SIGGRAPH Members,
The field of computer graphics and interactive techniques is diverse and evolving. The Executive Committee is supporting this evolution by setting up programs to bring emerging and related areas into the fold. We want ACM SIGGRAPH to be the place where new, exciting technologies in and adjacent to computer graphics and interactive techniques are being discovered and advanced.
One of the ways we’re working toward this goal is through programs that have the potential to spark research and innovation in new areas. To this end, at this summer’s SIGGRAPH in Vancouver, we debuted the Sunday Workshop series—three full-day workshops on topics related to future applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. At Vancouver, these workshops focused on healthcare, autonomous driving applications, and truth in graphics. Led by experts in their respective fields, the workshops gave participants deeper exposure to these areas while providing time for discussions and networking. We also created a series of morning talks which at SIGGRAPH in Vancouver focused on healthcare, educational models, and an analysis of future trends (organized in 2018 by Mk Haley).
Adam Bargteil chairs the New Communities Committee, one of Executive Committee’s Strategic committees and the group that put on this year’s workshops. For next year, we plan to expand the program, now renamed to SIGGRAPH Frontiers, to include a larger set of workshops on Sunday before the conference and a set of morning talks on Sunday through Thursday (co-organized by Mk Haley and the New Communities Committee).
Adam is currently seeking workshop organizers to spearhead the workshops for next year’s program. These volunteers will propose topics and recruit invited speakers. In preliminary brainstorming sessions, the committee has compiled a list of potential workshop topics, which includes textiles, manufacturing, fabrication of microstructures, robotics, and assistive technologies. We would like to expand that list with ideas from the community.
We expect there to be a feedback loop created by hosting these types of programming. An invited speaker who gives a talk that inspires us could lead to a workshop on that topic the next year, which in turn, might evolve into an annual specialized conference if the topic gains traction among attendees. I believe we’ll find that by identifying emerging fields and introducing new communities to SIGGRAPH, we will be able to form future partnerships and collaborations with sectors we may not have previously considered.
Those interested in proposing a topic for a workshop or a talk, or in chairing a workshop, should get in touch with Adam directly at bargteil@siggraph.org. Growing our community is a big part of our strategic mission for the next few years, and developing SIGGRAPH Frontiers is a key component. We hope you’ll consider getting involved and sharing your ideas!
Jessica Hodgins