News

On Tuesday July 21, 2026, the Pioneers group of ACM/SIGGRAPH hosted their annual Reception at the LA Convention Center.

A photo-montage of the event can be found at  https://youtu.be/uavJ8Ej-h0M  

Old friends and colleagues met face-to-face over the traditional buffet of light appetizers and a cash bar.  Conversations ranged from recollections of the distant computer graphics past to predictions about technologies of the future – from some of the still-sharpest minds to be found anywhere on the planet.  A highlight of the 2-hour traditional gathering was presenting many former Pioneers Featured Speakers with a newly-designed 3D-printed trophy. The trophy was designed and executed by Lou Harrison, with assistance from Ari Blenkhorn and others. It acknowledged their distinguished careers, and recognized the importance of their presentations to the attending Pioneer members of that SIGGRAPH Conference’s year. The trophies were presented by Pioneers Chair Ed Kramer to:

• Turner Whitted (2011)
• David Em (2026, accepted by Catharina E. Santasilia)
• Jim Blinn (2018)
• Jeff Kleiser (2019)
• Ken Perlin (2022)
• Jim Foley (2023)

The Featured Speaker for 2026 was the SIGGRAPH Pioneers’ beloved icon Don Greenberg. His multidisciplinary career in architecture, computer graphics research and education has seeded the computer graphics industry with a steady stream of pioneers for seven decades! At age 92, Don was advised not to fly from his hometown of Ithaca New York, so the SIGGRAPH 2026 conference was hugely helpful in a last-minute transition from a live to a hybrid presentation. Don started with a pre-recorded talk projected on a large screen for attendees. The talk covered both his personal journey and his thoughts about the future. It wove together diverse topics such as using robots to verify architectural integrity, advances in nano-technology, dispersion of heat in a next generation of chipmaking, advances in material science that reduce noise in communication over vast distances, and the need for SIGGRAPH to expand its vision for the future in both biological and ecological directions. It even contained a peek at Don’s work scanning the bones of ancient creatures to reconstruct them through CG animation today.

Following his pre-recorded talk, Don joined the audience live from the audio-visual lab at Cornell University for some Q&A, where many of his former students and colleagues watching live from the conference in Los Angeles offered some truly heartfelt thanks. Because it was a Zoom event, Pioneer members not attending live in LA could also watch from their homes all over the world, and participate in the chat room. The Q&A revealed a genuine warmth and respect for Don from some of the most influential researchers in computer graphics history. 

A video of Don’s presentation is on the SIGGRAPH YouTube Channel:

We are pleased to announce the results of this year’s ACM SIGGRAPH election.  

Members had the opportunity to decide on a proposed bylaws change related to the officer roles on the Executive Committee. The votes overwhelmingly favored the proposed bylaws change, which has also been approved by the ACM Executive Committee.  This change returns the selection of ACM SIGGRAPH officers to direct member elections, replacing the 2018 system where officers were internally nominated from within the existing pool of elected directors and confirmed by a small advisory group. To foster organizational stability, the amendment restores officer terms to three years for both the Chair and the newly defined Vice-Chair.

Members also were asked to select from six candidates to fill three open Director spots on the Executive Committee. As a result, the following members of our community will be joining ACM SIGGRAPH’s Executive Committee for a three-year term effective September 1, 2026. 

Sheldon Andrews is an Associate Professor at École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) in Montreal and an Adjunct Professor at McGill University. He brings to the EC extensive leadership experience within the ACM SIGGRAPH specialized conference communities, includes serving as the General Chair for I3D (2019), Program Chair for I3D (2020), MIG (2024), and SCA (2025), as well as serving as the Secretary for the Montreal ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter.

Derek Ham is the Director of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University and is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. His previous ACM SIGGRAPH leadership experience includes serving as the Chair of the SIGGRAPH Immersive Pavilion for both the 2022 and 2024 conferences. His creative work focuses on VR and immersive storytelling, as well as research interests in the areas of embodied AI and robotics

Victoria Szabo is a Research Professor of Visual and Media Studies at Duke University, where she directs the Information Science + Studies program, the Computational Media, Arts & Cultures Ph.D. program, and co-directs the Duke Game Lab. Having volunteered with the organization for over twenty years, she is just finishing a term as the chair of the SIGGRAPH Art Advisory Group and has previously held roles as the chair of the ACM SIGGRAPH Digital Arts Community (2016–2022), Art Papers Chair for SIGGRAPH (2014, 2025) and SIGGRAPH Asia (2023), SIGGRAPH Art Gallery Chair (2013), and SIGGRAPH Information Aesthetics Showcase Chair (2009).

The Nominations Committee sincerely thanks all the candidates in the 2026 election for their willingness to serve our community. 

Learn more about the SIGGRAPH Executive Committee

If you are an ACM SIGGRAPH member and are interested in serving ACM SIGGRAPH in a leadership role, please reach out to the ACM SIGGRAPH Nominations Committee.

Travel Lottery Opens: 30 August, 2026 

Travel Lottery Closes: 18 September, 2026

Pre-Screen Process: 19 – 29 September, 2026

Acceptances: 30 September, 2026

ACM SIGGRAPH offers support to existing members of the SIGGRAPH community whose potential career impact is recognized as extraordinary and who can demonstrate financial need to attend SIGGRAPH Asia 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Our intention is to simultaneously highlight SIGGRAPH’s abiding recognition of the value that those who may not have the financial means to attend this premier conference can bring to visual computing domains and its importance to their vibrancy and future positive impact on our communities and society.  

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

• Grant recipient(s) must have an active ACM SIGGRAPH membership (Standard Member or Student Member) at the time funds are disbursed. 
• Grantees are eligible to receive no more than one grant total from this program, across all funding cycles and years.
• Budget requests and reimbursement are subject to the ACM SIGGRAPH travel policies.
• Nominees from universities, NGOs, industry, and governmental organizations, including students, early-career, industry, and academic professionals in visual computing, will be considered and are encouraged to apply for travel grant support.
• Complete the grant application, including a personal statement regarding financial need and how this grant will enable your contribution to the ACM SIGGRAPH community. 

HOW IT WORKS:

Submit here by 18 September 2026 before 11:59 PM EST USA.

PRE-SCREEN PROCESS:

All applications will undergo a pre-screening review to confirm that applicants meet the eligibility requirements and have provided the required information to be considered for the ACM SIGGRAPH Opportunity Travel Grant. Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria, demonstrate financial need, and submit a complete application by the deadline will be entered into the lottery-style drawing. 

Two recipients will then be selected at random from the pool of eligible applicants. The selection process is intended to provide an equitable opportunity for qualified members of the SIGGRAPH community to receive travel support to attend SIGGRAPH Asia 2026. 

Two recipients will be selected at random in a lottery-style drawing. 

GRANTEES:

The grantees (2) will be selected by 30 September 2026 and invited to attend SIGGRAPH Asia 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The grantee will receive a Full Conference Pass and financial support reimbursing the documented cost of SIGGRAPH Asia 2026 attendance.

PUBLICITY: 

Any information supplied for the application must not be confidential and can be used for publicity purposes by ACM SIGGRAPH. Awardees permit ACM SIGGRAPH to use representative images of their work, member profiles, stories, subsequent activities in connection with the ACM SIGGRAPH community and organization, etc. for use in ACM SIGGRAPH publications, at conferences sponsored by ACM and/or ACM SIGGRAPH, or other publicity purposes.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: 

ACM’s conflict-of-interest (COI) guidelines apply to all award nominations. The ACM SIGGRAPH Award Chair on the ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee is responsible for ensuring the COI guidelines are followed and resolving any issues that the respective Award Committee Chair cannot resolve.

QUESTIONS? 

Contact urt@siggraph.org 

ACM LINKS TO REFERENCE:

• Guidelines on Conflict of Interest: https://awards.acm.org/awards-committees/conflict-of-interest 
• General ACM Conflict of Interest Policy: https://www.acm.org/special-interest-groups/volunteer-resources/acm-conflict-of-interest-policy

Deadline: 15 August 2026

The Computer Animation Festival Advisory Board is searching for an incoming chair. The Chair interacts with CAFAB members to help with high-level tasks and issues related to the upcoming SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festivals.  This extends to year-round activities like the Computer Animation Festival Traveling Show.

The Computer Animation Festival Advisory Board was established to elevate the role of the Computer Animation Festival (CAF) as a global asset for promoting SIGGRAPH (the conferences and the organization) to new communities and territories.  The CAFAB will provide guidance and support to the CAF Chairs for SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia. This group will also provide counsel to the CAG and SACAG as needed. Here is a link to a full description of the CAFAB.

The Computer Animation Festival Advisory Board (CAFAB) members are primarily past, current and future directors of the SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival.  The CAFAB was established to provide long term vision and consistency to both Computer Animation Festivals while helping to promote the SIGGRAPH Organization and Conferences.

As with other advisory groups, the CAFAB chair also interacts with other SIGGRAPH committees on issues pertaining to the CAF.

All applications will be sent to the ACM SIGGRAPH Project Manager at project-manager@acmsiggraph.org who will forward the applications to the relevant Advisory Board/Group and will copy the Chair of the Nominations Committee as an FYI. The Advisory Board/Group will nominate a person for the Chair position from the shortlist (of at least two names) of candidates who applied or were potential applicants and send this nomination to the EC for approval. Because the Chair of an Advisory Board/Group may want to run for a second term, an EC Director will manage this process, i.e., the SIGGRAPH Project Manager will forward the applications to the EC Director who will then forward the applications to the Advisory Board/Group, excluding the current Chair. The ACM SIGGRAPH Chair shall inform the approved candidate of the EC’s decision and copy the EC Director in charge of the process. If there were other candidates who were not selected, the EC Director will inform them of the decision.