Disney Research was launched in 2008 as a network of research laboratories that collaborate closely with academic institutions such as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and Carnegie Mellon University. Its mission is to push the frontiers of technology in areas relevant to Disney's creative entertainment businesses. Disney Research develops innovations for Parks, Film, Animation, Television, Games, and Consumer Products. Research areas include video and animation technologies, postproduction and special effects, digital fabrication, robotics, and much more. In this talk, the speaker will give an overview of Disney Research spiced with some examples of his latest and greatest inventions. The focus is on the collaboration between ETH Zurich and the Walt Disney Company displaying the synergies arising from this program. This talk will highlight a company's perspective as well as a view from the academic angle.
About the speaker
Prof Markus Gross received his MSc in electrical and computer engineering and a PhD in computer graphics and image analysis from Saarland University in Germany in 1986 and 1989 respectively. He then joined the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH) and is currently the Professor of Computer Science, Head of the Computer Graphics Laboratory and the Director of Disney Research, Zurich.
Prof Gross’s research interests include physically based modeling, computer animation, immersive displays, and video technology.
Prof Gross serves on the boards of numerous international research institutes, societies, and governmental organizations. He received the Technical Achievement Award from Eurographics in 2010, the Swiss ICT Champions Award in 2011 and the IEEE Visualization Technical Achievement Award in 2015. He is also a fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and of the Eurographics Association and a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina as well as the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. In 2013, Prof Gross received a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Konrad Zuse Medal from the German Computer Science Society and the Karl Heinz Beckurts Prize.
For attendees’ attention
The lecture is free and open to all. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.
Light refreshments will be served from 6:00 to 6:30 pm.
