Ben Jordan is a seasoned Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios, with a career spanning from June 1997 to the present, specializing in shading while also possessing expertise in software engineering and optimization. Prior to joining Pixar, Ben worked as a researcher at UC Davis in the Center for Image Processing and Computing from 1996 to 1997, focusing on wavelets and solving N-dimensional equations. Ben's early experience includes an internship as an Electrical Engineer at Xintec Corporation from 1994 to 1995, where work involved medical grade lasers and software interface development. Ben holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of California, Davis, earned between 1991 and 1997, and is a graduate of Piedmont High School, class of 1991.