Grad helps make Pokémon fur fly Suwen Wang's (BCS ’07) work in the visual effects industry is helping bring to life some of the most incredible digital creations in movies and TV today, including the recently released POKÉMON: Detective Pikachu. Wang was working as a software developer for MPC Film in Vancouver, a global leading visual effects (VFX) studio, during production of the movie where he was assigned to a team that was developing software tools for animations and grooming that create realistic digital hair and fur, including for Pikachu. Anirudh Koul (BCS ’07) receives a 2019 Dalhousie Aurum Award Alum Koul was honoured for his work in developing Seeing AI, a talking smartphone app that helps people who are blind or low vision get descriptions of the world around them. It was an instant success when released by Microsoft in 2017, quickly becoming the defacto app used by the blind community worldwide. Koul is tapping into the potential of AI, with groundbreaking work that has been recognized by FCC Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility as well as the American Council of the Blind. A woman of inspiration WeUsThem Principal and Chief Creative Officer, Faten Alshazly (BCSc’99) was named a Woman of Inspiration by the Canadian Business Chicks. Alshazly was honoured during an annual awards ceremony at the Metro Toronto Centre. This is the second nationally recognized award she received in 2019/20 after being named in Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network. Alshazly founded Halifax-based full-service creative agency, WeUsThem, with fellow computer science alum Ashwin Kutty.
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