A report by Judy Brown, ACM SIGGRAPH Chair
SIGraDi'2000, the 4th Iberoamerican Congress of Digital Graphics was held in September, 2000, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, attended by delegates from fifteen countries in the Americas and Europe. The three days of presentations, simultaneously translated in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, illustrated educational, research and professional areas related to digital technologies. Although presentations were primarily in architecture and design, other disciplines represented included urban planning, visual arts, industrial design, visual communications, textile design, and multimedia. Some of the highlights were presentations on collaborative design projects, virtual reality, education, cyberspace architecture and interface design.
Julio Bermudez, Yacov Sharir and Jim Agutter presented an elaborate demonstration of imagery produced in real-time by the electronic transmission of the heartbeat, respiration and brain waves from a "wired" dancer. This produced startling images projected onto a large screen as the dance progressed. Poster sessions and showing of animations, applications, and web sites were held throughout the conference. SIGraDi'2000 had excellent social events, allowing attendees to renew acquaintances and first-time attendees to meet others easily. The Congress opened with a cocktail party in an art gallery. Thanks to the efforts of Rejane Spitz, Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro provided a beautiful outdoor setting for cocktails and an elaborate array of Brazilian food. The conference dinner, held at the stunning Palacio da Cidade - the official residence of Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor - included live music and dancing.
I was pleased to be able to present the many facets of ACM SIGGRAPH, both the annual conference and the many activities that take place throughout the year, and to have the opportunity to discuss how we might work together as professional societies.
SIGraDi'2001 will be held November 21-23, 2001, in Concepción, Chile, organized by Universidad del Bío-Bío. Concepción is a university city located in the Southeast Pacific coast of Chile. The city is the gateway to the beautiful and unique South American Patagonia, with its beaches, rivers, lakes, and mountains of incredible and untouched natural beauty. The deadline for abstracts is May 10, 2001. See the call for participation at http://www.ubiobio.cl/sigradi2001.