SIGGRAPH 2022 Moves Forward and Looks Back: The Frontiers and Retrospective Programs Showcase How Legacy Drives Innovation

From Artificial Intelligence to the Arts and Gaming, Industry Experts Touch on Some of the Most Prominent Topics in Computer Graphics

SIGGRAPH 2022 highlights the many voices that have facilitated the evolution of computer graphics and interactive techniques. The Frontiers and Retrospective programs feature pioneers and industry experts in panels and workshops for a passionate look at untold stories, influential voices, emerging topics, and new breakthroughs. The 49th annual conference runs 8–11 August in person, and virtually 25 July–31 October 2022.

The Retrospective program brings together the pioneers and leaders who have enabled computer graphics to improve lives. Panel topics have pioneers and practitioners taking ideas into new directions, compelling the industry to rethink assumptions, take risks, and achieve greatness. Panel topics include foundational events in computer graphics, how computer graphics impacts lives, how interfaces to computer graphics have evolved, and the groundbreakers and the unheard voices that have expanded computer graphics and user interfaces.

The Frontiers program aims to identify emerging fields and introduce new communities to SIGGRAPH, where we hope to form future partnerships and collaborations with sectors we may not have previously considered. The goal of the program is to make these conferences the place where new, exciting technologies in and adjacent to computer graphics and interactive techniques are being discovered and advanced. Through a series of talks and workshops, the Frontiers program aims to spark research and innovation in new areas such as AR/VR, AI, robotics, arts, visualization, gaming, responsible innovation, and more.

"While many computer graphics advancements have been recorded in textbooks and archives, there are still many noteworthy yet untold stories and unheard voices," said Benjamin Lok , SIGGRAPH 2022 Retrospective program chair. "With our Retrospective panels, we go behind the images with a wide range of people and hear about their journeys to learn about critical moments, foundational events, and advancements that are impacting all of us today."

Highlights of the Retrospective program include:

Moderator: Mary Whitton , UNC Chapel Hill (Dept. of Computer Science, retired)
Panelists: Jon Meads , NW Old Boys Rugby Club (retired); Maxine Brown , University of Illinois Chicago ; Marcelo Knorich Zuffo, Universidade de Sao Paulo ; Joaquim Jorge , Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa), INESC-ID
Computer graphics pioneers share how computer graphics expanded both throughout the United States and into different parts of the world. Their lessons learned along the way can be applied by today's professionals for continued groundbreaking work in today's new and fluid landscape.

Moderator: Masha Shugrina , NVIDIA Corporation
Panelists: Carolina Cruz-Neira , University of Central Florida ; Holly Rushmeier , Yale University ; Joan Collins , ACM SIGGRAPH, West Coast Pictures, LLC; Theresa-Marie Rhyne , theresamarierhyne.com; Kristine Middlemiss , monstersaliensrobotszombies.com
Powerful Women in Graphics panelists share industry and academic viewpoints and career journeys that have contributed to the historic advancements in computer graphics. Participants learn about opportunities on the horizon for the women in technology community and how the past can influence the future in this exciting time of growth.

Moderator: Brian Wyvill , University of Victoria
Panelists: Yoichiro Kawaguchi , The University of Tokyo (Emeritus); Eugene Fiume , Simon Fraser University ; David Kasik , ACM SIGGRAPH; Alyn Rockwood , ACM SIGGRAPH
Diverse panelists, all of them innovators and disruptors, look at how computer graphics is used to change the worlds of art, science, engineering, and — at the core of computer graphics itself — modeling. Their pathways to success serve as an inspiration for young SIGGRAPHers looking to make disruptions in their own chosen fields.

"Advancements in artificial intelligence, as well as augmented and virtual reality presents the need to talk about the latest in computer graphics to connect users to virtual environments and more," stated Vathsal Veena Shashidhar, SIGGRAPH 2022 Frontiers program chair. "The talks and workshops allow us, as innovators, to cover these topics and much more. We can inspire and influence creators to make their impact in the physical and virtual worlds."

Highlights of the Frontiers program include:

Contributor: Yaser Sheikh , Meta Research
Yaser Sheikh of Meta Reality Labs discusses progress toward achieving metric telepresence. He describes Meta's approach using codec avatars — neural networks to address computer vision and computer graphics problems in signal transmission and reception of photorealistic avatars. He also introduces the large-scale systems required to train codec avatars, visually and acoustically, and the research challenges ahead to achieve metric telepresence at scale.

Contributor: Aaron Hertzmann , Adobe Research
Can AI algorithms make art and be considered artists? Within the past decade, the growth of new neural network algorithms has enabled exciting new artforms with considerable public interest. Aaron Hertzmann discusses how these developments parallel the development of previous artistic technologies, like oil paint, photography, and traditional computer graphics.

Access to the Retrospective and Frontiers programs at SIGGRAPH 2022 is available in person and online. Learn more and register for the conference at s2022.SIGGRAPH.org/register .

ACM , the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field's challenges. ACM SIGGRAPH is a special interest group within ACM that serves as an interdisciplinary community for members in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The SIGGRAPH conference is the world's leading annual interdisciplinary educational experience showcasing the latest in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2022 , the 49th annual conference hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH, will take place as a hybrid event, with live events 8–11 August at the Vancouver Contention Centre and virtual content available starting 25 July through 31 October. Click here for news from the conference and its partners.

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