Distinguished Educator Award
Established in August 2018, the Distinguished Educator Award is given annually to a member for outstanding pedagogical contributions to computer graphics and interactive techniques at any educational level or within the context of any discipline. The award recognizes contributions in both innovative content and delivery. The award is presented annually during the award ceremony at either the SIGGRAPH conference or the SIGGRAPH Asia conference at the choice of the recipient.
Current Recipient
Jim Foley
In recognition of his pioneering work and sustained innovation in the fields of Computer Graphics, HCI and Information Visualization.
The ACM SIGGRAPH Distinguished Educator Award Selection Committee is thrilled to select James Foley as our 2026 Awardee.
As educator, researcher, innovator, leader and pioneer in Computer Graphics and Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Jim stands out for his stellar contributions to educators, researchers, and industry professionals over nearly five decades.
Jim was the senior author of textbooks that were the basis for many college-level courses in computer graphics worldwide. The books (Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics and Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice) were revered by students and educators who enthusiastically welcomed them. His books were translated into many languages and sold nearly half a million copies. In addition to the success of these books in undergraduate and graduate curricula, they were also standard references for many researchers and industrial practitioners.
Jim taught University-level courses for most of his life, starting with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, then George Washington University in the District of Columbia, and most recently, for 26 years at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has taught over 100 Computer Graphics and HCI short courses around the world, including at many SIGGRAPH conferences.
Jim founded the highly-regarded interdisciplinary Georgia Tech Graphics, Visualization and Usability (GVU) Center where he led research efforts and developed new curricula to support the evolving fields of Human-Computer Interaction and Human-Centered Computing – helping to establish human-oriented concerns as legitimate sub-disciplines within computer science.
As an administrator, Jim served as Chair of EE&CS at George Washington University and Interim Dean of the College of Computing at Georgia Tech. As an academic, he has served as chair of the Computing Research Association, as Vice-Chair of SIGGRAPH, and on various national and international advisory boards. Jim received lifetime achievement awards from both ACM SIGGRAPH and ACM SIGCHI(Computer-Human Interaction), as well as multiple teaching awards from Georgia Tech.
The Distinguished Educator Award Committee is proud to recognize James Foley as our 2026 awardee for his academic excellence, innovation in teaching and research, successful pioneering efforts in multiple areas of computer science, his generous volunteer contributions to ACM SIGGRAPH, and, most of all, for his dedication and commitment to students.
Previous Recipients
- 2025 Glenn Goldman
- 2024 Mike Bailey
- 2023 Scott Owen
- 2022 Ed Angel
- 2021 Barbara Mones
- 2020 Donald P. (Don) Greenberg
- 2019 Andries van Dam
Contributions
Contributions considered for this award are broad.
- Computer graphics and interactive techniques
- Use of novel computer graphics in education
- Curriculum and delivery
- Student engagement
- Classroom teaching techniques
- Online courses
- Textbooks and demos
- Use of online content, such as blogs, videos or webinars
Criteria
- Impact on research and practice of education as it relates to computer graphics and interactive techniques (this may be direct within areas of computer graphics and interactive techniques, or it may be in another discipline impacted by the use of computer graphics and interactive techniques).
- Cumulative contributions to the field both directly and through leadership of others.
- Innovation in education.
- Influence on the work of others, and acceptance of educational techniques by the ACM SIGGRAPH community; educators who are making a difference as innovators or pioneers in their respective disciplines.
- Activity in the ACM SIGGRAPH educational community.
Nomination Procedure
Nominations for the Distinguished Educator Award may be submitted by contacting the Distinguished Educator Award Chair by January 31 each year. Self-nominations are allowed. Nominations may also arise from an archive of past nominations maintained by the awards chair and culled yearly by the committee. The awardee will be selected by the Distinguished Educator Award Committee based on nominations received from members of the SIGGRAPH community.
Requirements
- A one-page summary explaining how the nominee meets the criteria for the award.
- A statement of teaching philosophy from the nominee.
- A description of any teaching awards won and recognition internal and external to their home school or university for excellence in teaching, including accomplishments (awards, publications, exhibits, employment, etc.) of their students and/or advisees.
- A list of any teaching- and/or pedagogy-related publications, exhibits, and/or presentations.
- Letters from at least two people who are knowledgeable about the qualifications of the nominee, which may be submitted with the application package or sent directly to the committee. (Note: The nomination will be complete ONLY if the required letters are received by the deadline.)