ACM SIGGRAPH is recruiting for the chair of the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award Committee.
The SIGGRAPH Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award is given annually to recognize an exceptional Ph.D. thesis in computer graphics and interactive techniques that has been defended in the 12 months before the nomination deadline. The award is presented to the winner during an award ceremony at the SIGGRAPH conference. Besides the award winner, one or two other candidates can receive an honorable mention. The criteria for the award are (1) the scientific impact and relevance of the research presented in the thesis as well as (2) the quality of the written thesis itself. In cooperation projects and joint publications, the individual contribution by the Ph.D. candidate should be clearly visible.
The chair of the award jury solicits nominations for the award by advertising the award through the standard ACM SIGGRAPH channels, e.g., website, interactions newsletter, and social media during late fall and again in early January. Nominations for the Dissertation Award must be submitted via the online nomination form by January 31st of each year.
The Dissertation Award jury consists of four to six members, including the chair. Jury members usually serve a three-year term. The decision about the Dissertation Award winner is made in three steps. In the remote reviewing phase (step 1), the nominations are assigned by the chair to jury members who write short reviews. Each nomination is assigned to at least two jury members. Each jury member creates a ranked list of the nominations that are assigned to them. In an online jury meeting, each nomination is discussed and a short list is distilled (step 2). Usually in the same meeting, a winner and potentially honorable mentions are then selected from the short list (step 3) based on further discussion or, if necessary, by voting.
Once an awardee is selected, the chair works with the SIGGRAPH Awards chair to coordinate announcement of the selection and its presentation at the SIGGRAPH conference.
If interested in the position, please contact the SIGGRAPH Awards chair, Jeff Jortner. Applications for the position will close August 15,2026.