Papka has a physics degree from Northern Illinois University, a master's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a master's degree and PhD from the
University of Chicago. While studying at UIC, Papka worked at
Argonne National Laboratory as an associate scientist (1992–1996) and has been steadily promoted throughout his research career, achieving senior scientist rank in 2012. In his role as a deputy associate laboratory director (2006 – present) for Computing, Environment and Life Sciences, Papka co-directs a research directorate that couples computing-related activities with various science domains whose future depends on computing. His active research includes
scientific visualization, large-scale data analysis, and building research infrastructure. His current efforts focused on analyzing the data output of traditional
supercomputers, large-scale scientific instruments, and
sensor networks to integrate edge and
high-performance computing across the computing continuum. As director of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory, he leads an interdisciplinary laboratory that performs research in the areas of high-performance visualization, virtual reality, and networked collaboration. EVL is home to pioneering technologies such as
CAVE, SAGE, and CAVE2. == Research ==