Reviewers Needed for Student Reel & Resume Reviews

Reviewers Needed for Student Reel & Resume Reviews

Resumes and reels are a constant source of frustration for students and new graduates. What to include? How much? How should it be presented? All are very important questions, and with answers that vary widely depending on the experience level of the applicant, and the position to which they're applying.

Each year at SIGGRAPH, Student Services offers a resume and reel review program for ACM SIGGRAPH student members. The program is engineered to address and resolve the uncertainty that comes along with attempting to prepare application materials that best reflect the skills and experience most attractive to potential employers.

The resume and reel review program has a strong history of success in providing actionable advice to students and recent graduates, but its continued success depends on the efforts of volunteers.

The Student Services Committee is in search of reviewers with expertise in all areas of production willing to donate a tiny fraction of their time at SIGGRAPH 2015 to helping the next generation of CG experts. If interested, please contact Student Services using this form.

Speaker Announced for the 2015 Pioneers Reception

Speaker Announced for the 2015 Pioneers Reception

By Frank Foster, President, ACM SIGGRAPH Pioneers Group

The ACM SIGGRAPH Pioneers Group is proud to present as it's guest speaker, one of the most influential scientists in today's fast moving computer graphics industry. Dr. Paul Debevec is a research professor of computer science at the University of Southern California, and the chief visual officer at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies. He will present a visual report on his recent work done at the institute, including advancements in human scanning and rendering using his Light Stage systems, for which he received a Scientific and Engineering Academy Award® in 2010.

Dr. Debevec is perhaps best known for his pioneering work in high dynamic range imaging, which has impacted professional photography as well as consumer smart phones. But his latest efforts have involved creating digital versions of Hollywood actors and even President Obama, giving him a unique perspective on the current status of animating digital humans. When asked if we have crossed the “uncanny valley,” the term that describes the visceral disbelief common in most attempts to duplicate humans digitally, Debevec responds: “It's like we have made it to the moon a few times, but we still need to make the process affordable, reliable and safe for enough for producers to stake the success of a film on it.”

He will share several examples that appear to bridge the valley, as well as the story behind the historic scanning of President Obama. Other topics in the presentation include: Project "Digital Ira," New Dimensions in Testimony, the use of Light Fields for VR, and recent use of the Light Stage systems for feature film production.

The 2015 ACM SIGGRAPH Pioneers' Reception will take place on Tuesday, August 11, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Gold Ballroom at the JW Marriott Hotel, which is in downtown Los Angeles near the convention center. Light appetizers will be served, and drinks will be available.

The reception is exclusive to active members of the ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Pioneers Group.

Any person with 20 years of experience in some aspect of computer graphics and/or interactive techniques is eligible to become a member of the ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Pioneers Group. The cost for a non-ACM SIGGRAPH member to become an ACM SIGGRAPH CG Pioneer is $47, which includes ACM SIGGRAPH membership. New members can join online. The cost to upgrade an existing ACM SIGGRAPH membership to Pioneer level is $5, and can be done by calling ACM Help at 1-800-342-6626 or by emailing acmhelp@acm.org.

Candidates Sought for Director at Large Positions

Candidates Sought for Director at Large Positions

ACM SIGGRAPH is in search of candidates for three open director-at-large positions on the ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee, with terms beginning July 1, 2016. The positions are volunteer, with term lengths of three years.

As part of a nine-person committee charged with steering the organization on its mission to foster and celebrate innovation in computer graphics and interactive techniques, directors-at-large hold crucial leadership positions within the organization. Like all voting members of the ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee, directors-at-large are elected by the ACM SIGGRAPH membership.

Specific duties include:

  • Attendance at ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee meetings
  • Voting on important decisions affecting ACM SIGGRAPH operations and membership
  • Participate in committee oversight of the ACM SIGGRAPH newsletter, the ACM SIGGRAPH website and uses of the ACM SIGGRAPH email lists

Types of decisions facing the EC:

  • Benefits ACM SIGGRAPH members will receive
  • Level of the fees for ACM SIGGRAPH
  • Policies for the conferences sponsored by ACM SIGGRAPH and in-cooperation with ACM SIGGRAPH
  • Which awards are given by ACM SIGGRAPH
  • Determining the winners of ACM SIGGRAPH awards
  • What programs and projects that ACM SIGGRAPH participates in or underwrites
  • Communication with the ACM SIGGRAPH membership

General expectations for ACM SIGGRAPH EC members:

  • Promoting technical excellence, through taking an active role in the technical community as individuals
  • Providing high-quality technical resources and programs (conferences, newsletters, etc.) within the scope of ACM SIGGRAPH's mission statement
  • Promoting communication and interaction between ACM SIGGRAPH and others in the technical community, both within ACM (chapters, other SIGs) and outside
  • Providing benefits to ACM SIGGRAPH members
  • Overseeing conferences, symposia and workshops, both for technical quality and fiscal soundness
  • Identifying additional benefits for members within the scope and financial resources of ACM SIGGRAPH
  • Promoting and publicizing ACM SIGGRAPH achievements within the membership

The ACM SIGGRAPH Nominations Committee will be interviewing potential candidates at SIGGRAPH 2015 in Los Angeles, which takes place from August 9 to 14. To express interest in running for ACM SIGGRAPH Director-at-Large, and to schedule an interview at the conference, please contact Nominations Committee Chair G. Scott Owen at owen@siggraph.org.


Election Timeline

  • July : Call for nominations posted
  • August: Nominations Committee conducts interviews at the annual SIGGRAPH conference
  • October: Slate of candidates presented
  • March: Candidate statements posted
  • April: Ballot posted
  • June: Election results announced
  • July: New EC members take office
2015 ACM SIGGRAPH Election Results Announced

2015 ACM SIGGRAPH Election Results Announced

The 2015 ACM SIGGRAPH election results have been announced. Paul Strauss will join the ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee as a director-at-large, Dave Shreiner will take over as treasurer and Jessica Hodgins will begin a second term as one of the organization's six directors-at-large. All three will serve three-year terms, beginning on July 1, 2015.

Each of these individuals has been involved with ACM SIGGRAPH and its conferences for a substantial period of time. Paul Strauss, a software engineer who specializes in 3D computer graphics, has attended every SIGGRAPH conference since 1984. In addition to serving as a SIGGRAPH unified juror on multiple occasions, Paul was the courses chair for SIGGRAPH 2013.

Dave Shreiner is an expert in computer graphics and GPU computing, specifically, rendering with OpenGL, and has authored several books and courses on the subject. In 2014, Dave served as the SIGGRAPH conference chair, leading a team of volunteers and staff to orchestrate the 41st occurrence of the world's largest conference on computer graphics, which was an extremely well-received conference.

Jessica Hodgins is a professor in the Robotics Institute and Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University, and VP of Disney Research. Among her many achievements, Jessica has served as editor-in-chief of ACM Transactions on Graphics (2000-2002), was the SIGGRAPH 2003 papers chair, served as the SIGGRAPH 2007 panels chair, and was awarded the ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award in 2010.

ACM SIGGRAPH warmly welcomes Paul, Dave and Jessica to the Executive Committee, where their expertise and passion will help guide the organization on its mission to foster and celebrate innovation in computer graphics and interctive techniques.

Please join us at SIGGRAPH 2015 in Los Angeles, from August 9-13.

Meet the 2015 ACM SIGGRAPH Award Winners

Meet the 2015 ACM SIGGRAPH Award Winners

ACM SIGGRAPH presents five awards to recognize exceptional achievements in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The list of past award winners reads like the who's who of computer graphics. This year's award recipients are as follows:

2015 Steven Anson Coons Award for Outstanding Creative Contributions to Computer Graphics: Henry Fuchs

Henry FuchsOver the course of his career, Henry Fuchs has made impressive contributions to the fields of augmented reality, virtual reality, telepresence and graphics hardware. In his earliest work, Henry described one of the first 3D digitizing technologies, and went on to contribute much of the foundational work on visibility computation. From there, he developed some of the earliest specialized hardware for computer graphics. Henry has made significant contributions to augmented reality, particularly in the areas of video see-through displays and wide area tracking. Many of these advances have been motivated by applications in medicine; informative visualizations during surgery or exams, and telecollaboration. During a panel at SIGGRAPH 2014, he discussed the historical development of wearable displays, including many pioneering contributions from his laboratory. Henry's contributions to ACM SIGGRAPH extend well beyond his own research. In his 40 years in academia, he has educated and graduated many of the most recognized and accomplished leaders in the field of computer graphics. Read more about Henry.

2015 Computer Graphics Achievement Award: Steve Marschner

Steve MarschnerSteve Marschner was selected as the 2015 recipient of the Computer Graphics Achievement Award for his work on modeling the appearance of natural materials. Steve's research has produced the most realistic appearance models to date of many real-world materials. Steve’s research combines three critical ingredients: detailed models of the intricate structure of materials, physically-based simulation of how light interacts with structured materials, and measurement of materials to capture and validate their appearance. Steve Marschner's work has had a deep and profound impact in applications from the entertainment industry to industrial design, and has fundamentally changed how materials like hair, skin, wood, marble and fabric, are modeled, measured and rendered in graphics. In 2004, he shared a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for significant advances in the realism of computer graphics and animation. Read more about Steve.

2015 Significant New Researcher Award: Johannes Kopf

Johannes KopfThe 2015 Significant New Researcher Award is presented to Johannes Kopf in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the fields of digital imaging and video, particularly his work on gigapixel panorama viewing, hyperlapse generation, image completion, and image upsampling and downsampling. Johannes’ problem selection is especially creative, and often far afield from other efforts in the area. His 2014 paper, for example, “First-Person Hyperlapse Videos,” brought together technologies from both computer vision and computer graphics. The results were able to successfully convert long-duration sequences from a wearable camera into stable, fast paced and surprisingly watchable video. Read more about Johannes.

2015 Outstanding Service Award: Mike Bailey

Mike BaileyThe Outstanding Service Award is presented annually to recognize a career of outstanding service to ACM SIGGRAPH by a volunteer. Mike Bailey's dedication to expanded topics and excellence helped make the SIGGRAPH conference courses program the premier venue for learning the latest techniques. As a result, thousands learned basic and advanced techniques, and contributed to the eventual result that computer graphics became pervasive and economically viable. In addition to his leadership role in education, Mike also served on the ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee (1986-1990) and served as the SIGGRAPH conference co-chair in 1991. He helped guide the organization and the conference as a member of its Book Series Editorial Board from 1994 to 1998, and as editor of the SIGGRAPH Technical Slide Set from 1998 to 2000. He is also a longtime member of the ACM SIGGRAPH Education Committee, and a two-time conference education chair. Read more about Mike.

2015 Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement in Digital Art: Lillian Schwartz

Lillian SchwartzThrough her groundbreaking work, Schwartz helped to establish computer art as a viable field of endeavor. Her computer art career began as an offshoot of her merger of art and technology. Her kinetic sculpture, Proxima Centauri, exhibited in 1968, was the first in this medium to be acquired by The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Originally a student of Chinese brushwork in the late 1940s in Japan, Schwartz later studied Fine Art in the USA. She always had a keen interest in the combination of art with technology and science. Her very early pioneering work in computer art took place in the 1970s at AT&T Bell Laboratories, IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Laboratory and at Lucent Technologies Bell Labs Innovations. Working in a team of creative researchers, she developed effective techniques of motion-graphics-based film and video art that could be viewed in both 2D and 3D. Read more about Lillian.

The 2015 ACM SIGGRAPH award recipients will receive their awards on Monday, August 10, before the keynote session of SIGGRAPH 2015 in Los Angeles.