Keynote speakers will share their
perspectives for building our most desirable technological future
on all scales and advancing computer graphics and interactive
techniques into the next half century.
DENVER, June 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SIGGRAPH 2024, the premier
conference and exhibition on computer graphics and interactive
techniques, announces that Jensen Huang, Dr. Dava Newman, Manu
Prakash, and Dr. Mark Sagar
will headline the Keynote Presentations. From the Microscopic to
the Body, Built Environment, City, Planet, Cosmos, and even
unmeasurable concepts like Imagination, the esteemed SIGGRAPH 2024
Keynote Speakers will share their perspectives for building our
most desirable technological future on all scales and advancing
computer graphics and interactive techniques into the next half
century. The 51st annual conference returns to its Colorado roots — the SIGGRAPH concept came to
fruition at The University of Colorado in
Boulder — from Sunday, 28 July to Thursday, 1 August, 2024, in person at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, with a companion Virtual Access
component.
"As SIGGRAPH emphasizes what the conference is and explores new
territories, we are investing a lot of energy in bringing a wide
array of world-class visionaries and leaders to be our Keynote
Speakers," SIGGRAPH 2024 Conference Chair Andres Burbano of the Open University of
Catalonia said. "Jensen Huang will talk about the philosophy behind
NVIDIA's transformation from a company working in graphics to being
the worldwide motor of artificial intelligence computing. Dr.
Mark Sagar will share his expertise
as a bioengineer who developed computational models of his work and
changed the film industry, and has now brought them to life to
impact how we interact in real time with artificial intelligence.
Dr. Dava Newman will talk about the
impact of computer graphics and interactive techniques in planning
and executing interplanetary trips or missions — emphasizing one of
Colorado's largest industries,
aerospace. And finally, Manu Prakash
will share findings from some of his scientific experimental work
in the microscopic domain developing tools that he is also active
in implementing."
Beyond the Illusion of Life
Presented by: Dr.
Mark Sagar
Monday,
29 July 2024
9–10:30 am
MDT
The essence of animation is creating the illusion of life,
convincing the audience that a character is alive and has its own
feelings and thoughts. Is it possible to bring an interactive
digital character to "life" who can "think," "feel," have
experiences, and act with volition? What is it, exactly, to think,
to feel, to experience? In his keynote, Dr. Mark Sagar will discuss his team's biologically
based approach, where they are developing a virtual nervous system
analogous to our own, combining computational models of sensory,
cognitive and emotional processes, language, behavior, and motor
systems. These systems activate virtual muscles to animate a
virtual face and body, sensing, learning, acting, and reacting in
real time. The interoperation of these systems in face-to-face and
shared interactions is exemplified in projects like BabyX, a
simulated toddler which aims to enhance our comprehension of social
learning and behavior — but it can also serve as groundwork for
achieving human-like cooperation with future artificial
intelligence. Dr. Sagar will elaborate how creating the inner life
of a character is strongly linked with the "body," one of the
central thematic focuses of the conference.
Bio:
Double-Academy Award winner Dr. Sagar is the co-founder and
Chief Scientific Officer of Soul Machines and Director of the
Laboratory for Animate Technologies at the Auckland Bioengineering
Institute. He and his team are bringing technology to life,
pioneering the creation of autonomously animated virtual humans
with virtual brains and nervous systems — capable of highly
expressive face-to-face interaction and real-time learning and
emotional response — to create the next generation of human
interaction with biologically inspired artificial intelligence. Dr.
Sagar has a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of
Auckland and was a postdoctoral
fellow at MIT. He previously worked as
the special projects supervisor at Weta Digital and Sony Pictures
Imageworks and developed technology for the digital characters in
blockbusters such "Avatar", "King Kong", and "Spiderman 2". His
pioneering work in computer-generated faces was recognized with two
consecutive Scientific and Engineering Oscars in 2010 and 2011. Dr.
Sagar was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2019 and was named New Zealand
Innovator of the Year in 2022.
NVIDIA CEO Fireside Chat: AI and Graphics for the New
Computing Revolution
Presented by: Jensen
Huang
Monday, 29 July
2024
2:30–3:30 pm MDT
In this fireside chat, NVIDIA Founder and CEO Jensen Huang sits
down with Lauren Goode, senior
writer at WIRED, to discuss how accelerated computing and
generative AI are transforming industries such as manufacturing and
creating new opportunities for innovation and growth. The
convergence of AI and advanced computing, from AI PCs to AI
factories to digital twins, is driving this transformation. It's
the beginning of a new industrial revolution.
Jensen will speak with Lauren about the impact of robotics and
AI in industrial digitization, illustrating how industry sectors
are adopting autonomous operations and building city-scale digital
twins to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Jensen will also
answer some questions from the SIGGRAPH community.
Bio:
Huang founded NVIDIA in 1993 and has served since its inception
as president, chief executive officer, and a member of the board of
directors. He has been elected to the National Academy of
Engineering and is a recipient of the Semiconductor Industry
Association's highest honor, the Robert N.
Noyce Award; IEEE Founder's Medal; the Dr. Morris Chang
Exemplary Leadership Award; and honorary doctorate degrees from
National Chiao Tung University, National Taiwan University, and
Oregon State University. Huang has been
named the world's best CEO by The Economist and Harvard Business
Review, as well as Fortune's Businessperson of the Year and one of
TIME magazine's 100 most influential people. He holds a BSEE degree
from Oregon State University and an
MSEE degree from Stanford.
Humanity Becoming Interplanetary: Exploring Space for
Earth
Presented by: Dr. Dava
Newman
Tuesday, 30 July
2024
9–10:30 am MDT
Dr. Dava Newman's keynote
presentation will cover the theme of "Humanity Becoming
Interplanetary: Exploring Space for Earth." Our amazing Webb Space
Telescope discoveries to recent space science missions to Pluto and
Jupiter, the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, and orbital
missions to monitor Spaceship Earth provide a cosmic perspective.
Humanity will become interplanetary and find life elsewhere;
however, Mars is not "Plan B". Spaceship Earth, our pale blue dot,
is the most magnificent planet for humanity to thrive. Earth is
speaking to us — are we listening? A visual, interactive Earth
Mission Control is revealed that will help take actions to
regenerate Earth's oceans, land, and atmosphere subsystems. The
"overview effect" from space lets us appreciate Earth's
interconnected systems through supercomputer data visualizations
and hyper-local narratives of natural disasters with the goal to
accelerate collective actions for a healthier future between
humanity and our home planet.
Bio:
Dr. Newman is the director of the MIT Media Lab, holds the
Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics chair at MIT, and is a Harvard–MIT Health Sciences and
Technology faculty member. She served as NASA Deputy Administrator
(2015–2017). Nominated by President Barack
Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate unanimously in
April 2015, Dr. Newman was the third
woman and first female engineer and scientist to serve in this
role. During her tenure, she made significant impact on NASA's
human exploration, specifically developing and articulating the
Human Journey to Mars plan, highlighting scientific missions,
advocating for transformative aeronautics capabilities, developing
and implementing a strategic innovation framework, and advocating
for diversity and inclusion for NASA and the nation's STEM
initiatives. Dr. Newman's research expertise is in aerospace
biomedical engineering investigating human performance across the
spectrum of gravity and AI/ML for the dual challenge of energy and
climate. She is a leader in advanced space suit design, astronaut
performance, climate modeling and visualization, leadership
development, innovation, and space policy. Dr. Newman was the
principal investigator on five spaceflight missions.
The Often Unseen World
Presented by: Manu Prakash
Wednesday, 31 July 2024
9–10 a.m. MDT
In Manu Prakash's keynote
presentation, he will take attendees on a "microscopic" journey of
the often unseen world — a delight of creatures most beautiful and
marvelous with dazzling graphical feats. Come for the science, and
stay for the community-enabled discoveries made around the
world.
Bio:
Prakash is an associate professor of bioengineering at
Stanford University, a Senior Fellow at
the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, a Pew Scholar,
and the co-inventor of the Foldscope and co-founder of Foldscope
Instruments. At Stanford, he runs a
curiosity-driven science lab focused on using highly
interdisciplinary approaches to understand how computation is
embodied in biological matter. Prakash's lab is dedicated to
inventing, building, and scaling up "frugal science" tools to
democratize access to science, including the discovery of the
Foldscope, a foldable microscope made mostly of paper. He has a
Bachelor of Technology from the Indian
Institute of Technology and a Master of Science and Ph.D.
from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Learn more about the SIGGRAPH 2024 Keynote Speakers by checking
out the full program here. For more information about the
conference, other programs, and opportunities to experience at
SIGGRAPH 2024, or to register to attend in person or online, go to
s2024.SIGGRAPH.org/register.
About ACM, ACM SIGGRAPH, and SIGGRAPH 2024
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 2024,
the 51st annual conference hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH, will take place
live 28 July–1 August at the Colorado Convention Center, along with a
Virtual option.
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