Graduate Success Stories
Many students have found the course offerings here at Clemson's Zucker Family Graduate Education Center the perfect fit for pursuing their graduate education and putting them on the path toward achieving their dreams. Here, we share the stories of several students who have benefited from their educational experience.
Xiang Li
Xiang Li earned a PhD in Computer Science in August 2025. He now works as a Software Engineer with Google and their Syntech Team. His work with Google focuses on facial and body capture systems. These devices are widely used at Google to train AI models and create digital humans. The data captured is deployed across many Google products.
Xiang felt his best experience at ZGEC was that it is a small community, but that made it possible for him to connect with nearly everyone there. They often shared research projects and spent time together outside of class. People in the building were always willing to help without hesitation.
Xiang said that his background is purely in computer science. At Zucker, he had frequent conversations with Digital Production Arts students, many of whom were artists. This gave him valuable opportunities to understand the needs of artists — skills that proved essential during his internships at DreamWorks, Disney Animation Studios, and now at Google. As a computer science engineer, he often works closely with artists to develop tools that improve their workflows. He also gained significant knowledge of movie production, which helps him communicate effectively with non-technical colleagues.
Xiang’s research was on Multiple View Neural Regression of a Facial Shape Model. His major project at Zucker was VarIS, which played a key role in helping him land his current position at Google.
Abhijit Varanasi
Abhijit earned a M.F.A. in Digital Production Arts in December 2025. He currently works with Clemson University’s Mechanical Engineering department, contributing to web-based InDes tools and UI development for the AIM Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC). Alongside this, he continues to work freelance or on personal projects across 3D modeling, Unity game development, and shader development for visual effects.
During his time at Clemson, Abhijit’s thesis focused on Procedural Facial Animation. His work explored data-driven and procedural approaches to facial animation, combining technical rigor with visual storytelling. Through close collaboration with faculty members Matias Volonte, Rodney da Costa, and Dr. Eric Patterson, he gained hands-on experience in machine learning concepts, Unreal Engine workflows, and academic thesis writing, strengthening both research and production skill sets.
His favorite experiences at the Zucker Family Graduate Education Center (ZGEC) were rooted in its collaborative, studio-like environment. Abhijit especially valued the hours spent learning alongside peers, late-night drawing sessions while listening to local radio and Spotify and the camaraderie of staying late and hanging out at ZGEC. DPA events and the cinematography course, where he worked hands-on with cameras and explored film language through both shooting and watching films, were particularly formative. Together, ZGEC’s coursework and community prepared him with a deep understanding of computer graphics fundamentals, 3D modeling, animation, advanced Maya rigging, and real-time game development, providing a strong foundation.
Carlos Herbas
Carlos earned his MS in Computer Science in May 2025. Currently Carlos works for the Naval Information Warfare Center. Originally from Bolivia, Carlos served in the US Army from 2001-2003. One of his best experiences at ZGEC includes the quiet environment and the feeling of being in a place that feels welcoming. According to Carlos, the ZGEC provided the right environment for study and testing, something that he couldn't always find at his workplace.
Jan Westman
Jan Westman earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering in May 2025 under the guidance of Dr. Ramtin Hadidi. While studying at the Zucker Graduate Education Center (ZGEC), Jan conducted power systems research focused on the control and operation of AC microgrids as well as the interaction between inverters and synchronous generators. Jan gained valuable experience developing power system models and performing hardware-in-the-loop experiments at the eGrid laboratory in the Energy Innovation Center (EIC) across the street from the ZGEC. This experience helped Jan obtain a full-time position with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he currently works as an electrical engineer.
Jan's best experiences were socializing with other graduate students and staff at game nights, GSG events, and EIC bbqs and chili contests.
Jessica Baron-Lis
Jessica Baron-Lis earned a PhD in Computer Science, Visual Computing in May 2025. She now works at Lucasfilm’s visual effects (VFX) studio, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), making the technology used for creating movies, shows, and experiences. Her position is a Production Engineer in R&D on the “Image-based Capture” team.
While studying at Clemson, she had a Fulbright Award in Switzerland and numerous internships at film and game studios worldwide (Wētā FX, Pixar Animation Studios, and Epic Games). Her dissertation has been an immersive experience into the computer-graphics field, involving the creation of the Variable Illumination Sphere (VarIS) led by Dr. Eric Patterson and with the assistance of many others. Housed at the Zucker Family Graduate Education Center (ZGEC) in Charleston, VarIS is a giant system of lights and cameras for acquiring data useful for graphics like the appearance of bird feathers and human faces.
Jessica’s best experiences at ZGEC include her involvement with the Digital Production Arts (DPA) program in a studio-like environment and watching the variety of birds (as well as otters and dolphins) along the Cooper River from her desk. Both were a constant source of inspiration!
Jehosh Chacko
Jehosh Chacko earned his M.F.A. in Digital Production Arts from Clemson University, graduating in May 2024. During his time at Clemson, he worked as an IT student employee under Taylor Sieling, providing IT services for CURI. This role allowed Jehosh to develop a strong technical foundation and gain practical experience with Clemson's IT infrastructure, troubleshooting issues, and supporting the technology needs of the campus community.
Currently a Technical Artist at Shiver Entertainment / Nintendo, Jehosh attributes his success to the invaluable experience gained during his thesis research and working as an IT student employee. His project, "The Star Caller: Shining a Light on Game Production and Real-Time Cinematics," was an ambitious endeavor encompassing concepting, modeling, animation, and more, which honed his expertise in Unreal Engine and secured his current role. Clemson's Zucker Family Graduate Education Center provided a supportive and resource-rich environment, meeting every need and fostering student growth, thereby preparing Jehosh exceptionally well for his career.
Caroline Requierme
Caroline graduated from Clemson’s Zucker Family Graduate Education Center in 2020, where she completed a Master of Fine Arts degree in Digital Production Arts (DPA). Currently, she works as a Resident Technical Director in Simulation at Pixar Animation Studios. Throughout her time in the program, Caroline was able to explore the full digital animation pipeline through interdisciplinary coursework in computer graphics, visual art, and production. Her favorite courses focused on physically-based animation and character effects. She found that these disciplines challenged both her creative and technical skills, and they ultimately inspired a passion for character cloth and hair simulation. Through DPA, Caroline had the opportunity to apply these interests in the creation of films and games in collaborative production projects. Her work in the program culminated in a thesis project that explored the implementation of stylized costumes in animated films from design, to construction, to simulation.
Caroline says her experience at the Zucker Family Graduate Education Center fostered valuable skills—namely, the ability to create in a team-based production environment, familiarity with and aptitude in industry-standard software, and the flexibility to solve both technical and artistic problems within the animation pipeline—that made her an attractive candidate when applying for positions in the film industry and make her a valuable part of the team as a resident at Pixar.
Kayley Seawright
Kayley completed her master’s in mechanical engineering from Clemson University at the Zucker Family Graduate Education Center in 2019, while working full time at Boeing as an Aeromechanics Structural Analysis Engineer in Boeing Research & Technology. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2014 from Clemson University, where she served as the 2013 Student Body President. After an adventure as a performer at Walt Disney World, she joined the Boeing team in Charleston, SC, where she’s been for over 5 years. During those years, she’s supported a variety of programs including: the CST-100 Starliner, 787 Dreamliner, future commercial airplane wing optimization trade studies, Space Launch System, and the Navy’s MQ-25 program. Per Kayley “Zucker’s classes offered complementary learning” that she applied to her job. She’s most enjoyed getting to be a part of Boeing Clemson collaborations and hopes to continue to facilitate a strong partnership moving forward.
Kayley is the REACH South Carolina Regional Chairman, leading a team of 40 volunteers in community, development, and networking engagement opportunities for Boeing South Carolina. Kayley also serves at the Boeing Clemson Focal, leading an Alumni Team, and facilitating engagements between the University and Boeing. She served on the North and South Carolina Council for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), as the Education Relations Chairman. She is also actively involved in Boeing Women in Leadership, the Society of Women Engineers, Charleston Young Professionals, and the Charleston Clemson Board. In her free time, Kayley loves being out on the water: surfing, skiing, boating, paddle boarding, and kayaking. She also makes it a priority to travel, play the violin, cook fun and healthy meals, and to read.
Kunta Lowe
Kunta Lowe is a 2019 Digital Production Arts graduate (M.F.A.) from Clemson University’s Zucker Family Graduate Education Center. Currently Kunta is a Software Engineer/Pipeline Developer at Epic Games in Cary North Carolina.
Kunta expressed that one of the best experiences he had at Zucker was being able to interact with multiple disciplines of students and professors from computer science, mechanical and electrical engineering as well as applied sciences. This broadened his curiosity about several topics in the sciences like networking protocols in computer science and electrical phases in electrical engineering.
While at Clemson Kunta was an IT assistant. According to Kunta this enabled him to problem solve issues for these disciplines in the context of computer software and hardware needs. This experience was a big focus during interviews for the Pipeline Developer position at Epic Games.
Kunta’s thesis involved research on how to create an effective way to use film production pipeline for the Digital Production Arts program. This involved using industry software tools to prepare students for careers after graduation. Kunta stated that his “part-time job in IT influenced my thesis by providing insight into the current software and hardware infrastructure available to students and how to leverage that in various types of art productions like games and live-action or animated films. This unique coupling of thesis and work experience I believe was the driving force of my current position at Epic Games.”
