The Big 50: Celebrating 50 ACM SIGGRAPH Conferences

The Acm Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH) will hold its 50th Annual Conference on 6–10 August 2023. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications (CG&A) is joining in the celebration with this special issue.

To say that this issue is different is an understatement. Previous CG&A special issues feature high-quality research papers that focus on a single topic. In this issue, we celebrate the 50 ACM SIGGRAPH Conferences across the breadth of their history. Fifty occurrences of anything—birthdays, wedding anniversaries—are cause for celebration. Companies justifiably think that being in business for 50 years is a big deal. And it is!

Just think: digital computing itself is less than 100 years old. The IEEE Computer Society is a 1971 reboot of the original IEEE Professional Group on Electronic Computers (1951). The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) started in 1947, only 76 years ago.

IBM’s Sam Matsa and Brown University’s Andy Van Dam formed the ACM Special Interest Committee on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SICGRAPH) in 1967 as an outgrowth of a highly successful professional seminar on interactive computer graphics. ACM SICGRAPH traded its “C” for a “G” in 1969 and became the Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH).

The first ACM SIGGRAPH Conference was held on the University of Colorado campus in July 1974. By all accounts, it was a glorious week. A number of sessions were held outside at the request of some of the 600 attendees. Bob Schiffman (University of Colorado) and Jon Meads (Tektronix) were the organizers. The relaxed, collegial atmosphere of the conference, the annual summer dates, the fascination with the technology, and the PEOPLE led to astounding growth. The 25th Conference (1998) attracted over 48,000 attendees. Current attendance regularly exceeds 10,000, pandemic notwithstanding. ACM SIGGRAPH is still the largest ACM technical conference.

Of course, professional societies morph as the profession changes. Many start as a topic becomes “hot” and die when the glow fades. Computer graphics and interactive techniques have stayed hot even as focused interests like human–computer interaction, user interface software, virtual reality, and visualization have spun out their own conferences.

And the computer graphics field itself still sings a Siren’s song and retains its attraction to pioneers and newcomers alike. For example, both Jon Meads and Andy Van Dam have attended recent conferences. For many attendees (both short-term and long-term), the ACM SIGGRAPH Conference is their version of summer camp.

When people who have attended an ACM SIGGRAPH Conference get together, one of the first things you hear is “Do you remember…?” Remembering, sharing, trading stories—we all do it. Therefore, we have created an archival record of some of those memories in this special issue. We collected over 200 stories from more than 120 young, old, and middle-aged people. Of necessity, each is short. The editors assembled and organized the accepted materials by year. Each author provided name, current e-mail address, and affiliation during the year of the memory. We also grouped memories about specific events together because multiple people shared a memory about the same event. It’s great to contrast individual viewpoints.

While editing this issue, we came to realize that memory is like fine wine: Memories change and grow to have more value as they age. At the same time, we understand that there are other significant events that we, true ACM SIGGRAPH veterans, have missed or forgotten. We hope this issue will trigger memories and conversations beyond its pages.

The memories reinforce our underlying belief: the ACM SIGGRAPH community is the profession’s fundamental, binding force. The technology is cool, fun, and beneficial. However, the people are what make computer graphics and interactive techniques as vital today as they were in 1974.

We believe you’ll learn from reading this collection. Perhaps you’ll recall other ACM SIGGRAPH events and realize how the community has impacted your life and changed your career.

Enjoy taking a 50-year journey through ACM SIGGRAPH conferences as you read these highly personal stories!

Published in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications
(Volume: 43, Issue: 4, 01 July-Aug. 2023)