Visual computing · exploratory R&D · creative technology

I build ways of seeing.

Across graphics, visualization, vision, UX, HCI, and AI, I originate new directions, build teams and programs around them, and stay hands-on from prototype to production.

Kalina Borkiewicz presenting beside a large scientific visualization
A Beautiful Planet IMAX poster
Thousands of people playing a live, large-screen audience game
Kalina Borkiewicz participating in an international visual effects discussion in China

I've worked at

Kalina Borkiewicz directing the SIGGRAPH 2023 Electronic Theater on a large stage

Research & creative leadership

I build teams for ambitious work.

I’ve founded and led interdisciplinary programs including NCSA’s Visualization Program Office, its Advanced Visualization Lab, the Oscar-qualifying SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater, and my own startup, CrowdFXLabs. I now serve as an ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee Director.

Selected work

I explore what visual technology makes possible.

Across research, software, journalism, science, and live experiences, I connect emerging technology with creative practice and real-world use.

01 / Research & invention

I prototype new ways to create.

My research and engineering span AI-assisted 3D authoring at Autodesk Research, Apple Photos, clinical systems, supercomputer pipelines, and open-source visualization tools. I move between exploratory prototypes and systems used at real scale.

Explore Ytini, used by NASA
Kalina Borkiewicz and a colleague examining an immersive scientific visualization
Immersive systems · supercomputing · human-centered research
AI × 3D3D authoring with AI presenceAutodesk Research · provisional patent
10K usersYtiniScientific Python meets Houdini
15K node-hours/dayBluRendRendering at supercomputer scale
98% of U.S. hospitalsClinical systemsFull-stack engineering at Intelligent Medical Objects

03 / Cinematic science

I bring scientific data to cinematic life.

I build cinematic scientific visualizations from real research data: galaxies, extreme weather, planetary systems, climate change. The work has appeared in IMAX films, planetariums, museums, live concerts, television, and the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater and has been seen by millions of people worldwide.

Watch my visualization reel
Einstein's Incredible Universe, IMAX, 2026 Atlas of a Changing Earth, fulldome, 2021 A Beautiful Planet, IMAX, 2016 Solar Superstorms, fulldome, 2014

04 / CrowdFX Labs

I turn audiences into collaborators.

I create real-time experiences that turn thousands of people into active participants. No app download, no instruction manual—individual gestures become games, polling, art, and one shared visual moment.

Explore CrowdFXLabs

About

I connect technical depth with creative direction.

I’m Kalina Borkiewicz, an interdisciplinary visual computing researcher and R&D leader with a career spanning research, production, journalism, and creative technology. I spent a decade at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, rising from research software engineer to director.

I’m now pursuing a PhD at the University of Utah to deepen my research into visual communication and human-centered technology. It’s a continuation of an established practice: finding new directions, making them tangible, and bringing together the people who can take them further.