SIGGRAPH 2006: exploring the art and science of computer graphics

Abstract

For six days in the heat of a particularly miserable New England summer, the city of Boston became a hotbed of interaction, social networking, and knowledge exchange by some of the most prominent computer graphics researchers and designers worldwide. Better known as SIGGRAPH 2006 by programmers and artists alike, the 33rd International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, held in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, boasted widely-varying displays of graphics excellence, from the more technical courses and paper sessions to an extensive animation festival complete with the world's largest Etch-A-Sketch. Attended this year by almost 20,000 computer graphics enthusiasts ranging from students and hobbyists to animators and special effects experts from Pixar, Industrial Light and Magic, and other studios, SIGGRAPH is widely respected as the top conference bar none for computer graphics. The process for submitting a paper or other presentation to the conference is fiercely competitive, with rejection rate of about 82%, allowing conference organizers (not without some controversy) to choose a comprehensive program of top work in almost all subfields of graphics. Such hard work in planning and preparation pays off: from convincing video clips of synthetic water splashing through the most complex obstacles to scenes from computer games in which an amazingly realistic yet animated Tiger Woods prods the player to improve his or her game, even a quick inspection of the conference's offerings revealed a rich series of technologies designed to appeal to all the senses.