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Me





Hello — I'm Geoff: a scientist, engineer, and maker.

Education: PhD in Computer Science (Simon Fraser University).
Currently: Research Scientist at Apple since November 2021.
Previously: Prototype Engineer (Archiact), Instructor (UManitoba), Developer (Canadian Air Force).
Software skills: C, C++, C# .NET, Swift, Python, Java, OpenGL, GLSL.
Hardware skills: CAD (Fusion 360), PCB design (DipTrace), 3D printing, embedded programming, robotics.
Awards and publications: Various, including federal funding (NSERC CGS) and an award-winning paper (CAIAC 2017).

Scroll down to see more, or download my CV.

SFU logo
Doctor of Philosophy, Comp. Sci., Simon Fraser University (August 2021). Supervisor: Dr. Richard Vaughan.
Thesis title: Flock Heterogeneity and Its Applications.
U of M logo
Master of Science, Comp. Sci., University of Manitoba (September 2016). Supervisor: Dr. John Anderson.
Thesis title: Active Recruitment in Dynamic Teams of Heterogeneous Robots.
U of M logo
Bachelor of Science, Comp. Sci., University of Manitoba (2013).
Apple Logo
Research Scientist at Apple, since November 2021.
Staying hungry and foolish.
Archiact Logo
Prototype Engineer at Archiact, from 2015 to 2016.
Led software and hardware projects that merged robotics and virtual reality.
University of Manitoba Logo
Sessional Instructor at the University of Manitoba, from 2013 to 2015.
Taught 7 undergraduate computer science courses ranging in size from 30 to 100 students.
Canadian Forces Logo
Developer for the Canadian Department of National Defence (17 Wing Winnipeg), from 2009 to 2012.
Developed interactive training content to prepare Air Force officers for the next stages of their careers.

I've developed stock market backtesters, automated options trading software (which actually perform live trading), particle effect editors, a media library for C, mission scripters for my custom game engines, tools for my PhD research, and many more.

My languages of choice are C and C++. I'm also highly experienced in C# .NET, Swift, Java, and Python.

a PNG of a tool for particle effects

Fornax is a general-purpose particle editor I use in many of my projects. The interface was made in C# .NET, and the preview functionality was built in C++ with OpenGL.

Source code is available here.

a PNG of a tool for scripting Hypergate campaign missions

The scripting and mission layout tool I built to script missions in Hypergate. It was made in C# .NET.

a PNG of back testing results

Some output from a suite of back-testing tools I wrote to develop and test options trading strategies on the S&P 500. These tools were built using C++ and Python.

a Windows tablet running my automated trading software

My automated trading software, written in C# .NET, running on a wall-mounted tablet.

screenshot of the software that powered my PhD drone experiments

Screenshot of the drone simulation and control software I wrote that powered my drone experiments for my PhD research.

visualization of a scan of 1/256th of the Internet

A fun visualization project showing ping results for IPV4 addresses a.b.c.d, for all a, b, c, and a random d.

My games and game engines are cross-platform (Windows and Linux) and written from scratch, because I enjoy the learning that comes from doing things yourself. I've also built scripting tools, physically-based rendering (PBR) and raytracing engines, and more.

My games were written in C++ with modern OpenGL and GLSL. Most of my custom development tools were written in C# .NET. I constructed art assets in Blender and GIMP (most recently using a PBR metallicity workflow), and I performed sound design using Goldwave and Audacity. Two of my games are on Steam.

a GIF of Hypergate game play

Hypergate is a 3D space combat game available on Steam for Windows and Linux. It took five years to develop.

Check out the Steam Store page here.

a GIF of Asteroids Millennium game play

Asteroids Millennium is a modern take on an old classic, available on Steam for Windows and Linux.

Check out the Steam Store page here.

a GIF of Secrets of Mars, still in progress

Secrets of Mars is a game about an autonomous rover that begins to question reality, and its own programming, when things on Mars begin to become strange.

Development is currently on hold.

a GIF of a game I built using SIGIL

A game that I developed in 48 hours for my submission to the 45th Ludum Dare "Compo" competition using my open-source C media library, SIGIL. It ranked 360th out of 2613 submissions!

Source code is available here.

a GIF of a simple FPS game

No-Fly-Zone is a short survival-based first-person shooter (FPS) where you must defend yourself against rogue drones. It was made as a simple open-source example of how to create an FPS using OpenGL.

Source code is available here.

a PNG of raytracing rendering engine

This is a render from a raytracing engine I wrote. It features bounding volumes and other techniques for faster rendering, although not in real-time. The object in the center is a mirror.

Projects of mine include an electric scooter, remote controlled vehicles, robots, drones, and more. I modelled them using Fusion 360, and used DipTrace to design the PCBs. The renders below were made in Blender. Most of my devices are powered by Microchip (formerly Atmel) MCUs such as the ATmega328.

a close-up GIF of a µBee render

An animated render of the µBee, an inexpensive, 3D-printed drone I designed from scratch. Optional mounts for reflective markers allow integration with a motion capture system. I used these drones to conduct my PhD research.

an animated GIF of the electric scooter

An animated render of an electric scooter. I built it from scratch using plywood, aluminum, and 3D-printed parts reinforced with steel. An ATMega328P powers the logic, motor control, and display.

an animated GIF of my remote-controlled car and the controller

An animated render of my rugged-terrain, differential drive remote-controlled car. It is nearly entirely 3D-printed, including the controller.

a small µBee fleet

A brief test of a small µBee fleet, detected and controlled by custom software I wrote that also doubles as a simulator to test out behaviours beforehand. A Vicon motion capture system surrounding the lab space captures the 9.5mm markers attached to the drones. For size and weight considerations, only 3 reflective markers are used per drone. The software controlling the µBees detects and tracks these markers over time to associate the detections with drone IDs.

a GIF of the µBee

Myself, test-flying the µBee. With the optional motion capture markers, the drone weighs 37g (including the LiPo battery), and has a flight time of up to 3 and a half minutes.

a GIF of an electric scooter

Myself, riding the electric scooter. Its top speed is approximately 16km/h and it has a modest maximum range of about 7km when powered with a 3.3Ah 6s LiPo.

a GIF of a 3D-printed remote control car

Field tests of the rugged-terrain remote-controlled car on the SFU campus.

a GIF of 5 3pi robots controlled by a global vision system

An earlier robotics project of mine started prior to my master's degree. A custom global vision system captures the 3pi robots and instructs them to maintain various formations as robots are added or removed in real time.

a home-built digital clock

A digital clock I built using 3D-printed parts, a real-time clock module, 3 LED matrices, and a custom-designed PCB. The power cable runs into and down behind the wall.


Computational and Structural Advantages of Pairwise Flocking
Computational and Structural Advantages of Pairwise Flocking.
Geoff Nagy, Alex Thornton, Hangjian Ling, Guillam McIvor, Nicholas Ouellette, Richard Vaughan.
Proceedings of the 2nd IEEE International Symposium on Multi-Robot and Multi-Agent Systems, New Brunswick, USA, 2019.
PDF | BibTeX
Simultaneous Measurements of Three-Dimensional Trajectories and Wingbeat Frequencies of Birds in the Field
Simultaneous Measurements of Three-Dimensional Trajectories and Wingbeat Frequencies of Birds in the Field.
Hangjian Ling, Guillam Mclvor, Geoff Nagy, Sepehr MohaimenianPour, Richard Vaughan, Alex Thornton, Nicholas T. Ouellette.
Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 2018.
BibTeX
Self-Organization of a Robot Swarm into Concentric Shapes
Self-Organization of a Robot Swarm into Concentric Shapes.
Geoff Nagy, Richard Vaughan.
Proceedings of the 14th Conference on Computer and Robot Vision, Edmonton, Canada, 2017.
PDF | BibTeX
Flying Face Engagement: Aligning a UAV to Directly Face a Moving Uninstrumented User
Flying Face Engagement: Aligning a UAV to Directly Face a Moving Uninstrumented User.
Geoff Nagy, Richard Vaughan.
Abstract in: Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Vancouver, Canada, 2017.
PDF | BibTeX
Active Team Management Strategies for Multi-Robot Teams in Dangerous Environments
Active Team Management Strategies for Multi-Robot Teams in Dangerous Environments. (CAIAC Best Student Paper)
Geoff Nagy, John Anderson.
Proceedings of the 30th Canadian Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Edmonton, Canada, 2017.
PDF | BibTeX
Active Recruitment Mechanisms for Heterogeneous Robot Teams in Dangerous Environments
Active Recruitment Mechanisms for Heterogeneous Robot Teams in Dangerous Environments.
Geoff Nagy, John Anderson.
Proceedings of the 29th Canadian Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Victoria, Canada, 2016.
PDF | BibTeX
Are Tangibles Really Better?: Keyboard and Joystick Outperform TUIs for Remote Robotic Locomotion Control
Are Tangibles Really Better?: Keyboard and Joystick Outperform TUIs for Remote Robotic Locomotion Control.
Geoff Nagy, James E. Young, John Anderson.
Proceedings of the 10th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (Abstracts), Portland, USA, 2015.
PDF | BibTeX
An Event-Driven Operating System for Servomotor Control
An Event-Driven Operating System for Servomotor Control.
Geoff Nagy, Jacky Baltes, Andrew Winton, John Anderson.
RoboCup 2014: Robot World Cup XVIII, Joao Pessoa, Brazil, 2014.
PDF | BibTeX

While working on my master's degree at the University of Manitoba, I was a sessional instructor from 2013 to 2015. In total, I taught 7 classes, ranging in size from 30 to over 100 students. While course topics were determined by the department, I developed and presented my own lecture content and assignments. Exams were developed and graded jointly between myself and the other instructors teaching the remaining sections. I received excellent ratings from students during evaluations.

I've been active in the Computer Science and robotics communities since my undergraduate career. My volunteer work includes organizing student events for international conferences, and contributing to committees on both local and international levels.

I'm on LinkedIn, and I also maintain websites for Hypergate and SIGIL, and have a GitLab repository with some small public projects.

If you want to get in touch, email is best: geoff [dot] nagy [at] gmail [dot] com.

Page last updated March 31, 2023.

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