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SIGGRAPH 98 History Project

Vol.32 No.3 August 1998
ACM SIGGRAPH

IEEE Annals of the History of Computing; Special SIGGRAPH 98 Issue



Carl Machover
SIGGRAPH 98 History Chair

The April-June 1998 (Vol. 20, Number 2) issue of the Annals of the History of Computing was prepared to coincide with the 25th ACM SIGGRAPH conference. In addition to my guest editorial which discusses the early history of computer graphics, this special issue includes several articles which address other historic aspects of computer graphics.

Adapting a chapter from her new book, Kristine Fallon describes the evolution of CAD in the AEC industry.

Don Bissell writes about one of the early computer graphics companies, Information Displays, Inc. and IDI’s pioneering workstation product, the IDIIOM (Information Display Inc. Input-Output Machine).

Image processing and computer graphics have always been interrelated and Russell Kirsch reviews, “SEAC and the Start of Image Processing at the National Bureau of Standards.”

Computer type fonts were one of the early technology achievements of computer graphics. Tom Wright’s article, “Computer Type Fonts” discusses the evolution of these fonts over the past 30 years.

Jeff Bloomenthal also obtained fascinating recollections from a number of computer graphics pioneering luminaries, including the following:

  • Duane Palyka and Alvy Ray Smith discuss early connections between art and technology.
  • Nelson Max and Holly Rushmeier tell of their struggles with primitive tools.
  • Rodney Stock talks of improving antialiasing methods.
  • Nadia and Daniel Thalmann describe their pursuit of virtual characters.
  • Pierre Bézier and Dave Rogers recall early work in CAD/CAM.
  • Bob Barnhill, Brian Barsky and Robin Forrest reflect on the origins of computer aided geometric design (CAGD).

This issue concludes with an interview with another one of the industry’s giants and pioneers, Dr. Andries van Dam. Dr. van Dam, one of the founders of SIGGRAPH, a pioneer in hypertext and the co-author of the most widely used computer graphics text, Computer Graphics, Principles and Practice, now being revised for its 3rd Edition, talks about his early days in computer graphics and some of the contemporary issues.

Copies of the Annals may purchased from the IEEE Computer Society, 10662 Los Vaqueros Circle, Los Alamitos, CA 90720-1314; tel: +1-714-821-8380.