Boise State Commencement Speech

Watch my commencement speech here.

Boise State Graduating Student Leaders

I was chosen as the keynote speaker for the Boise State 2021 Graduating Student Leaders virtual celebration. Full video here.

Boise State Ethos Project

The Ethos project showcases impactful projects on campus. I talked about my work with NASA SUITS and learning how to approach new frontiers in learning, software development, and life. Full video here.

Boise CodeCamp 2019

Presented on AR using Unity and Vuforia at Boise CodeCamp.

Games for Change

I gave a small talk and was part of a panel on the Youth to Industry pipeline. More info here.

Computing By Design

This conference was put on by NCWIT for Idaho counselors, educators and agency contributors with the goal of increasing student access to computer science education and careers.

Augmented Reality Space Informatics System

HCI International 2020

ABSTRACT: The Augmented Reality Space Informatics System (ARSIS) is a Microsoft HoloLens application developed for the NASA SUITS (Spacesuit User Interfaces for Students) challenge that provides an augmented reality (AR) interface for information display and communication to be used by astronauts during extravehicular activity (EVA) procedures. Astronauts are required to deal with complex and changing circumstances on EVA. The current status quo requires heavy reliance on voice communication with Mission Control Centers (MCCs) for everything from biometric data to assistance with procedures. ARSIS is designed with the dual purpose of increasing astronaut autonomy and making communication with MCCs more effective. Features of ARSIS include voice and gaze user interface (UI) navigation, anchored menus, planetary navigation aids, biometric information display, procedure instructions, and a suite of tools for enhanced communication with Mission Control including spatial telestration. User experience (UX) testing results for ARSIS have been generally positive overall, with the biggest takeaway being that users would prefer alternative modes of UI navigation to voice control. Eye tracking for UI navigation is a promising area of exploration in the future.

Full paper here.

BSU students develop app to help others find free food on campus

Idaho Press

BOISE — Boise State University students have developed a new app to ensure extra food from events goes into the stomachs of hungry students instead of the trash. The app, called Bronco BEAM, alerts students on campus when there is leftover food from a university dining services event so those looking for a meal can go eat for free. The app will show students and university employees within a 15- or 20-minute walk where the food is and what specifically is available. The app had a soft launch at the end of 2018, when it boasted over 900 users getting the alerts for free meals ...

Full article here.

Bronco BEAM app feeds Boise State students in need, cuts down on waste

Idaho Statesman

Tucked away in the back of the Dean of Students office at Boise State University is a student-created pantry stocked with canned foods, snacks and meals available to any hungry student. At the same time, those who dine in the Student Union Building are being given the option to donate two meals from their selected meal plans to a student in need as part of BSU’s student-proposed involvement with Swipe Out Hunger. Taking the effort further, the student-designed Bronco Beam app is just a month away from its official launch, on Jan. 16. (It already is being used in a trial phase.) One of the app’s goals is to curb waste from catered events at the school by making leftover food available to students...

Full article here.

Game Design Takes Teen from High School to White House

Huffington Post

On a sunny spring day last month, 30 of the nation’s brightest and most promising young minds gathered in Washington, D.C., for the sixth annual White House Science Fair. These future scientists, engineers, designers, mathematicians, and innovators brought with them robots, rockets, solar-powered cars, and other discoveries to showcase and celebrate their ingenuity and entrepreneurship. Among those gathered, Olivia Thomas, a high school senior from Boise, Idaho, stood out. One of the few video game designers to ever attend the annual fair, Olivia presented Colorless, a puzzle and platform game inspired by her love of literature. Players guide an avatar across an expansive world, thinking critically, keeping careful observation of their surroundings, and reacting quickly to new challenges...

Full article here.

Boise State Team Designing Heads-Up Display For NASA Astronauts

Boise State Public Radio

Boise State students of the College of Innovation + Design competed with other schools to develop an augmented reality program for NASA astronaut visors. We talk about the program and where this technology is headed today.

Listen here.

New app will help end food waste on campus and feed hungry students

Boise State Website

According to a 2016 survey, close to half of the students at Boise State describe themselves as food insecure, or not knowing where their next meal will come from because of financial strain. At the same time, catered events on campus often have leftover food that goes to waste if no one’s there to claim it. Bronco BEAM, a just-released app created by GIMMworks, the College of Innovation and Design team that works on tech solutions for social issues, aims to solve both problems. Bronco BEAM (or “beacon environment approximation mapping”) lets coordinators of catered events send notifications to students who are nearby, letting them know when food is available. Students go to a designated location and eat free, no questions asked. Employees who are in need of a meal also can use the app...

Full article here.

Bronco BEAM app feeds Boise State students in need, cuts down on waste

KTVB (local news)

BOISE, Idaho — A 2016 survey shows that close to half of the students at Boise State describe themselves as food insecure. At the same time, events on campus often have leftover food that goes to waste. Sounds like those two problems can help each other out, right? A team of talented students has worked hundreds of hours over the last two years to develop a smartphone app to help with both of those problems. "Pretty much universally, I tell people about this and they get excited,” Olivia Thomas, one of the students behind the project, said...

Full article here.

BEAM App Helps Reduce Waste And Food Insecurity At Boise State

Boise State Public Radio

Three Boise State students are helping the problem of food insecurity and waste with a modern solution: they built an app. Bronco BEAM gives alerts to users whenever there is extra food from events around campus -- food that otherwise would be thrown away. Idaho Matters speaks with the three developers to find out why they decided to create the app...

Listen here.

Finding food: Boise State students create phone app that combats food insecurity

KIVI (local news)

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — About 800 students and staff on Boise State's campus are using a phone app that sends alerts to them when free food is available nearby. This application is designed by a group of Games, Interactive Media & Mobile (GIMM) students who not only learned about technology along the way but how to work with others to create something that benefits a community. According to Boise State, a 2016 survey revealed that almost half of students at Boise State describe themselves as food insecure. “The statistic was really eye-opening for sure," said GIMM Major Issiac Torrero "We talked about homelessness and food insecurity as well and I didn't really realize how big of a problem it was on campus.” ...

Full article here.

Houston, we have solutions: students work to understand challenges facing NASA

Boise State Website

Distinguished educator in residence, Dr. Steve Swanson, certainly understands what drives undergraduate students to undertake supplemental research on top of their required coursework. “NASA is a big motivator,” he said. As a former astronaut, he should know. When Swanson retired from NASA in 2015, he joined Boise State to help motivate students in science and engineering to see the “excitement and creativity” involved in those fields. Swanson now oversees two student-led, NASA-affiliated research projects, each providing valuable real-world problem-solving experience and networking opportunities ...

Full article here.

Boise State students build virtual reality programs to help encourage social change

KTVB (local news)

BOISE, Idaho — Boise State University is partnering with a Boise foundation to bring more virtual reality experiences to the community. Whether it’s stepping into a 3D game or working with NASA to develop the latest communication technology for astronauts, there's no limit to the students' imagination. Virtual reality (VR) gives everyone a chance to experience a different type of environment in a virtual world. Now, Boise State's Games, Interactive Media and Mobile Technology Program is partnering with the Old Coot and Maggie Foundation to expand that technology to the community for all to experience...

Full article here

About

My name is Olivia, and I love to create things. I started making movies and videogames when I was nine years old. Now I am a college student and software developer passionate about using technology to make things that are meaningful, whether that means they educate, inspire, or simply make people's lives better. I combine technical skill with passion, vision, and the ability to lead and get things done. My primary experience and interest is in working with emerging technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality and internet of things, as well as interactive music.