On Feb. 9 the Academy Awards presented the Scientific Tech awards. Due to their low profile, these awards will be mentioned during the official Oscar broadcast.
The ceremony, hosted by "Star Trek" cast members Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana, featured the presentation of five technical achievement awards. J.P. Lewis, Matt Cordner and Nickson Fong were honored for the invention and publication of the Pose Space Deformation technique. The technique known as PSD introduced the use of novel sparse data interpolation techniques to the task of shape interpolation.
Lawrence Kesteloot, Drew Olbrich and Daniel Wexler were awarded for the creation of the Light system for computer graphics lighting at PDI/DreamWorks. The technique, virtually unchanged from its original incarnation over 15 years ago, is still in continuous use due to its emphasis on interactive responsiveness, final-quality interactive render preview, scalable architecture and powerful user-configurable spreadsheet interface.
Steve LaVietes, Brian Hall and Jeremy Selan won for the creation of the Katana computer graphics scene management and lighting software at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Katana's unique design features a deferred evaluation procedural node-graph and provides a highly efficient lighting and rendering workflow.
Theodore Kim, Nils Thuerey, Dr. Markus Gross and Doug James won for the invention, publication and dissemination of Wavelet Turbulence software. This technique allows for fast art-directable creation of highly detailed gas simulation.
Other winners included Richard Mall for the design and development of the Matthews Max Menace Arm, a highly sophisticated and well-engineered arm that allows for rapid, precise positioning of lighting fixtures, cameras or accessories.
In the scientific and engineering awards Simon Clutterbuck, James Jacobs and Dr. Richard Dorling won for the development of the Tissue Physically-Based Character Simulation Framework. The framework faithfully and robustly simulates the effects of anatomical structures underlying a character's skin.
Dr. Philip McLauchlan, Allan Jaenicke, John-Paul Smith and Ross Shain were honored for the creation of the Mocha planar tracking and rotoscoping software at Imagineer Systems Ltd. The technique is known for its effectiveness, ease of use, and ability to exchange rotoscoping data with other image processing tools.
Joe Murtha, William Frederick and Jim Markland of Anton/Bauer, Inc won for the design and creation of the CINE VCLX Portable Power System. The CINE VCLX allows for extended run-times and flexibility and allows users to power cameras and other supplementary equipment required for production.
The final award given was to Cooke Optics Limited for their continuing innovation in the design, development and manufacture of advanced camera lenses that have helped define the look of motion pictures over the last century.
During the official Oscar ceremony Saldana and Pine will show the winners and portions of the tech ceremony.
The official broadcast of the Academy Awards will be on Feb. 24 at 8pm with a red carpet special at 5pm and 7pm.
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