Biography | Publications

Bob O’Bara joined the Kitware team in August 2006 as an R&D Engineer. His main areas of interest are geometric modeling, mesh generation, model and mesh visualization, and general scientific visualization techniques.  Since he started working at Kitware, Bob has been involved in the areas of Information Visualization as well as improving the processing of SpyPlot files.  For the past year and a half, Bob has been working with the Oil & Gas Industry in the development of visualization/information management components for subsurface data from various sources and disciplines (Geo-Sciences & Engineering).  Recently, Bob is also involved with the Army Core of Engineers in developing an integrated visualization environment for hydrologic modeling which includes large multi-dimensional simulations of watersheds, rivers, reservoirs, estuaries, and oceans.

Bob received his Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics from Case Western Reserve University in May 1985. He completed his Masters of Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in May 1988 with a thesis analyzing the modeling clip mechanism proposed in the PHIGS+ standard.

Prior to joining Kitware, Bob was a senior software engineer at Simmetrix Inc. where he was project manager of the GeomSim product. His other responsibilities included developing an attribute management system for representing non-geometric information necessary for simulation-based design, an attribute definition system that provided the ability to define complex attribute representations, as well as various meshing and geometric modeling algorithms including void filling and curvilinear mesh generation techniques. He also developed a visualization infrastructure for displaying geometric information as well as creating and editing attribute information. Bob was also the principle investigator for the following SBIRs:

Mesh Generation for High-Order Finite Element Methods -- NSF Phase I, II, and IIB. (2001-2005)

The purpose of this project was to develop innovative automatic mesh generation capabilities as needed to apply high-order finite element methods in the solution of partial differential equations over general curvilinear domains.

Generation and Adaptive Control of Grids for High-Speed Reacting Flows -- Air Force Phase1 (2005)

This Phase I SBIR project focused on extending Simmetrix’ automatic mesh generation tools to generate meshes necessary for types of high-speed reacting flow simulations being investigated by the Air Force. This included creating anisotropic mixed element meshes with boundary layers.

Publications

Luo, X., Shephard, M.S., Ying, L., O’Bara, R.M., Nastasia, R., and Beall, M.W., Construction of Near Optimal Meshes for 3-D Curved Domains with Thin Sections and Singularities for p-Version Method. Engineering with Computers, 2006.

Schroeder, W.J., Bertel, F., Malaterre, M., Thompson, D., Pébay, P.P., O’Bara, R.M. and Tendulkar, S., Methods and Framework for Visualizing Higher-Order Basis Functions, IEEE Transactions on Visualizaion and Computer Graphics, 2006, Vol 12 No 4.

Schroeder, W.J., Bertel, F., Malaterre, M., Thompson, D., Pébay, P.P., O’Bara, R.M. and Tendulkar, S., Framework for Visualizing Higher-Order Basis Functions, IEEE Visualizaion, 2005, Vol 6. (draft)

Shephard, M.S., Flaherty, J.E., Janson, K.E., Li, X., Luo, X., Chevaugeon, N., Remacle, J.F., Beall, M.W., and O’Bara, R.M., Adaptive mesh generation for curved domains, Applied Numerical Mathematics, Vol 52, 2005, pp. 251-271.

Luo, X., Shephard, M.S., O’Bara, R.M., Nastasia, R., and Beall, M.W., Automatic p-version mesh generation for curved domains, Engineering with Computers, Vol 20, No 3, 2004, pp. 265-285.

Shephard, M.S., Beall, M.W., O’Bara, R.M., and Webster, B.E., Towards Simulation-Based Design, Finite Elements in Analysis and Design, Vol 40, 2004, pp. 1575-1598.

O’Bara, R.M., Beall, M.W., and Shephard, M.S., Attribute Management System for Engineering Analysis, Engineering with Computers, Vol 18, No 4, 2002, pp. 339-351.

Luo, X., Shephard, M.S., Remacle, J., O’Bara, R.M., Beall, M.W., Szabo, B., and Actis, R., p-Version Mesh Generation Issues, IMR 2002, pp. 343-354

Dey, S., O’Bara, R.M., and Shephard, M.S., Towards curvilinear meshing in 3D: the case of quadratic simplices, Computer Aided Design, Vol 33, No 3, 2001, pp.199-209

Dey, S., O’Bara, R.M., and Shephard, M.S., Curvilinear Mesh Generation in 3D, IMR 1999, pp. 407-417.

Shephard, M.S, de Cougny, H., O’Bara, R.M., and Beall, M.W., Automatic Grid Generation using Spatially-Based Trees, The Handbook of Grid Generation, 1998.

Shephard, M.S., Beall, M.W., and O’Bara, R.M., Revisiting the Elimination of the Adverse Effects of Small Model Features in Automatically Generated Meshes, IMR 1998, pp. 119-131.

Donzelli, P.S., O’Bara, R.M., Spilker, R.L., Gallo, L.M., Baumann, H.F., and Palla, S., FEM Simulation of TMJ Disc Deformation, Journal of Dental Research, 1998. Vol 77 (Special Issue B), p. 1028.

Spilker, R.L., Shephard, M.S., Donzelli, P.S., Dunbar, W.L., Michalowski, R., O’Bara, R.M., Mow, V.C., Ateshian, G.A., Computational Tools for the 3D Analysis of Diarthrodial Joint Soft Tissue Mechanics Using Physiological Data, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 1997.

Dey, S. O’Bara, R.M, and Shephard, M.S, Curving Straight-Edged Meshes for p-Version Finite Element Method, USNCCM 1997, p. 188.

O’Bara, R.M, Shephard, M.S, and Ateshian, G.A, Generation of Geometric Models and Meshes for Analysis of Soft Tissues in Articulated Joints, USNCCM 1997, p. 65.

O’Bara, R.M, Beall, M.W., and Shephard, M.S, Specifying Analysis Information within a Geometric Framework, USNCCM 1997, p. 137.

Spilker, R.L, Shephard, M.S, Flaherty, J.E., Donzelli, P.S, Dunbar, W.L., O’Bara, R.M, Mow, V.C, and Ateshian, G.A, 3D Analysis of Biphasic layers using physiological data, USNCCM 1997, p. 64.

R.M. O’Bara, M.W. Beall, and M.S. Shephard, Analysis model visualization and graphical analysis attribute specification system, Finite Elements in Analysis and Design, Vol 19, No 4, 1995, pp. 325-348.

O’Bara, R.M., Shephard, M.S., and Ateshian, G.A., Geometric Model Construction and Mesh Generation for Soft Tissues in Joints, ASME Conference in Bio-Mechanics - Summer 1995

Roubik, M., O'Bara, R.M., PHIGS Interactor PHIGS Examiner (PIPE), First Annual PHIGS User's Group Conference - March 1993

Miller, J.V., D.E. Breen, W.E. Lorensen, R.M. O’Bara, and M.J. Wozny, Geometrically Deformed Models: A Method for Extracting Closed Geometric Models from Volume Data, Computer Graphics (SIGGRAPH’91 Proceedings), Vol. 25, No. 4, July 1991, pp. 217-226.

O’Bara, R., Graphics Standards and Interfaces, Workstations & Servers: Architectures & Standards, DATAPRO, October 1991, pp. 1-11.

O'Bara, R., and Abi-Ezzi, S., An Analysis of Modeling Clip, EUROGRAPHICS'89 Conference Proceedings, 1989.

O'Bara, R., An Analysis of Modeling Clip, Rensselaer Design Research Center, TR-88011, May 1988 (Masters Thesis).

O'Bara, R., and Abi-Ezzi, S., Rendering Extensions to GraPHIGS, Rensselaer Design Research Center, TR-88011, May 1988.

Skolnick, M., Kim, S., and O'Bara, R., Morphological Algorithms for Computing Non-Planar Point Neighborhoods on Cellular Automata, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Computer Vision, Dec. 1988, pp. 106-111.