouette® Technology. His expertise in telecommunications and image processing derives from his work in the communications industry (as an engineer with AT&T), his work in the aerospace industry as in-house group patent counsel for Hughes Aircraft Company (now owned by Raytheon Corp.), and his work and experience in these fields as an intellectual property attorney.

Mr. Aaron Bergstrom
Directing Member

Manager, Advanced Cyberinfrastructure, University of North Dakota

Aaron Bergstrom is the Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Manager for the (UND) where he leads the Computational Research Center (CRC), which provides high performance computing services to UND researchers. Aaron also leads the CRC’s Laboratory for Digital Realism in Engineering and the Applied Metaverse (UND DREAM Lab), which focuses on research applications related Digital Twin technologies and other VR/XR applications. Prior to 2007, he served as the Computer Visualization Manager for the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Archaeology Technologies Laboratory where he developed a Java3D viewer for the Digital Archive Network for Anthropology, RawKee X3D Exporter for Autodesk Maya, and a basic X3D loader for Unity3D. Also in 2007, Aaron earned an MS in Social Science with an emphasis in Anthropology from NDSU. His graduate work focused on computer applications in anthropology, specifically on the use of 3D laser scanners and related interactive 3D technologies. In his current position, Aaron’s research interests include Digital Twins & AI, VR/XR/Metaverse applications, Motion Capturetechnologies, and issues related to workforce development for emerging technologies in Native American communities.

 
Dr. Darrell Hurt
Directing Member
supporting NIH

Chief, Bioinformatics Branch (BCBB) at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Darrell Hurt, Ph.D., heads the Computational Biology Section of the Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch in the Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Dr. Hurt focuses on computational structural biology, including protein folding, docking, and molecular dynamics. He also provides special expertise in 3D printing, visualization, and modeling. Before working at NIAID, Dr. Hurt did postdoctoral work in lipid signaling and cell trafficking using X-ray crystallography with Dr. James Hurley at National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). His educational background includes a B.S. in Chemistry with honors from Brigham Young University and a combined M.S./Ph.D. in Chemistry from Cornell University under the mentorship of Dr. Jon Clardy. His doctoral work was recognized with the Pauling Award from the American Crystallographic Association, and he is the author of several scientific research articles.

 

Mr. Christopher Lane
Vice President
Directing Member
supporting 3dMD

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, 3dMD Ltd

With more than 40 years of experience in the IT industry, Lane has held senior technical and chief executive positions in globally-recognized high-tech and services companies, as well as serving as a board member for both privately and publicly held companies in the US and Europe. Following an early career in software engineering and as a consultant with a U.K. government agency focused on the promotion of IT and Standards, Lane joined Oracle, the world’s largest business-to-business software company. During his six years with the company, he held VP positions in Europe and the U.S., including head of Consulting Operations. Lane then joined the IT investment team at EM Warburg, Pincus & Co., one of the world’s leading venture capital investors. In 1994, Lane was appointed as CEO and president of TSW International, which he shaped to be the acknowledged market leader and visionary company in the Enterprise Asset Management market. Just prior to joining 3dMD, Lane held the position of COO at ECSoft, a European IT services provider.

Lane co-founded 3dMD in 2000 with the goal of establishing a highly-reliable, non-invasive 3D technology platform for efficiently imaging of people in 3D to a level of anatomical shape precision required to fuel growth in applications such as medical, biometrics, human factor, high-end fit apparel, and anthropometrics. 

Dr. Vincent Marchetti
Secretary
Professional Member

President, Kshell

Vincent Marchetti is a consultant currently working  on projects involving GPS applications for surveying and the construction industry, and machine learning techniques for financial market analysis and bioinformatics. He has developed X3D applications for landfill management and is currently working on using the X3D standard as a tool for visualization of CAD/CAM information represented in STEP files. A component of this work is an online web application that extracts solid models from STEP files and renders them as X3D or X3DOM content.


He received a Ph.D. in Physics from Cornell University for work in experimental atomic physics and has held teaching positions at Oberlin College and Clarkson University.

Mr. Mike McCann
Treasurer
Organization Member
supporting Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Software Engineer, MBARI

As a software engineer in the Support Engineering Group, Mike develops and supports applications and systems for acquiring, storing, and visualizing MBARI collected data. There are interesting challenges in the effort to glean information from the diverse collections of data that MBARI has the unique capabilities to acquire.

To provide good service Mike draws on his background in physical oceanography, scientific visualization, and his volunteer service at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Before coming to MBARI in February 1996 Mike worked for 11 years at the Naval Postgraduate School, the last few years of which he spent analyzing and visualizing the output from various versions of eddy-resolving global ocean circulation models.

Mr. Christophe Mouton
Organization Member
supporting EDF
Mr. Christophe Mouton

Direction Production Ingénierie, Électricité de France (EDF). 

A graduate from Telecom SudParis, Christophe MOUTON joined the CAD team of the R&D center of Electricty of France, the French Power utility in 2001. In charge of studying remote collaborative visualization for EDF scientists, he has been investigating the Web3D technology since 2003 at the Web3D ACM Conference in Saint Malo (France).

EDF became a member of the Web3D Consortium in 2004 and helped  ISO to adopt the X3D binary standard with XIOT, the first opensource API library to read and write X3D binary files.

In 2008 he built one of the major displaywalls in Europe, creating a full web access to remote graphics resources: VisuPortal. In 2011 he moved ito the nuclear engineering unit of EDF and he is now in charge of the standardization expertise for 3D mock-up, massive 3D visualization for the Web and data handover for EDF Plants projects.

He is member of the board of the Web3D Consortium since 2012.

His scientific papers can be found at: http://independent.academia.edu/christopheMouton

Mr. John Ouellette
Directing Member
supporting Versar
John Ouellette

Director of  Digital Visualization & Remote Sensing program, Versar

Mr. John Ouellette is Director of Versar’s Digital Visualization & Remote Sensing program and a Vice President.  In this role, he leads an award-winning, multi-disciplinary team of analysts, scientists and engineers that assists our federal, state, and local governments research, plan, and develop digital 3D visualization products that improve site characterization and enable geospatial engineering planning and assessments.  His team have tested and evaluated recent in advancements in LiDAR, photogrammetry, sonar, and other remote sensing technologies can enhance engineering surveying/reconnaissance, planning, design, and construction activities of Versar’s diverse clients.  In each case, he has worked closely with his clients to study, research, analyze, and evaluate Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) and Government-Off-The-Shelf (GOTS) solutions that would improve the speed, agility, and cost efficiency of port and airfield repairs and their adjacent natural environments.  Mr. Ouellette has a B.S. degree from Lenoir-Rhyne University and M.S. degree from N.C. State University.  He and his family currently reside in Newport News, Virginia.

Dr. Nicholas Polys
President
Directing Member
supporting Virginia Tech
Director of Visual Computing, Virginia Tech Advanced Research Computing
 

Nicholas F. Polys is Director of Visual Computing with Virginia Tech Research Computing Group and Affiliate Research Professor in the Department of Computer Science. He has developed interactive 3D graphic content and systems for over 15 years. His research interests lie at the center of graphics and Human Computer Interaction: the intersection of visualization, virtual environments, and perception. After his undergraduate research in Cognitive Science at Vassar College (1996), he jumped into the networked information space of the WWW developing audio, visual, and 3D assets and software. His doctoral work at Virginia Tech (2006) examined perceptual cues and layout behaviors for Information-Rich Virtual Environments for desktop to immersive platforms.

He is a member of ACM, IEEE Computer Society, and the Web3D Consortium. He is a co-author of the international standard (ISO) Extensible 3D (X3D), elected Director and President of the Web3D Consortium, and Chair of the Web3D Medical Working Group.

Dr. Jorge Posada
Organization Member
supporting Vicomtech

Associate Director, Vicomtech

Jorge Posada is Associate Director at Vicomtech – Visual Interaction and Communication Technologies Centre- since 2001. He earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering from the Technische Universität Darmstadt (Germany) in the field of 3D large model visualization in virtual reality for industrial plants. After working for several years as researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics (Germany), in the Industrial Applications department, he joined in 2001 the R&D centre VICOMTech (San Sebastian, Spain) as Associate Director. Vicomtech is one of the leading applied research institutions in Spain with a focus in Computer Graphics -110 researchers, 40 Ph.D-. Jorge Posada works in applied research in the field of virtual reality, 3D graphics & data visualization in several fields, especially in Industry, Engineering and Media applications. Jorge Posada is also the President of the Board of the international network GraphicsMedia.net, the International Network for the Cooperation in Applied Research in Computer Graphics, Multimodal-Multimedia Technologies, and Visual Interactive Digital Media Technologies, with 7 members worldwide. He is a promoter of the innovative use of Computer graphics and Visual Computing technologies for Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet.

Jorge Posada is member of IEEE, ACM and Eurographics. He has co-authored about 80 research publications and has been co-director of 3 Ph.D. Thesis directly related to Computer Graphics and 3D. He is currently member of the Editorial Board of the Journal Multimedia Tools and Applications (Springer), and has been member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the international Journal Computer & Graphics (Elsevier) and the International Journal of Virtual Reality (IPI Press). He is also very active in international top conferences such as ACM/Eurographics Web3D 2013 (General Chair), ACM/Eurographics Web3D 2012 (General Co-Chair) and KES 2012 (General Co-Chair).

Dr. Byounghyun Yoo
Organization Member
supporting Korea Institute of Science and Technology
Dr. Byounghyun Yoo

Principal Research Scientist, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)

Byounghyun Yoo is a principal research scientist of the Center for Artificial Intelligence (CAI), AI and Robotics Institute at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and an associate professor of HCI & Robotics, KIST School at the Korea University of Science and Technology (UST). He is leading Webizing Research Lab (WRL).

He had been a research scientist of the Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling (CENSAM) at the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre and an affiliate research scientist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He had been a research fellow of the Modeling, Virtual Environments, and Simulation (MOVES) Institute at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He also had served as the first Web3D Fellow of the Web3D Consortium.

His research interests include augmenting human communication through explainable artificial intelligence and immersive human-computer interaction in collaborative Web environments.

Non-Elected Positions

Ms. Anita Havele
Executive Director
Web3D Staff

Executive Director, Web3D Consortium

Anita Havele has over 15 years’ of experience in computer graphics and a strong background in technical marketing of open standards in 2D/3D graphics. She has developed strategic roadmaps to build and deliver next-generation new media 3D successfully.  She has extensive experience in developing and managing programs for promotion and adoption of standards. She is currently the executive director of the Web3D Consortium implementing strategic plans for the global growth and adoption of the Consortium’s standards and 3D technology. She also coordinates and works with other standards organizations such as W3C, OGC, HL7, DICOM, ISO, and Khronos.

Before joining the Web3D Consortium her standards work extended to the automotive industry as part of a leading group at GM/EDS standardizing the design engineering processes. The nonconformance and revenue loss at GM lead to her strong support of open standards for the advancement of emerging technologies. After leaving EDS she continued her involvement in standards development developing methodologies and standards procedures in Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for the automotive design analysis industry. 

She is a member of ACM, IEEE Computer Society, and the Web3D Consortium. She holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Marquette University, USA.

You are welcome to contact the Web3D Board by sending email to our Executive Director - Anita Havele.

For more information about the Web3D Board of Directors (BoD) elections and responsibilities, please see our By-Laws.