Alain Fournier (computer scientist)

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Alain Fournier (born November 5, 1943 in Lyon , France , † August 14, 2000 in Vancouver , Canada ) was a professor at the University of British Columbia , who mainly worked in the field of computer graphics .

Life

Fournier grew up in France and completed his B.Sc. in chemistry from INSA in France. After emigrating from France to Montreal in the mid-1960s , he completed his M.Sc. in chemistry from the University of Montreal , co-wrote a textbook on chemistry and taught the subject from 1967 to 1975 at the Collège Ahuntsic in Québec . His career in computer graphics spanned about 20 years. In 1980 he received his PhD in computer science from the University of Texas at Dallas under the direction of Zvi Meir Kedem .

Together with Donald Fussell and Loren Carpenter, he reported on the results of his doctoral thesis in 1980 in a pioneering thesis on stochastic modeling. He then embarked on an academic career, first at the University of Toronto as part of the Dynamic Graphics Project and then at the University of British Columbia , where he was first associate professor and then professor in the department of computer science and head of a research group on computer graphics . He was a contributing author to ACM Transactions on Graphics, co-guest editor of a special edition in 1987, and co-editor from 1990 to 1992.

He died of lymphoma on August 14, 2000 in Vancouver .

research

Fournier made contributions in the field of computer graphics by studying the modeling of natural phenomena. He proposed a methodology in which simulations are validated by comparing them with images of real phenomena, which he called impressionistic graphics, which was a revolution in the sector and was later used in work by the Lucasfilm and Pixar film studios, among others . One example is his article on modeling ocean waves. Other later works dealt with the topics of lighting and shading models, light transport, rendering, as well as sampling and filtering.

Fournier published numerous scientific publications in the course of his life.

The university's obituary recognizes that his work has had a deep and lasting influence on computer graphics. His work made significant advances in a number of areas including lighting models, light transport, rendering, and sampling and filtering.

In recognition of his contribution to the world of computer graphics, the annual Alain Fournier Prize for the best doctoral thesis published in Canada in the field of computer graphics has existed since 2005. The Alain Fournier Memorial Fund, founded for this purpose, is organizing this award and it will be presented at the Graphics Interface conference.

bibliography

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Obituary of the Computer Science Department of the University of British Columbia
  2. ^ A b c Alain Fournier's curriculum vitae , University of Montreal
  3. ^ David F. Rogers, Rae Earnshaw: State of the Art in Computer Graphics: Visualization and Modeling, Springer Science & Business Media, 1991, p. 356 [1]
  4. ^ Alain Fournier • Graphics Interface. Retrieved April 14, 2020 (Canadian English).
  5. ^ Alain Fournier Award
  6. ↑ Alain Fournier Memorial Fund on iro.umontreal.ca
personal data
SURNAME Fournier, Alain
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French university professor, pioneer of computer graphics
DATE OF BIRTH November 5, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Lyon , France
DATE OF DEATH August 14, 2000
Place of death Vancouver , Canada