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Every two years, Eurographics organizes a competition called the Dirk Bartz Prize for Visual Computing in Medicine. The biannual award serves to highlight the achievements of those who employ computer graphics for medical applications, and to encourage further research and development in the field.

The marriage of computer graphics and medicine has led to numerous, highly impactful advances in training, treatment and medical understanding. Those who work in the field of visual computing for medical applications may not be as well known to the general public as entertainment industry graphics professionals, but many have been instrumental in the creation of medical advances that have touched the lives of millions.

Past recipients of the Dirk Bartz Prize for Visual Computing in Medicine include:

• High-Quality 3D Visualization of In-Situ Ultrasonography (Ivan Viola, Åsmund Birkeland, Veronika Solteszova, Linn Helljesen, Helwig Hauser, Spiros Kotopoulis, Kim Nylund, Dag M. Ulvang, Ola K. Øye, Trygve Hausken, and Odd H. Gilja)
• Effective Visual Exploration of Hemodynamics in Cerebral Aneurysms (Mathias Neugebauer, Rocco Gasteiger, Gábor Janiga, Oliver Beuing, and Bernhard Preim)
• OCTAVIS: A Virtual Reality System for Clinical Studies and Rehabilitation (Eduard Zell, Eugen Dyck, Agnes Kohsik, Philip Grewe, David Flentge, York Winter, Martina Piefke, and Mario Botsch)
• VERT: A Virtual Environment for Radiotherapy Training and Education (James W. Ward, Roger Phillips, Annette Boejen, Cai Grau, Deepak Jois, Andy W. Beavis)
• The Tumor Therapy Manager and its Clinical Impact (Ivo Rössling, Jana Dornheim, Lars Dornheim, Andreas Boehm, Bernhard Preim)
• AVM-Explorer: Multi-Volume Visualization of Vascular Structures for Planning of Cerebral AVM Surgery (Florian Weiler, Christian Rieder, Carlos A. David, Christoph Wald, Horst K. Hahn)

Researchers and developers able to demonstrate a specific benefit that has resulted from the use of their computer graphics technology in a medical application are invited to submit their work for consideration for the 2015 award. The top three winning entries of the Dirk Bartz Prize for Visual Computing in Medicine 2015 will each receive a prize, and their submissions will be published in the "Short Papers and Medical Prize Awards" digital media proceedings. Examples of entries include the use of new data visualization techniques, interaction methods or virtual or augmented environments.

Submissions for the 2015 Dirk Bartz Prize close on January 9, 2015. For more information on the Dirk Bartz Prize, or to submit your work for consideration, visit the Eurographics 2015 website.

The 13th ACM SIGGRAPH International Conference on Virtual-Reality Continuum and its Applications in Industry (VRCAI 2014) will take place from November 30 to December 2, in Shenzhen, China, just before SIGGRAPH Asia 2014. 

The Virtual Reality Continuum (VRC) is concerned with the consistence of the virtual world and the real world. Spanning across next-generation communication environments like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Virtuality (AV), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR), VRC looks at the way we define and interact, with and within, our virtual worlds. VRCAI 2014 is a forum for scientists, researchers, developers, users and industry leaders in the international VRC community to come together to share experiences and exchange ideas about this rapidly-growing field.

VRCAI 2014 will present papers and posters from academia and industry that explore technologies and applications in the Virtual Reality Continuum (VRC). VRCAI 2014 will focus on the main themes of VRC fundamentals, systems, SQLIO, interactions, industry and various applications of the VRC.

Early bird registration for VRCAI 2014 is available until October 31. For more information, visit the VRCAI 2014 website.

The Third Argentine Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, Telecommunications, Informatics and Scientific Information (HCITISI 2014) is set to take place in Córdoba, Argentina, from November 13 to 14.

HCITISI is a forum for educators, researchers and practitioners involved with human-computer interaction, telecommunications, informatics and scientific information. Attendees will be exposed to a variety of papers, workshops, demos and posters — all geared toward disseminating the latest breakthroughs and immediate trends in each of the disciplines represented at the conference.

Speakers at HCITISI include Prof. Pedro Luna (ex Chancellor, Santiago del Estero University), Prof. Rosanna Costaguta (National University of Santiago del Estero), Prof. Silvia Poncio (Universidad Abierta Interamericana), Prof. Fernando Dufour (National University of La Matanza) and Prof. Francisco V. C. Ficarra.

For more information or to register for the conference, visit the HCITISI 2014 website.

The ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems 2014 is the twenty-second event in a series of symposia and workshops dedicated to GIS. ACM SIGSPATIAL 2014 will take place from Nov 4 to 7 in Dallas, Texas, with the aim of bringing together researchers, developers, users, and practitioners to engage in interdisciplinary discussions and to foster collaborative research on all aspects of geographic information systems.

The conference provides a forum for original research contributions covering all conceptual, design, and implementation aspects of geospatial data. Research presented touches on applications, user interfaces, visualization, data storage, query processing and indexing, among other areas.

The premier annual event of the ACM Special Interest Group on Spatial Information (ACM SIGSPATIAL), ACM SIGSPATIAL 2014 offers a rich program of sessions and in-depth workshops to its attendees. Registration for ACM SIGSPATIAL is $450 for ACM or SIGSPATIAL members; $500 for non-members. 

The ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST) is is a conference on the cutting edge of a blossoming area of research. VRST 2014, the 20th symposium, will take place in the historic city of Edinburgh, UK, from November 11 to 13. As an international forum for virtual reality researchers and developers, the conference will provide attendees with a feast for the senses — be it through virtual technology, or strolls through the timeworn, cobbled streets of Old Town Edinburgh.

An ACM SIGCHI and ACM SIGGRAPH-sponsored conference, VRST 2014 is a platform for VR researchers to share new results, show live demonstrations of their work and discuss emerging directions for the field. VRST will bring together VR researchers from around the world, and state-of-the-art advances in the ever-growing dynamic area of virtual reality will be on display. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics will publish the best full papers from the symposium, and IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications will publish the best short papers.

Visit the VRST 2014 website for more information and to register.