[comp.edu] ACM Siggraph Educators Grants

sokolove@gmuvax2.gmu.edu (Deborah Sokolove) (03/15/91)

ACM-SIGGRAPH Conference Grants for Educators

Program Goals:

The Conference Grants program is intended to expand and strengthen 
computer graphics education in fine arts, business, computer science,
design, education, engineering, or other disciplines. The program is
specifically aimed at supporting new, broadened, or upgraded 
courses, sequences, or laboratory developments.

For 1991, the program continues to cover two types of grants:  the 
regular grants that we have given since 
1986, and a new program of grants for historically minority 
institutions, which was instituted in 1989.

The regular grant program will support educators who are prepared, 
motivated, and have institutional support 
to start or expand successful computer graphics courses, programs or 
labs, or to update courses, programs, 
or labs which have become out of date.  We welcome a proposal from 
anyone who feels that he or she meets 
this description.  The 1991 program will award up to 25 of these 
grants.  The historically minority institution 
grants will support qualified educators in traditionally minority 
institutions who want to develop computer 
graphics programs in any discipline.  The 1991 program anticipates 
awarding a limited number of grants in 
this area, based on the number of proposals received.

Grant Benefits:

Both grant programs will provide several resources to help educators 
begin, expand, or update computer 
graphics courses or programs.  The regular grants provide benefits 
for one person, including:

(1)	Registration costs for two days of courses at SIGGRAPH '91 in 
Las Vegas, July 29-30, as well as the 
course reception.  A copy of the course titles for 1990 is attached 
for your general information.  Any 
courses you think will contribute to your program may be chosen, 
though we do not yet know the 
courses which will be offered in 1991.

(2)	Registration for the technical sessions at SIGGRAPH '91, July 
31-August 2, including conference 
proceedings and state-of-the-art papers and panel discussions, as 
well as the technical session reception.

(3)	A breakfast meeting at the beginning of the week to get an 
orientation to the courses and conference, and 
an informal meeting after the courses, where grantees can meet each 
other and past years' grantees and 
share their experiences with SIGGRAPH Executive and Education 
Committee members.

(4)	SIGGRAPH materials that can be used in the grantees' home 
courses.  This will include  slide sets and a 
complete set of 1991 course notes.

Historically minority institution grants will provide registrations 
and meetings as above for up to two faculty 
or staff members with the goal of assisting in forming a critical 
mass of knowledge and enthusiasm on which 
to build a program.  These grants will also provide one set of 
materials, as described above, as well as half the 
travel and lodging costs for the grantees with the expectation that 
the grantee institution will fund the rest of 
the travel.

How to Propose:

In order to be considered for a grant, a formal proposal must be 
prepared and five copies sent by regular mail, 
not e-mail, postmarked by April 7, 1991, to

Deborah Sokolove
Department of Art and Art History
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030

The proposal should be no more than 5 pages long and must contain 
three specific items:

(1)	Cover Letter:  A cover sheet with the name, address, and phone 
numbers of the proposer, signatures 
of the proposer and the appropriate department chair or dean, a 
statement that the signers have read and 
support all the proposer's statements, and a statement that the 
necessary travel funds will be available to 
the proposer if the grant is awarded.  The letter must include the 
proposer's home and office addresses 
and phone numbers because of the date of the award notification.

(2)	A statement of the proposer's plans, background, and 
environment, and a description of the available 
equipment for graphics.  In more detail, these parts should describe

%	Environment:  the current graphics courses or programs in the 
proposer's institution and 
department,

%	Plans:  what the proposer specifically plans to do in computer 
graphics education and how these 
plans relate to the current program in his or her discipline, and if 
the proposer has received an 
earlier Conference Grant, how the current plans relate to the 
earlier work,

%	Current Graphics Resources:  what graphics resources are now 
available at the proposer's 
institution, including equipment, software and persons who are 
available to help the proposer 
implement the plans above,

%	Experience:  what experience the proposer brings to the 
planned development.  For example, this 
can include computer experience or design expertise.  This may be in 
the form of a selected resume.

%	Course Selection:  what SIGGRAPH courses the proposer plans to 
take (based on the 1990 
courses) and, if it is not obvious, the relation of the courses to 
the plans above,

(3)	Institutional Commitment:  supporting information from 
department chairs or deans to show how 
the proposed plans are supported by the institution.  This should 
include the relation of proposed 
courses, if any, to  the standard curriculum.  It should also 
describe commitments to acquire equipment 
if it is not now available, or to share existing equipment now used 
by other disciplines or courses.  It 
might expand on the cover letter statement that travel support will 
be available for the conference.  In 
general, any support from the home institution toward the planned 
development should be described 
here.

(4)	Minority Institutions:  In addition to the information above, 
these proposals must name the faculty 
or staff member(s) to receive the award and must include information 
for them.  In addition, the proposal 
must include background information on the program which is to make 
the graphics developments.  This 
will go beyond the routine information requested above to include 
the rationale for beginning a graphics 
program and a statement of the long-range goals for the program.  We 
encourage these institutions to 
form a relationship with a nearby institution having strong computer 
graphics experience in order to have 
additional expertise available while developing their programs; such 
a relationship will be a positive point 
in proposals for these grants.

Evaluating Proposals:

All proposals will be evaluated by computer graphics educators who, 
between them, teach graphics to artists, 
computer scientists, educators, engineers, and nontechnical persons.  
At least one evaluator will have 
experience working with minority institutions.  Evaluations will not 
discriminate between proposals from 
different disciplines, levels, or geographic locations.  Both 
regular and historically minority program initiation 
proposals will be evaluated based on:

%	the quality and appropriateness of the planned development,

%	the appropriateness of the projected SIGGRAPH courses to the 
development,

%	the preparation of the proposer(s) to do the development, and

%	the support of the home institution for the development.

Evaluators will be asked to ignore excess materials, such as program 
catalogs, flyers, or overlong resumes, so please don't send them.


Awards will be announced by May 31, 1991.  Grantees will be asked to 
accept the grant formally and to 
verify their attendance at that time, and arrangements will be made 
for registration following their acceptance.  
All proposers will be notified of the decision on their proposal, 
but detailed evaluation information will not be 
available.

SIGGRAPH '90 Course List

The following courses were offered at SIGGRAPH '90.  Each was a full 
day long, and courses run over two 
days.  While we do not know what courses will be offered in 1991, 
you should select three or four courses 
from this list in a rough priority order for your proposal with the 
expectation that you will choose similar 
courses from those actually offered at SIGGRAPH '90.  Each course is 
listed by title with the course 
organizer's name, and includes an indication of the course level:  
beginning (B), intermediate (I), or advanced 
(A).

Fundamentals and Overview of Computer Graphics, Olin Lathrop, [B}
Color and Computer Graphics, Aaron Marcus, [B]
Introduction to Hypertext and Hypermedia, Jakob Nielsen, [B]
An Artistic Introduction to Computer Animations, Maria Palazzi, [B]
Generation of Three-dimensional Data for Computer Image Synthesis, 
Wayne E. Carlson & Richard E. Parent, [B] 
Emerging User-Interface Media: Potentials and Challenges, Chris 
Schmandt, [B]
Human Figure Animation: Approaches and Applications, Tom Calvert, 
[I]
PHIGS PLUS: Advanced Three-Dimensional Graphics with a Standard 
Application Programmer Interface, Edy Henderson, [I]
Character Animation by Computer, Bill Kroyer, [I]
Volume Visualization Algorithms and Architecture, Marc Levoy, [I]
Solid Modeling: Architectures,  Mathematics,  and Algorithms, James 
R. Miller, [I]
Curve and Surface Design: From Geometry to Applications, Gregory M. 
Nielson, [I]
The Computer Graphics Interface (CGI) Q The Next International 
Graphics Standard, Theodore N. Reed, [I]
Fractals: Analysis and Modeling, Dietmar Saupe, [I]
Introduction to Window Management, Jonathan E. Steinhart, [I]
Computer Graphics in Visual Effects, Scott E. Anderson & Jonathan P. 
Luskin, [I]
The RenderMan Interface and Shading Language, Tony Apodaca, [I]
X3D-PEX (PEX): Three-Dimensional Graphics in a Distributed Window 
Systems, Marty Hess, [I]
The PostScript Page Description Language, Leo Hourvitz, [I]
Radiosity, Donald P. Greenberg, [I]
Video Technology for Computer Graphics, Dean Winkler, [I]
Modeling and Animating with Implicit Surfaces, Brian Wyvill & Jules 
Bloomenthal, [I]
Advanced Topics in Ray Tracing, Andrew Glassner, [A]
Unifying Parametric and Implicit Surface Representations for 
Computer Graphics, Brian A. Barsky, [A]
State of the Art in Facial Animation, Frederic I. Parke, [A]
State of the Art in Data Visualization, Mark Smith, [A]
Parallel Algorithms and Architectures for 3D Image Generation, Scott 
Whitman, [A]

For more information, or if you have any questions, please contact:
 
Deborah Sokolove
Department of Art and Art History
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
(703)764-6721
sokolove@gmuvax2.gmu.edu