From the Chair
Jun 1, 2005 12:00 PM
When James L. Mohler attended his first SIGGRAPH in 1997, he was immediately struck by the unique quality of the conference. As a young professor with the Computer Graphics Department at Purdue University, he had attended other technical conferences. But nothing compared to SIGGRAPH.
“What really struck me about SIGGRAPH was the diversity of its attendees and the way those different groups interacted with one another,” says Mohler. “Even when you go to other interdisciplinary conferences, the different disciplines seem to tolerate one another, but they don't really mesh. Here they really respect one another and feed off one another's ideas, energies and creativity. The result is an atmosphere that is unique to this conference. It's not something you can read about. It's something you just have to experience.”
As Conference Chair for SIGGRAPH 2005, Mohler has been determined to make this year's event as exciting and invigorating as any SIGGRAPH that has come before. To accomplish that, he and the rest of the SIGGRAPH 2005 Committee have added some exciting new features, such as a Full-Dome Animation Theater that'll be located next to the registration area. Over by the Emerging Technologies area they'll be making use of the Access Grid, a kind of high-powered teleconferencing system, to deliver live performances by performers located around the world. And for the keynote address, they've landed none other than film legend and special effects pioneer George Lucas.
Finally, says Mohler, the SIGGRAPH Committee has made a special effort to strengthen the participation in SIGGRAPH by the scientific visualization community. “This is a community that has always been important to SIGGRAPH, but in recent years it's prominence has diminished as special effects and video games have gained more attention. This year, we've worked hard to ensure that scientific visualization has a strong presence in all the venues, and I think that helps make the whole show more interesting and exciting.”
But as excited as Mohler is about SIGGRAPH 2005, he is quick to give credit to the venue chairpersons and others for pulling it all off. “For me, the biggest joy has been the opportunity to work with this fantastic group of people. This group has done a masterful job of really merging as a team and creating complementary content across the various programs. It's because of their efforts, and the efforts of the hundreds of other volunteers who contribute their time to the show that we've been able to put together a conference that I think is really going to be something to remember.”
Whether you come for the courses, the exhibits, the animations, or the technology demonstrations, SIGGRAPH 2005 is sure to delight. Welcome to Los Angeles! Enjoy the conference and exhibition!
SIGGRAPH 2005 Committee
SIGGRAPH 2005 was made possible by the dedication of the following individuals and others who invested their time, expertise, intellectual curiosity, and enduring faith in CG.
SIGGRAPH 2005 Conference Chair
James L. Mohler, Purdue University
ACM SIGGRAPH
Conference Chief Staff Executive
Dino Schweitzer, Capstone Solutions Inc.
SIGGRAPH 2005 Conference Manager
Ramon Ford, Capstone Solutions Inc.
Art Gallery
Linda Lauro-Lazin, Pratt Institute
Computer Animation Festival
Samuel Lord Black, Penguin Flight Dynamics
Courses
John M. Fujii, Hewlett-Packard Company
Educators Program
Patricia Beckmann-Wells, Bunsella Films
Emerging Technologies
Donna J. Cox, NCSA/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
GraphicsNet
Joseph M. Cychosz, Purdue University
Guerilla Studio
Peter Braccio, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
International Resources
Rejane Spitz, Pontificia Universidade Catölica do Rio de Janeiro
Panels and Special Sessions
Jill Smolin, The Gnomon Workshop
Papers
Markus Gross, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich
Sketches and Posters
Juan Buhler
Web Program
Nishant Bharat Kothary, Amazon.com
Student Volunteers
Ronald J. Glotzbach, Purdue University
Publications
Stephen N. Spencer, The University of Washington
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