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Vera Molnár, 5 January 1924 – 7 December 2023

Dec 9, 2023 |

SIGGRAPH regrets to announce the death of Vera Molnár on December 7, 2023.

SIGGRAPH recognized Molnár for her many pioneering computational art techniques engaging human sensitivity in the production of her abstract geometrical artworks with the 2022 ACM SIGGRAPH Distinguished Artists Award for Lifetime Achievement in Digital Art.

The Hungarian-French artist co-founded two groups that focused on the use of technology within the arts: the Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel, a collaborative artists group in Paris that consisted of eleven opto-kinetic artists, and Art et Informatique, a group dedicated to computer art.

Molnár earned early programming language, including Basic, to make art. Her work has been featured in major international solo and group exhibitions and is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Centre Pompidou. In 2018 she received the AWARE Outstanding Merit Award from the French Ministry of Culture acknowledging leading female figures in the world of culture.

A set of Molnár’s computer drawings from the 1970s was exhibited at the prestigious 2022 Venice Biennale of Art, where, at 98, she was the oldest artist participating in the Biennale. She collaborated with Dr. Francesca Franco to create the ICÔNE 2020 glass works now also in an official Venice Biennale collateral exhibition.

Call for Candidates for the 2024 ACM SIGGRAPH Outstanding Service Award

Nov 28, 2023 |

The Outstanding Service Award is presented annually to recognize a career of outstanding service to ACM SIGGRAPH by a volunteer. It recognizes an individual who has given extraordinary service to ACM SIGGRAPH, both in the trenches and in positions of more responsibility or visibility, over a significant period of time. The award includes a lifetime Pioneers membership in ACM SIGGRAPH. For more information about the Award and the list of past winners, go to https://www.siggraph.org/awards/outstanding-service-award/. If you are interested in submitting a candidate please contact the Chair of the Outstanding Service Award Committee, Scott Owen, at owen@siggraph.org. The deadline is January 31, 2024.

IEEE Computer Graphics & Animation Outstanding Guest Editor Award

IEEE Computer Graphics & Animation Outstanding Guest Editor Award

Nov 8, 2023 |

From time to time, IEEE Computer Graphics & Animation gives an Outstanding Guest Editor Award for extraordinary contributions to the magazine. This year, the award was given to three awardees:

  • Mary Whitton
  • Dave Kasik
  • Chris Johnson

for their incredible work on the July/August CG&A Special Issue celebrating 50 ACM SIGGRAPH Conferences. ACM SIGGRAPH congratulates its members for their outstanding contributions to the Special Issue.

VIEW SPECIAL ISSUE

Volunteer Opportunity: ACM SIGGRAPH Awards Committee Chair

Nov 6, 2023 |

The ACM SIGGRAPH Executive Committee is Recruiting for an Awards Committee Chair

Call open until Nov. 26, 2023

ACM SIGGRAPH is recruiting for a Chair for the Awards Committee.  This chair will join the ranks of the standing committee chairs who assist the Executive Committee in nurturing and supporting the community of computer graphics researchers and practitioners.

A listing of the current standing chairs and their roles can be found here: https://www.siggraph.org/about/acm-siggraph-committees

The Awards Chair will supervise and facilitate all of the awards committees of ACM SIGGRAPH and organize the nomination of ACM SIGGRAPH members to higher ACM levels such as ACM Fellows and to ACM awards.

More specifically, the Awards Chair will be expected to:

  • Work with the chairs of the individual awards to ensure that sufficient nominations are received for each award
  • Work with the chairs to ensure that the announcements of the award winners receive appropriate publicity
  • Assist the EC in the appointment or renewal of the chairs for the individual award committees
  • Identify individuals in the Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques community who should be nominated for ACM Fellow and the major ACM awards and identify members of the community who can take on those nominations (additional sub-committee members may be added to assist with this process)
  • Preside over the awards ceremony at the conferences
  • Manage the operational details of the awards ceremony, awards talks, and rehearsals in collaboration with the contractors

A report of the activities of the awards committee should be presented to the SIGGRAPH Executive Committee in June of each year.   This role is expected to require about two hours/week averaged across the year.

The ACM SIGGRAPH awards are as follows:

  • SIGGRAPH Steven Anson Coons Award: Given to an individual who has made a significant lasting contribution to the field of computer graphics, both directly and through others over an extended period of time. The award is given in odd numbered years.
  • SIGGRAPH Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement in Digital Art: presented annually to an artist who has created a substantial and important body of work that significantly advances aesthetic content in the field of digital art.
  • SIGGRAPH Outstanding Service Award: Given annually to recognize an individual for outstanding service to SIGGRAPH by a volunteer who has given extraordinary service both in the trenches and in positions of more responsibility or visibility, over a significant period of time.
  • SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award: Given annually to recognize an individual for an outstanding achievement in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The award includes a $2,000 cash prize.
  • The SIGGRAPH Practitioner Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the practice and advancement of Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques. The award recognizes the very best and most influential applications and practitioners.
  • The SIGGRAPH Education Award recognizes a member for outstanding pedagogical contributions to computer graphics and interactive techniques at any educational level or within the context of any discipline. The award recognizes contributions in both innovative content and delivery.
  • SIGGRAPH Significant New Researcher Award: This annual award is given to a researcher who has made a recent significant contribution to the field of computer graphics and is new to the field. The intent is to recognize people very early in their careers who have already made a notable contribution and are likely to make more.
  • SIGGRAPH Doctoral Dissertation Award is awarded annually to recognize a recent doctoral candidate who has successfully defended and completed their Ph.D. dissertation in computer graphics and interactive techniques. This award recognizes young researchers who have already made a notable contribution very early during their doctoral study.
  • The ACM SIGGRAPH Academy is an honorary group of individuals who have made substantial contributions to the field of computer graphics and interactive techniques. These are principal leaders of the field, whose efforts have shaped the disciplines and/or industry, and led the research and/or innovation in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Five to eight members are expected to be inducted into the Academy each year.

If you are interested in this position, please contact: Thierry Frey

ACM SIGGRAPH Chair and Chair-Elect Selected

Oct 3, 2023 |

The Executive Committee is pleased to announce the selection of the organization’s Chair and Chair Elect.

Mona Kasra is the new Chair of the Executive Committee. Kasra is a new media artist, interdisciplinary scholar, and Associate Professor of Digital Media Design at the University of Virginia. Her focus explores the confluence of media technologies, art, and culture; reflecting on the impact of emerging media on personal, political, and creative expression; and experimenting with the affordances of such media for artistic and performative practices. 

Eakta Jain, Associate Professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the University of Florida was selected as Chair Election.  Professor Jain received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University and her B.Tech. degree from IIT Kanpur.  She has industry experience at Texas Instruments R&D Labs, Disney Research Pittsburgh and Walt Disney Animation Studios. Mona Kasra and Eakta Jain join David Spoelstra and Brad Lawrence as Officers of the SIGGRAPH Executive Committee.