Member Profile: Victor Zordan
1. What do you do, and how long have you been doing it?
I am a researcher in computer animation, mostly in character animation and physical simulation. I started this path in full force in 1995 and have been taking small forays into other areas (e.g. fabrication, VR, and generative AI) but also keeping to my roots primarily in control for physically based avatars.
2. What was your first job?
In a previous lifetime, for my first job out of college, I was an automotive product engineer – designing bearings for automatic transmissions. Eek!
3. Where did you complete your formal education?
I am honored to say I did graduate study at Georgia Tech under the advisement of Jessica Hodgins. Her taking a risk on my education made all the difference! And my thesis topic was telltale of my career endeavors: simulating responsive motion-driven physically based characters.
4. How did you first get involved with ACM SIGGRAPH?
I have been going to the Siggraph conference since 1995, missed a few but attended more than 25 over that span! I have participated in the jury and reviewing for most programs by now and participated in Technical Papers, Courses, Emerging Technologies and Frontiers as well as co-lead a long running BOF for LGBTQIA+ that has grown from a small group to a small army since it started in 2003. On the org side, I have served as a committee member of the EC strategy committee on Nurturing Communities for several years before I joined the DEI committee last summer (2023).
5. What is your favorite memory of a SIGGRAPH conference?
Crashing the Cyber Fashion Show in 2003, where the Cyborg host (and now friend) Isa Gordon took one look at me and said “You are not in the show? Get out! But come see me after!” (I joined as a model and cyber-fashion contributor over the next few years!)
6. Describe a project that you would like to share with the ACM SIGGRAPH community.
I loved my E-Tech piece in 2016 in Anaheim, the Mech-VR. It was a car driving simulator rig reimagined as a walking robot (Mech) rider VR experience. For the lines and press we received for that one project, I would say it was a bunch of work but really really worth it!
7. If you could have dinner with one living or non-living person, who would it be and why?
Alan Turing. He is my unsung hero. His accomplishments and his struggle as a human… totally inspiring and soul crushing. I would love to take him out to dinner, and just be kind to him… and ask him all kinds of off-the-wall questions as well as share what is and will be in modern AI, ha!
8. What is something most people don’t know about you?
That must remain a mystery. Sorry not sorry. Ha!
9. From which single individual have you learned the most in your life? What did they teach you?
Is it corny to say myself? I have had many teachers and mentors – but I am both a self learner and self motivator. When I wanted to learn about AI, I dove in on my own and learned everything I could. Same with motor control and biomechanics, fabrication and computational textiles, and just about anything else that intrigues me. The reason I cannot answer any one person in particular is probably because I have eclectic taste – and have let it dictate my learning path…
10. Is there someone in particular who has influenced your decision to work with ACM SIGGRAPH?
I was inspired when my friend and colleague Paul Kry became director-at-large… I watched his journey as a volunteer and thought, I could do that. I should get involved! Thanks, Paul.
11. What can you point to in your career as your proudest moment?
It is a little silly but getting two papers into the technical paper’s (TP) track in Siggraph 2009. Up to that point, I felt my work was not really cut out for Siggraph even though I had been publishing for 10 years and received some notoriety at that point. I had had only one Siggraph paper to date and at that moment (of 2009 TP notifications), I felt like I was floating… It is hard to admit, but it was the first time I felt accepted by the Siggraph community – and I felt proud that I had “made it”. Over the years, I have seen more papers in the TP track, but nothing compared to that moment when I felt both accomplished and accepted as a researcher.