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| In 2014, SIGGRAPH returns to Vancouver, British Columbia |
Briefly describe your past experience as a SIGGRAPH volunteer and what motivated you to serve as the SIGGRAPH 2014 Conference Chair.
I’ve been a long-time contributor to the SIGGRAPH Courses
program – I’ve taught 23 courses across the years, and through that experience
I started working with various SIGGRAPH committees back in 2001. Specifically, I have been a reviewer, Webmaster
of siggraph.org, member of many conference committees, and Courses Chair for SIGGRAPHs
2006 and 2009 respectively, which led me to now being the 2014 Conference Chair.
Stepping up to Conference Chair is truly an honor for me. I
have the utmost respect for the members of the SIGGRAPH community, and
receiving their stamp of approval is personally valuable. As you’ll hear most SIGGRAPH volunteers
repeat, the predominant reason for volunteering is the quality of individuals with
whom you get to work. SIGGRAPH has also been a great contributor to my
professional success, and helping pass that to the next generation of
practitioners by helping to organize SIGGRAPH 2014 is a way to repay that debt
of gratitude.
What “reasons to attend” do you feel are most compelling for industry professionals?
As I mentioned, SIGGRAPH has contributed greatly to my
professional career. With the technical
program (i.e., Courses, Papers, Talks, etc.) you interact with those creating
the future of our respective fields.
They come to SIGGRAPH to showcase their latest and best work, speculate
on the trends and directions, and interact with the experts and leading thinkers
in several fields. There’s no other
place with the information density that occurs at a SIGGRAPH conference, and
we’re working to make SIGGRAPH 2014 the most technically forward-looking event
ever, while still respecting and honoring our roots.
As an engineer by trade, computer graphics is more than just
a technical field for me. Anyone who’s
had to create an image begins to think about the best ways to present their data
and convey their message. Those concepts are more about design and presentation
– fields that aren’t usually included in a computer science or engineering
program. However, the SIGGRAPH community
thrives on cross-pollination between the engineers, artists, animators, scientists,
and human-factors communities. One of
SIGGRAPH’s strengths is precisely this exposure to things outside of your core
area. Just like international travel
introduces you to new cultures, traveling to SIGGRAPH immerses you in the
largest multi-discipline gathering of technology to simulate your senses. There’s really no end of what you can learn
at the conference.
Do you have a specific vision for the 2014 conference?
Most definitely! A
while ago I changed jobs. I predicated
that decision largely on watching European folks use their mobile phones. At the time, they were playing games on very
low-resolution, monochrome screens; sending SMS messages; and making the
occasional phone call. However, it
dawned on me that as the technology evolved, those devices were going to become
the new graphics systems, so I tried plying my trade in that industry.
Today, you merely need to look around to see how basic
tenets of SIGGRAPH – computer graphics and interactive techniques – have been
made available to everyone in the palm of their hand. During my career, I have witnessed numerous
graphics technology transitions: from image generators to graphics workstations
to PC graphics to consoles, and now to phones and tablets. The medium has
changed. And the focus that SIGGRAPH communities had been talking about for
years is now in the forefront.
So, SIGGRAPH 2014 will have an intense focus on the fusion
of technology and research for mobile devices and displays. Regardless of whether you’re a seasoned
practitioner or want to enter the field, one component of SIGGRAPH 2014 will
provide numerous opportunities to learn how the next generation of graphics
systems can deliver the kind of mind-blowing sensory experiences that SIGGRAPH has
been doing for the last four decades.
Exactly how many volunteers are behind-the-scenes making the conference happen?
Two, and we only feed them Twinkies.
Seriously, the exact number is difficult. The volunteer side of the SIGGRAPH 2014
committee is composed of the various venue chairs and numbers 20 super-talented
individuals. My team would be the envy
of any tech-savvy company, and these folks are doing this for the love of the
organization and its cause – computer graphics and interactive techniques.
From there, many of the venues have teams of folks who work
before, during, and after the show to spread the message, collect the content,
and show it at the conference. There is
also our team of content reviewers – numbering in the hundreds – who lend their
expertise to find the best content for the show, and constructively comment on
all the submissions to SIGGRAPH. This
all happens before an attendee steps foot into Vancouver’s beautiful convention
center.
Onsite, we have an army of student volunteers who helpfully
educate attendees on what’s going on, and politely direct them to the right
places. We also have a large number of
venue volunteers who keep the attendee experience going full tilt – explaining,
educating, and celebrating what our various fields offer.
All in all, I’d estimate that approximately 600 dedicated
volunteers contribute to SIGGRAPH 2014 becoming a reality, and I hope to
personally thank each of them. They’re certainly
making me look great!
In its return to Vancouver, what surprises can SIGGRAPH 2014 attendees expect?
If I told you, they wouldn’t be a surprise, now would they? :)
Let me just say that one of the best parts of a SIGGRAPH
conference are the networking events – where people get together and exchange
ideas, opinions, and laughs. We’re
working to provide more opportunities to doing fun things in between showing
you the most forward content and experiences in the visual arts and interaction
fields.
We're also making much more of the content available during conference week. The "creative" venues - the Art Gallery, Emerging Technologies, and the Studio - will be available to more registration categories, and we'll be holding some events in those venues. Everyone knows SIGGRAPH for its technical content and amazing eye candy, but those venues also showcase the interactive experiences of SIGGRAPH.
Why should people be excited about the location?
Vancouver is one of my favorite SIGGRAPH locations (and
it’ll be my 26th show, so I’ve seen a few). The beauty of the city and its surrounding
nature really excited me when it was selected as the venue for my year. The fusion of nature and technology
emphasizes what I think of when I consider SIGGRAPH: art and science
converging. The convention center and
its layout are prime for providing an unparalleled attendee experience, and
we’re going to be using every space available to bring the best content to you.
Explain the added emphasis on mobile technologies at SIGGRAPH.
I view mobile as more than just technology. It’s more the fusion of several
capabilities. In a modern mobile
smartphone, you have HD-capable movie camera, a high-resolution full-color
display, GPS, accelerometers, high-performance GPUs, multiple processors, and
connectivity to all the data the Internet has to offer in the palm of your
hand. The SIGGRAPH community has
multiple research areas that worked to pioneer those technologies. It is my
hope that SIGGRAPH 2014 will foster greater convergence of those research areas
to make even better experiences, particularly for mobile devices.
The technical fields pioneered at SIGGRAPH: rendering, image
processing, computer vision, human-computer interaction to name a few, are all
available in extraordinarily capable portable-computing systems. I’m hoping to empower and challenge people
to understand these new devices and use them in very unexpected ways.
Which part/s of the SIGGRAPH 2014 experience are you most looking forward to?
It is still early but I’m really excited to see what the
SIGGRAPH 2014 team puts together. Their
ideas and energy for 2014 already blows me away. In selecting the committee, I was looking for
folks who had a knowledge and vision of the venue they were looking to
manage. I selected folks who were
self-motivated and directed, and I now realize I got the best crew possible,
and I’m sure they’re going to take the conference experience to the next
level. From what I’m hearing, there will
be lots of interactive experiences, thought-provoking technical content, incredible
visual effects, and cutting-edge research.
I’m also excited to see how one of those surprises comes
together. Let’s just say it’s an attempt
to use technology in new ways, and it’ll be open to everyone at the show.
On a personal note, I’m delighted to be able to share the
experience with my wife (a 20-year SIGGRAPH attendee) and my parents at the
show. My parents have heard me talk
about SIGGRAPH for the last 2.5 decades, and it’s going to be great to share with
them what’s been a big part of my life.
Where do you see this conference going in the next 5/10 years?
Ahh, the provocative question. The fields that SIGGRAPH has cultivated over
its 40-year history are now commonplace.
Virtually every image we see in the media has been affected by technologies
discussed at SIGGRAPH. The members of
our community have enabled our entertainment, education, and wonder, and some
argue that perhaps the job’s done. I’m
not entirely convinced.
Just like I mentioned, as technology changes, we’re
presented with options for creating new experiences and things that haven’t
been possible before. As the SIGGRAPH
community is enabled to pursue evermore difficult problems, I think the
collaboration that SIGGRAPH cultivates becomes ever more important.
Sure, we live in an environment where online collaboration, information sharing, and even telepresence are realities, but there's still no substitute being in the moment in the same place at the same time. I think that's part of the human experience, and where SIGGRAPH will be blazing paths forward for decades to come.
As a speaker, author, and technology wizard, what has been your biggest career honor to date?
Truly, being chosen as the chair of SIGGRAPH 2014 is likely
the crowning achievement for me to this point(and I’m not just saying that
because you’re asking). When I first
started attending SIGGRAPH, I watched in awe of those presenting and organizing
the show, and really never thought I’d achieve the same. The first time I spoke at SIGGRAPH, I was
terrified because everyone knew and had accomplished more than I had at that
time. However, our community is nothing
without helping each other reach new heights, and being given the opportunity to
do that for the next generation of computer graphics and interactive techniques
practitioners is an unparalleled honor.
In 140 characters, describe SIGGRAPH 2014.
S2014 brings the best CGI, HCI, and IQs together to create the mosaic of tomorrow’s images, experiences, and tech in beautiful Vancouver!
(I’m not really good at Twitter :))
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