Member Profile: Darin Grant
1. What do you do, and how long have you been doing it?
I work in the Animation and VFX Industry and have done so for the last 29 years. Currently I and the SVP of Global Technology at Netflix Animation Studios.
2. What was your first job?
A sandwich “artist” at Subway Sandwiches. My first professional job was as a junior programmer at Digital Domain.
3. Where did you complete your formal education?
Harvey Mudd College. I’m proud to share my alumni status with the seminal SIGGRAPH Volunteer, Scott Owen.
4. How did you first get involved with ACM SIGGRAPH?
I was invited to be a part of the Sketches (now Talks) Committee by Dena Debry (Slothower) in 2001 upon the recommendation of Doug Roble.
5. What is your favorite memory of a SIGGRAPH conference?
I think more memories have faded than I remember since my first SIGGRAPH in 1997. There is the memory of watching Nick Foster discuss removing the compressible factor in the Navier Stokes equations to make them practical for entertainment purposes (NONE of you missed the fluid compression in Antz!) and feeling like I was seeing things change right before my eyes. There was the “had to be there” super-nerdy moment of seeing John Knoll play the vector Star Wars game at Paul Debevec’s Electronic Theater pre-show. And there was the panel for the 50th anniversary of SIGGRAPH where almost every founding father of Computer Graphics was on stage together. Those are all tied for favorite.
6. Describe a project that you would like to share with the ACM SIGGRAPH community.
A project I DO share with the ACM SIGGRAPH community is preserving the community we have. We are always in need of new volunteers who share the passion and commitment to give back to the community that they have hopefully gained so much from being a part of. I even made a keynote presentation on the topic a while back.
7. If you could have dinner with one living or non-living person, who would it be and why?
Any dead person to ask, “So what happens after this?”
8. What is something most people don’t know about you?
I’m quite the oversharer so the options are limited. I’d say most people don’t know that I was extremely shy as a child and that the extroversion and public speaking has only come through many, many years of forcing myself to do it.
9. From which single individual have you learned the most in your life? What did they teach you?
My son, Atticus, who has both physical and intellectual disabilities. He has taught me patience, empathy, and appreciation of different points of view far more than anyone could have directly.
10. Is there someone in particular who has influenced your decision to work with ACM SIGGRAPH?
Doug Roble can be blamed for my first volunteering efforts. But Jill Smolin’s efforts with both SIGGRAPH and our LA Chapter early on in my career were a source of great inspiration and education.
11. What can you point to in your career as your proudest moment?
TBD…I’m far from done!