Diary Note (Conference Support): Kasic, ACM Siggraph Pioneers, IIS - 0940129
This proposal supports student involvement and attendance at the 2009 ACM Siggraph Conference. This is the premier computer graphics conference in the world, attracting over 15,000 attendees and filling over 100,000 feet of exhibition space. The annual film show is a venue for viewing the latest advances in animation and visualization. Although many attendees come for the exhibition, the Siggraph Conference has long been the premier place to publish technical papers in computer graphics. The Siggraph Pioneers (20+ years of work in the field) started a mentoring program in 2003 to add more students to the technology pipeline. While small in number, the impact has been high as the students do not merely attend the conference, but rather are mentored by longstanding members of the community. Because each Pioneer is assigned no more than two students, the Pioneer guides the students to talks, courses, etc. that were not immediately on the student?s radar.
The intellectual merit and broader impact of the proposed activity lies in the educational opportunities provided the student by the mentoring process. The program also focuses on underrepresented groups (e.g., women, Hispanics, and African-American) who would have no opportunity to hear about Siggraph, let alone attend, without the mentoring program. The students are exposed to the latest research and hardware covering the use of computer graphics for numerous topics that benefit society ranging from engineering design to entertainment. Sample student reactions can be found at http://pioneers.siggraph.org/student_letters.html
