Jordi Amatller Claraso was born in Santa Coloma de Queralt, Catalunya, in 1976. In April 2000, he graduated from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), obtaining the degree of Industrial Engineer. He worked in Gedas Iberia (June 99-September 99) developing the documentation of a new communications system. He also worked at the Applied Mathematics Department at UPC implementing simulation software in a parallel computer system. In 2000, he was awarded a Balsells Fellowship to pursue graduate studies in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCI. His research interests are in computer graphics and computer simulation. He likes sports, music and cinema. His favorite sport is soccer and he enjoys playing chess.
Andreu Fargas Marques was born in Reus (Gaudi’s town), Spain, in 1976. In July 2000, he graduated from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), obtaining the degree of Industrial Engineer. Starting in 1997, he worked as a scholarship student in the Automation Department (ESAII) and in the Institute of Organization and Control of Industrial Systems (IOC), where he carried out his graduation project in the field of Robotics. In 1999 he also worked for six months in a data base implementation project for SEAT with Gedas S.A. In June 2000, he was awarded a Balsells Fellowship to pursue a Master’s Degree in Mechanical and Aerospace at the University of California, Irvine. His research is in the Systems and Design area, with a special interest in Robotics and Automation. He likes playing all kind of sports (especially soccer) but also reading and listening to music.
Mari Cruz Villa Uriol was born in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain, in 1973. In 1994, she obtained a 3-year degree in Telecommunications Engineering and in 1997 a degree in Electronics Engineering. Both degrees conferred by La Salle School of Engineering (Ramon Llull University) in Barcelona. She worked as an instructor at La Salle School of Engineering for Introduction to Computers, Hypermedia Programming and Interface Design (September 1996 to September 2000). In September 1996, she joined the Center for Integration of Technologies and Media (CITeM), where she developed different projects related to Internet. In July 2000, she was awarded the Balsells Graduate Fellowship in Engineering to pursue her Ph.D. studies in Computer Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Her research interests are Computer Graphics, Virtual Reality, Human Computer Interaction and Multimedia in general. She likes reading, singing in choirs and playing guitar.