Dominic Dominguez

Virtual Reality Check

Dominic Dominguez is the envy of all his friends because he gets to conduct specialized research on Xbox 360 game programming. Dominguez, who maintains a 3.5 grade point average, has studied the details of video games and has worked alongside faculty mentor, Dr. Scott King, for more than a year. The senior, who is a 2005 graduate of Gregory-Portland High School, is a fellow in the Computing Sciences and Alliance for Minority Participation (CS/AMP) Program, a member of the Computer Science Club and a historian in the Rotaract Club, a Rotary-sponsored service club for men and women ages 18 to 30. While in high school, Dominguez shot and edited video with friends and became familiar with computers, which helped him build a foundation for a future in computer science. He chose the Island University for its student-to-faculty ratio (19:1) and close proximity to home. His choice has paid off. In October, he presented research on virtual reality and head tracking with a Wii remote at the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) conference in Dallas, Texas. Earlier this year, Dominguez gave a poster presentation on game development at Google Headquarters in San Francisco, Calif. In addition, he was first place presenter at the Science Rules! Expo. He is designing a new way to use special video glasses to create a virtual experience using infrared lights and the Wii remote to track one’s head orientation. One day, he hopes to find a gaming position in Austin or Dallas and incorporate a dance pad into a virtual learning world.