Outstanding Service Award
The Outstanding Service Award is presented annually to recognize a career of outstanding service to ACM SIGGRAPH by a volunteer. It recognizes an individual who has given extraordinary service to ACM SIGGRAPH, both in the trenches and in positions of more responsibility or visibility, over a significant period of time. The award includes a lifetime membership in ACM SIGGRAPH.
For his over thirty years of outstanding and impactful service to the computer graphics community, ACM SIGGRAPH recognizes David Spoelstra with the 2026 Outstanding Service Award.
David, who has been a SIGGRAPH member since 1987, has contributed to the ACM SIGGRAPH Organization, to the SIGGRAPH Conference, to the SIGGRAPH Asia Conference, and to ACM.
His contributions to the SIGGRAPH Conference began when he served as the Audio–Visual Chair in 1992 and the Audio-Visual and Donations Chair in 1993-94. He served as the Electronic Support Chair 1995-1996 and then in 1997, with Steve Van Frank, helped to form the all volunteer GraphicsNet team, who helped build one of the first fiber backbones in a convention center at the LACC. He has served continually on the GraphicsNet team since then and was GraphicsNet Chair in 1999, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2020, and 2021. He has served as an Executive Committee (EC) Representative to the SIGGRAPH Conference Advisory Group from 2022-2023.
His service to SIGGRAPH Asia began with a three-city Asian tour of Singapore, Tokyo, and Seoul at the request of the ACM SIGGRAPH EC to vet their convention center capabilities and negotiate contracts with them for the first SIGGRAPH Asia conferences. He was the SIGGRAPH Asia Networking Chair in 2008-2010. He served on the SIGGRAPH Asia Conference Advisory Group from 2016-2023 as Member at Large and from 2024-2026 as EC Rep to the SACAG.
For ACM SIGGRAPH he served as Treasurer-elect in 2021, 2023, and 2025, as Treasurer in 2022, 2024, and 2026 and as a member of the Finance Committee from 2021-2027. During these years through his work on the Finance Committee and as Treasurer, he helped guide ACM SIGGRAPH’s budgeting through the pandemic and its aftermath by massively reducing expenses to keep it solvent. He also worked closely with the EC Chairs to guide them through financial issues. He has been a member of the Governance Advisory Board (GAB) since 2022. From September 2026-2027 he will serve as Treasurer-Emeritus and will serve as the next GAB Chair starting in September, 2027.
For ACM, he was the Computer Chair for ACM 97.
In his service activities, David has exhibited strong qualities of leadership and expertise. With this award, ACM SIGGRAPH celebrates David Spoelstra’s many contributions to the SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia Conferences and to the organization.
Previous Recipients
- 2025 Mk Haley
- 2024 Adele Newton
- 2023 Lee Yong Tsui
- 2022 Barb Helfer
- 2021 Marc J. Barr
- 2020 Thierry Frey
- 2019 Jackie White
- 2018 G. Scott Owen
- 2017 Alyn Rockwood
- 2016 Alain Chesnais
- 2015 Mike Bailey
- 2014 Scott Lang
- 2013 Mary Whitton
- 2012 David Kasik
- 2010 Kellogg S. Booth
- 2008 Stephen Spencer
- 2006 John Fujii
- 2004 Judy Brown and Steve Cunningham
- 2002 Bertram Herzog
- 2000 Tom DeFanti and Copper Giloth
- 1998 Maxine Brown
Nomination Procedure
The criteria used to evaluate the award include the importance of the service and the degree of sacrifice incurred by the volunteer. Nominations for the Outstanding Service Award are evaluated by committee and may be submitted to the Outstanding Service Award Chair by January 31 of each year.
Requirements
- Name(s) of the individual(s) being nominated (address and/or phone number and/or email address are also appreciated).
- A description of the service(s) to ACM SIGGRAPH and time period.
- A statement by the nominator describing the significance of the service(s). Additional letters of support and other materials are not necessary but will be appreciated.
- Nominator’s name, address, telephone number, and email address.