Ronald Fedkiw
Ronald Fedkiw is a leading researcher in the field of computer graphics, focusing on topics relating to physical simulation of natural phenomena and level sets.
Fedkiw received his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from UCLA in 1996. He completed postdoctoral studies both at UCLA in Mathematics and at Caltech in Aeronautics before joining the Stanford Computer Science Department. Fedkiw is now an associate professor in the department of computer science. Since 2000, Fedkiw has been a consultant with Industrial Light and Magic receiving screen credits for work on Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Poseidon.[1] In addition, he has worked on all three Pirates of the Caribbean and some Harry Potter movies. Fedkiw's techniques are have made possible the renderings of the sea in the Pirates movies and the dragon's flaming breath in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[2] Fedkiw feels the best result of the use of his techniques was the sinking ship shots in Poseidon.[3] Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest won the Academy Award for Visual Effects at the 79th Academy Awards awarded on February 252007 and Poseidon was also nominated that year in that category.[4]
Fedkiw serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Computational Physics, Journal of Scientific Computing, SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences, and Communications in Mathematical Sciences.
On February 92008 in a cermony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Template:City-state, Fedkiw was awarded a 2008 Academy Award (Scientific and Engineering Award) for the development of the Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) fluid simulation system.[5][6] He shared the award with Nick Rasmussen and Frank Losasso Petterson. Fedkiw does physics-based simulation that enable better water effects. Previous representations had varying levels of success. They often did well at surface representation, but were less efficient at smaller particles such as breaking waves. Fedkiw's team's innovative “particle level set method” allows both smooth surfaces and water breakdown renderings including water spray.[3]
Fedkiw has described his work as follows:[1]
It is an exhaustive task to prescribe the motion of every degree of freedom in a piece of clothing or a crashing wave. . .Since these motions are governed by physical processes, it can be difficult to make these phenomena appear natural. Thus, physically based simulation has become quite popular in the special effects industry. The same class of tools useful for computational fluid dynamics is also useful for sinking a ship on the big screen.
Awards
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
- National Academy for Science: Award for Initiatives in Research
- SIGGRAPH: Significant New Researcher Award (2005)
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Levy, Dawn (2007-02-19). "Computer scientist reveals the math and science behind blockbuster movies". Stanford University. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Ron Fedkiw to be awarded an Oscar for his SFX work". FILMdetail. 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Dada, Kamil (2008-01-22). "CS prof wins film award". Stanford Daily. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:2006 (79th) VISUAL EFFECTS". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
- ^ "Awards for Ronald Fedkiw". IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
- ^ Pearson, Ryan (2008-02-11). "Alba dazzles nerds at tech Oscars". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Ron Fedkiw Homepage at Stanford
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- Ron Fedkiw at New York Times
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