SIGGRAPH News

ACM SIGGRAPH 2011 Election Info

jdana — 2011-05-04T01:04:32Z

The candidates for President, Vice-President, and Director-At-Large have submitted candidate statements

The voter log-in page can be found at https://www.esc-vote.com/acmsig

To cast your vote you need your unique-pin (located on postcard from ACM) and 7-digit ACM SIGGRAPH member number. If you did not receive your postcard please contact acmhelp (at) acm [dot] org. If you forgot your member number it can be retrieved at https://campus.acm.org/public/accounts/Forgot.cfm

Computer Graphics Quarterly New Issue Available

jdana — 2011-05-03T18:39:29Z

Computer Graphics Quarterly (volume 45, number 1)
http://www.siggraph.org/publications/newsletter/volume-45-number-1

From the Editor - Hans Westman

2011 marks the tenth year I've been involved with SIGGRAPH (a relative new-be) 
primarily as a volunteer for the newsletter. The contributions comprised of both 
solicited and voluntarily submissions are what make the newsletter what it is, 
not only an exciting and informative array of articles, but a conduit for the 
exchange of ideas and collaborations around a common interest, computer 
graphics, in all its applicable nuances.

In this issue's VisFiles, Ernie Wright has written the article "Preparing for a 
Lunar Inpact", how 3D software is used in collaboration with telescope 
observations of the moon to simulate the surface to coordinate a planned rocket 
impact for research investigating the possible presence of water particles.

Benjamin Schroeder at The Ohio University has submitted and piece on "An 
Interactive, Multi-Modal Workspace for Physically Based Sound", paper he 
presented at the 2010 conference in Los Angeles, discussing his research in 
producing simulations of (realistic) physical sound through new approaches to 
virtual programming and interactive screen based solutions.

The SIGGRAPH conference represents a coordination that culminates once a year in 
a cross pollination of Art, Science and Technology, people gathering from around 
the globe, this year in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is an inspiration to all 
that have this common interest in anything computer graphics related, now as is 
also SIGGRAPH Asia. It is no wonder that its affecting nature has inspired 
members to get involved in local activities akin to what SIGGRAPH does so well, 
namely bring people together to support events that nurture the creative process 
through technology driven means.

During October, 2010, SIGGRAPH member Mauricio Ferrazza saw the first ever 
ANIMIAMI Animation Festival and Conference in Miami, Florida, come to fruition, 
driven by his love for his city as well as his roll as an educator and computer 
graphics professional. Mauricio has written a summary of the inaugural 
conference in his article entitled "ANIMIAMI Animation Festival and Conference".

This last January, groups of budding game develpers attended the Pittsburgh 
International Game Developers Association (PIGDA) sponsored "Global Game Jam", 
hosted in Pittsburgh by The Art Institute of Pittsburgh (AIP), one of many 
participating co-locations around the world. SIGGRAPH's own MK Haley, together 
with AIP President George Sebolt and local artist volunteered to judge games 
produced within the time constraints of 48 hours.


The Art Institute of Pittsburgh President George Sebolt and ETC faculty MK Haley 
judging games produced at the PIGDA Global Game Jam event.

The collaboration between art and technology is very much at the foundation for 
what SIGGRAPH is all about, and Pittsburgh is a testament of action, joining the 
two in rejuvenating the identity of what the city is and what it has to offer, 
both locally and globally. Kim Chestney-Harvey of the Pittsburgh Technology 
Counsel has submitted an article entitled "Art + Technology: the New Frontier of 
Creativity and Innovation" about the two year project connecting Pittsburgh 
based ingenuity with the west coast entertainment industry.

The cover image was selected from the article "Preparing from a Lunar Impact". 
I'd like to say thank you for the submissions in this issue,  for it is through 
the coordination and collaboration of member and guest contributors that creates 
the impact of "Computer Graphics" and its success.

Hans Westman
Editor

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The SIGGRAPH E-Quarterly service provides SIGGRAPH members with
email notification of the release of the online Computer Graphics
Quarterly.

If you'd like to join the list, please go to: http://www.acm.org/siggraph_e_quarterly

Association for Computing Machinery
Advancing Computing as a Science and Profession

(c) 2010 ACM, Inc. All rights reserved.

Silicon Valley ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter Presents - Screening of the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Electronic Theater

jdana — 2011-04-15T17:08:07Z

Infinite Imagination
The third edition of SIGGRAPH Asia's Computer Animation Festival presents the year's finest achievements in computer animation and visual effects by artists, designers, researchers, and scientists from around the world. A distinguished international jury reviewed hundreds of submissions and selected the best of the best.

For more details see: http://silicon-valley.siggraph.org/next.html

SIGGRAPH 2011 - Art Paper Submissions

jdana — 2011-01-04T20:22:03Z

http://www.siggraph.org/s2011/for_submitters/art-papers

Online Registration for SIGGRAPH 2011 is Now Available

jaime — 2011-03-18T17:49:36Z

Visit http://bit.ly/s11Reg for more details including SIGGRAPH 2011 Registration Categories & Fees.

The online hotel reservation system is also available now at http://bit.ly/s2011Travel. Book your rooms in Vancouver before 11 July 2011 for the best prices and availability.

ACM SIGGRAPH Announces Winner of 2010 Digital Art Award

saunders — 2010-08-04T21:46:51Z

LOS ANGELES – August 3, 2010 -- ACM SIGGRAPH, the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques www.siggraph.org, has selected Yoichiro Kawaguchi as the recipient of the 2010 ACM-SIGGRAPH Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement in Digital Art.
Kawaguchi was cited for his research in computer technology, biological forms, and contemporary artistic practice to produce creative, innovative artistry. His explorations of the fundamental concepts of growth have enabled him to cross the line between generative art and biological processes, resulting in imagery marked by pulsating colors and forms http://www.artfutura.org/02/kawaguchi_en.html. A professor of Computer Graphics Art at the University of Tokyo, he received the award at the SIGGRAPH 2010 conference in Los Angeles http://www.siggraph.org/s2010/ .

    Early in his career, Kawaguchi applied his interest in nature to creating “GROWTH model," a self-organizing approach to developing a formative algorithm of a complex life form. The resulting paper and art works, presented at SIGGRAPH 1982, demonstrated the new aesthetic possibilities of digital imagery. Since the mid-1980s, he has been active in the international community, showing at venues such as Images du Futur in Montreal, Inter-Society for the Electronic Arts (ISEA), Ars Electronica, the Venice Biennale, and SIGGRAPH.

    Recently, his interest in collaborations led him to work with performers, merging his dynamic imagery of natural fantasy forms with the movements and forms of human dancers. He has also collaborated with researchers working on new forms of electronic image output, ranging from the early pioneers of high definition video to those who are bringing digital imagery to the tangible everyday environment through designs on clothing and sculpture. His current research explores large-scale plastic sculptures using newly available materials.

    Kawaguchi began his career in 3D Computer Animation at Kyushu University, where he earned a BA degree. He received an MFA from the University of Tsukubao.

    The ACM SIGGRAPH Distinguished Artist Award is presented annually to an artist who has created a substantial and important body of work that significantly advances aesthetic content in the field of digital art. Nominations for the 2011 award are accepted until November 1, at http://www.siggraph.org/programs/awards .

About ACM SIGGRAPH
The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques www.siggraph.org is an interdisciplinary community interested in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Members include researchers, developers and users from the technical, academic, business, and art communities. SIGGRAPH provides information to the computer graphics community through its annual conference, publications and the SIGGRAPH Video Review.

About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery www.acm.org, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession’s collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.

SIGGRAPH 2011 CAF & Real-Time Live! Submission Deadlines

jaime — 2011-04-12T15:54:42Z

For more information visit:

Computer Animation Festival - http://www.siggraph.org/s2011/for_submitters/computer-animation-festival
Real-Time Live! - http://www.siggraph.org/s2011/for_submitters/real-time-live

Don't forget that you can start your submission for SIGGRAPH 2011, save it and return to it at a later date to complete. Just be sure to finish it before the final deadline.

All submissions are due by 15 April 2011 at 22:00 UTC/GMT (17:00 EST / 14:00 PST).  

Submit your Late-Breaking Posters & Late-Breaking Talks now!

jaime — 2011-05-05T13:44:58Z

For more information, visit the SIGGRAPH 2011 website:

Late-Breaking Posters - http://www.siggraph.org/s2011/for_submitters/posters
Late-Breaking Talks - http://www.siggraph.org/s2011/for_submitters/talks

And don't forget that you can start your Late-Breaking submission for SIGGRAPH 2011, save it and return to it at a later date to complete. Just be sure to finish it before the final deadline.

SIGGRAPH Survey Results

jaime — 2010-11-10T14:42:26Z

A first step in that is to share with you the data we gathered from the recent survey. Below you will find a summary of the results, the results themselves and a file with the answers provided to the open ended questions. We were delighted with the response - over 1000 surveys were completed - thank you!

We had a meeting this last weekend to kick off the strategic planning process. We discussed the survey results, got an update on ACM's strategic plan, had several reports on how our industry and the economy are changing, and began exploring how our organization can best serve our community in light of all that. We're still in the early brainstorming stage so we don't have any specifics to report yet, but we have formed a few working groups to study particular topics in more depth in preparation for our next meeting in January. At that point we should have gotten far enough to share our initial thoughts with you and get your feedback.

We appreciate your interest and look forward to working with you on this.

Scott Owen, President
ACM SIGGRAPH

SIGGRAPH Survey Results Summary (PDF)

Open-Ended Questions and Other Responses (XLS)

SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 expands to new fields

jdana — 2010-11-15T19:55:48Z

SIGGRAPH Asia’s first featured speaker, McLaren Automotive Design Director Frank Stephenson explores how computer graphics technologies have empowered the fields of expertise in automotive design, with an in-depth look at how his world-class design team looks even beyond what’s next to challenge the future. The second featured speaker, Jae-Dong Park shares how humorous illustrations and comics may be turned into animation. Hailed for his outstanding contributions to the video game industry, Hyung-tae Kim is a Korean artist whose great talent lies behind the art creation in games such as the Magna Carta series and War of Genesis: Tempest to name a few. His session will center on Blade & Soul, an Asian martial arts fantasy with cultural influences mainly from the Korean culture.

Visit http://www.siggraph.org/asia2010 to look at the complete conference program including peer-reviewed Technical Papers, Courses, Technical Sketches & Posters, Special Sessions and the Computer Animation Festival. A complete list of exhibitors is also available online.

Online registration is available before 14 December.

SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 - Featured Speaker

jdana — 2010-11-16T04:57:12Z

Frank Stephenson began his career at BMW, where he designed the X5 and the popular Mini before becoming design director for Mini. He was the design director at Ferrari, Maserati, and Fiat before joining McLaren and achieving his boyhood dream of working on at the pinnacle of car design – Formula 1.

More details on the Featured Speaker may be found at: http://www.siggraph.org/asia2010/content/attendees/featured-speakers/65

Call for Candidates for the ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee

jaime — 2012-06-25T20:27:00Z

Members of the EC are primarily responsible for oversight and strategic planning for ACM SIGGRAPH. They are also strongly encouraged to act as liaisons for one or more of the Standing Committees that perform the operational activities. There are approximately 3-4 meetings per year, including the annual SIGGRAPH Conference. Most work is done via email. Average workload is expected to be around 5 hours per week and at a few times, (e.g. when there are meetings), workload will increase.

If you are interested please email Scott Owen (owen at siggraph.org).

Registration for SIGGRAPH Asia 2012 is Open

jaime — 2012-09-14T16:27:42Z

Online registration will remain open until on Tuesday, 20 November at 23:59 GMT +8 (Singapore Time). Register before 15 October 2012 to enjoy Early Bird discounts of up to 20%.

For more information on registration, including the different levels, costs and benefits, visit http://www.siggraph.org/asia2012/registration-categories-fees

For more information on SIGGRAPH Asia 2012, visit http://www.siggraph.org/asia2012/

SIGGRAPH 2013 Call for Submissions

jaime — 2012-11-15T00:05:11Z

From students to studio executives, from scientists to artists, we invite you to submit your work for SIGGRAPH 2013. Calls for content submissions for most SIGGRAPH 2013 programs are available now on the SIGGRAPH 2013 website. Others will become available in the coming months. Every piece submitted to SIGGRAPH 2013 through the Call for Submissions will be reviewed by a highly qualified jury composed of top practitioners in the relevant field.

Submission Deadline Changes
Unlike recent years, each SIGGRAPH 2013 program has only one deadline, except Posters. There are no "Late Breaking" deadlines for Studio or Talks. Poster submissions can occur prior to the 12 February "General Submissions" deadline, or the 7 May Late Breaking Poster deadline. In both cases, Posters are reviewed using the same criteria and by the same jury. Authors submitting prior to the early deadline will get decision notification in mid-April.

8 January 2013 - Student Volunteer Team Leader Applications
17 January 2013 - Technical Papers
22 January 2013 - Art Papers, Art Gallery
5 February 2013 - Student Volunteer Applications
12 February 2013 - General Submissions: Courses, Emerging Technologies, Panels, Posters, Talks, Studio
5 March 2013 - Computer Animation Festival, Real-Time Live!
2 April 2013 - Dailies
1 May 2013 - SIGGRAPH Mobile
7 May 2013 - Late Breaking deadline for Posters

*All deadlines are 22:00 UTC/GMT.

For more information, including details on how to submit your content, visit the SIGGRAPH 2013 website.

SIGGRAPH Asia 2012: Bringing the World of Computer Graphics to Singapore

jaime — 2012-12-02T02:27:06Z

The conference and exhibition drew more than 4,250 attendees from 56 countries, of which 22 percent were students from educational institutions across the region. In all, 68 percent of all attendees came from outside Singapore.

“Having closed its fifth edition today, SIGGRAPH Asia has reconfirmed itself as the leading computer graphics and interactive techniques conference and exhibition in Asia Pacific," said the Chair of the SIGGRAPH Asia Conference Advisory Group, Professor Lee Yong Tsui. “While we have seen an increase in participation over past years, we expected an overall decrease for this year’s edition in Singapore as compared to last year when SIGGRAPH Asia was held in Hong Kong. In terms of total numbers, North Asia, including the key markets like China and Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, draws a bigger pool of attendees for SIGGRAPH Asia but Singapore is unique because it allows us to reach out to new communities in South East Asia. This is an important segment for SIGGRAPH Asia for now and in the future. Most attendees tend to stay with us once they have experienced all the content, connections and vibes that SIGGRAPH Asia is about.”

Overall, 321 presentations, talks and panels took place across all programs. Vibrant and engaging discussions on the developments, innovations and future trends of computer graphics and interactive techniques were seen by attendees from all around the world.

“Together with the introduction of a new program called Technical Briefs, SIGGRAPH Asia 2012 provided attendees with a rich set of programs and inspiring sessions that provided an enriching and fulfilling experience for everyone,” said the SIGGRAPH Asia 2012 Conference Chair, Susanto Rahardja.

At the Art Gallery program, visitors were entertained by Coronado, a sound sculpture art work driven by three servo motors and a microcontroller that operates an ocean drum; The Gestus Project, a custom software presentation that searches for similar movements in video data sets; and the World Eco-tope, a project that enables the audience to feel distant country’s real time weather personally, by simulating earth, plants, lighting and water circulation systems.

The Emerging Technologies submissions were as ground-breaking as they were entertaining. The Emerging Technology Prizes, awarded to novel, innovative and highly-applicable solutions to day- to-day situations went to – Second Surface, a multi-user spatial collaboration system based on augmented reality; 2x3D, a real time shader for simultaneous 2D/3D hybrid theater; ASIBO, an expression device that shifts its behavior by switching frequencies; Transparent Electro-Tactile Display for Mobile Surfaces, which introduced anelectro-tactile displays for mobile devices; FluxSketch, a sketching system that makes use of a magnetic stylus; and Flying Head, a body- synchronized robot control device for flying telepresence.
The winner of the Computer Animation Festival Best in Show Award was The People Who Never Stop by Florian Piento from Autour de Minuit Production. The winning submission told a story about a group of people who never seemed to stop, be it for better or for worse. The 2012 Computer Animation Festival Jury Award went to Oh Sheep! by Gottfried Mentor and Leonid Godik from Filmakademie-Baden-Württemberg. Oh Sheep! is a tale about two flocks of sheep searching for companionship. Their shepherds being at odds with each other, do everything to keep them apart.

"This year, we have brought the Computer Animation Festival closer towards an art festival where the technology is not really apparent," explained the Computer Animation Festival Chair, Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann. "What counts is the story, the message that is brought to the attendee. Oh Sheep! is a fantastic film rendered in a simple way but the message is very strong. The jury awarded this film the Jury Award for the message it brings to our young generation and for its simple but artistic graphics line."

Apart from the various juried conference programs, SIGGRAPH Asia also invited two featured speakers who provided their overview and insights into the trends within their field. They were the co-founder of PDI/DreamWorks Richard Chuang, and the ‘Father of the MP3’ Karlheinz Brandenburg.

"The market for content is shifting towards the growing opportunities in Asia. The creators here have to accelerate their ability to reach out to the large community of distributed talents and develop the skills to manage, nurture and build the creative and innovative teams to compete with the creative industry from the rest of the world. The key is to value the culture and vision of each Asian culture while succeeding in entertaining the world."

To read the full press release about SIGGRAPH Asia, click here to download the PDF.