Reminder: April 14 Talk on the Evolution of with 2019 Turing Laureate Ed Catmull and PDI/DreamWorks Co-Founder Richard Chuang If you haven't done so already, register now for the next free ACM TechTalk, "Past, Present and Future of Computer Graphics: Perspective From Two Forerunners on the Inception and Evolution of CG," presented on April 14 at 12:00 PM ET/9:00 AM PT by Ed Catmull, 2019 ACM A.M. Laureate and Former President of Pixar and Disney Studios; and Richard Chuang, Co-Founder of PDI/DreamWorks. Juan Miguel de Joya, Project Officer for AI for Good at the United Nations International Telecommunications Union and Member of the ACM Practitioners Board, will moderate the questions and answers session following the talk.

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Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, Turing Award Laureate, and a pioneer in the field of Computer Graphics and Richard Chuang, co-founder of Pacific Data Images (PDI), will give a personal reflection on the past, present, and future of computer graphics. These two forerunners of the industry will give their perspective on the inception and evolution of CG. As one of the early educators of the field, Catmull was the unknowing teacher and inspiration for Chuang at the start of his career. This talk will reflect on their life journey in the world of computer graphics and what lies ahead.

Duration: 60 minutes (including audience Q&A)

Presenters: Ed Catmull, Former President, Pixar and Disney Studios; 2019 ACM A.M. Turing Award Laureate Edwin E. (Ed) Catmull is a co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios, and served as President of Pixar for 33 years, while also serving as President of Walt Disney Animation Studios for 13 of those years. Previously, he was vice President of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm Ltd., where he managed development in the areas of computer graphics, video editing, video games, and digital audio. Catmull founded three of the leading centers of computer graphics research – including the Computer Division of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Pixar Animation Studios. These organizations have been home to many of the most academically respected researchers in the field and have produced some of the most fundamental advances in computer graphics, including image compositing, motion blur, subdivision surfaces, cloth simulation and rendering techniques, texture mapping and the z-buffer. Catmull is one of the architects of the RenderMan rendering software, which has been used in over 90% of Academy Award® winners for Visual Effects over the past 20 years. He retired as President of Pixar and Disney Animation on Jan 1, 2019, and is active in consulting and speaking.

A 2019 ACM Turing Award Laureate, Catmull has also been honored with five Academy Awards, including two Oscars for his work and a Lifetime Achievement Award. He is active in several professional organizations. He has been a dedicated participant in ACM SIGGRAPH for nearly 40 years and is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Visual Effects Society. He has received numerous awards from these organizations.

Richard Chuang, Co-Founder, PDI/DreamWorks Chuang started his career as an engineer at HP's RF & Microwave Division in Palo Alto. In 1980, he headed the IEEE Special Interest Group on Microprocessors in the Silicon Valley. From 1981 to 2008, Richard served as the co-founder of PDI (PDI/DreamWorks). He pioneered the studio’s proprietary animation system, for which he received his first Academy Technical Achievement Award in 1998 and his second in 2016. As a forerunner in computer animation and visual effects for both animated and live-action films, Chuang’s credits range from directing commercials to winning an Emmy Award for graphics design. He has 16 live-action film credits as visual effects supervisor. While at DreamWorks Animation, he led efforts to set up production around the globe, most notably in China and India.

Chuang later founded Cloudpic, a tech company focused on digital content creation and multi- channel deliveries, directing studios and startups into new markets like AI/ML, augmented/virtual/mixed reality, real-time production, mobile and game development at studio capacity, quality enhancement, and talent development for mobile, film, and television. He also was the creative producer that launched Oddbods, a daily animated CG series.

His recent projects included the design and development of an augmented reality application for the Petersen Automotive Museum featuring characters from Pixar's Cars animated franchise. Chuang has served on the Conference and Strategic Advisory Committees for ACM SIGGRAPH, as foreign adviser for the Beijing Film Academy’s Advanced Innovation Center for Future Visual Entertainment, and adjunct professor for AR/VR at Cogswell College. Most recently, he’s the founder of d1n0, a startup leveraging creativity and innovation and currently advises tech startups across the field: from bio-medical engineering to AR applications using the latest technologies including CG and ML.

Moderator: Juan Miguel de Joya, Project Officer for AI for Good, United Nations International Telecommunications Union; Member, ACM Practitioners Board Juan Miguel de Joya is a Project Officer for AI for Good at the International Telecommunications Union, the United Nations agency specializing in information and communication technologies. Prior to this role, he served at Facebook/Oculus, Google, DigitalFish, Pixar Animation Studios, and Walt Disney Animation Studios, and was an undergraduate researcher in graphics at the Visual Computing Lab at the University of California, Berkeley. In his spare time, he is part of the ACM Practitioners Board, the ACM Professional Development Committee, the ACM Future of Computing Academy, and the ACM SIGGRAPH Strategy Group. His current interests include artificial intelligence, computer graphics, computational physics, the internet, digital identity, and the human impact of computing in society at large.

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