Patrick (Pat) Hanrahan
Most Recent Affiliation(s):
- Stanford Computer Graphics Laboratory, Stanford University, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Canon USA Professor
Other Affiliation(s):
- Princeton University
- Stanford University
- Tableau Software, co-founder and CTO
Bio:
SIGGRAPH 2021
Pat Hanrahan is the Canon Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in the Computer Graphics Laboratory at Stanford University. His research focuses on rendering algorithms, graphics processing units, and visualization. Hanrahan received a Ph.D. in biophysics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985. In 1989, he joined the faculty of Princeton University. In 1995, he moved to Stanford University. As a founding employee at Pixar Animation Studios in the 1980s, Hanrahan was part of the design of the RenderMan Interface Specification and the RenderMan Shading Language. More recently, Hanrahan served as a co-founder and CTO of Tableau Software. He has received three Academy Awards for Science and Technology, the SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award, the SIGGRAPH Stephen A. Coons Award, and the IEEE Visualization Career Award. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2019, he received the ACM A. M. Turing Award.
SIGGRAPH 2011
Pat Hanrahan is a computer graphics researcher, the Canon USA Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in the Computer Graphics Laboratory at Stanford University. His research focuses on rendering algorithms, graphics processing units, as well as scientific illustration and visualization. Hanrahan received a Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985. In the 1980s, he worked at the New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Laboratory, Digital Equipment Corporation, and at Pixar. In 1989, he joined the faculty of Princeton University. In 1995, he moved to Stanford University. As a founding employee at Pixar Animation Studios in the 1980s, Hanrahan was part of the design of the RenderMan Interface Specification and the RenderMan Shading Language. More recently, Hanrahan has served as a co-founder and CTO of Tableau Software. He has been involved with several Pixar productions, including Tin Toy, The Magic Egg, and Toy Story.
SIGGRAPH 1993
Pat Hanrahan is an associate professor of computer science at Princeton University where he teaches computer graphics. His current research involves volume rendering, image synthesis, and graphics systems and architectures. Before joining Princeton he worked at Pixar where he developed volume rendering software and was the chief architect of the Renderman™ Interface, a protocol that allows modeling programs to describe scenes for high quality rendering programs. Prior to Pixar he directed the 3D computer graphics group in the Computer Graphics Laboratory at the New York Institute of Technology.
SIGGRAPH 1992
Patrick Hanrahan is an associate professor of computer science at Princeton University where he teaches computer graphics. Before joining the faculty at Princeton University, he worked at Pixar where he developed volume rendering software and was the chief architect of the Render Man® Interface, a protocol that allows modeling programs to describe scenes to high quality rendering programs. Previous to Pixar, he directed the 3D computer graphics group in the Computer Graphics Laboratory at the New York Institute of Technology. Dr. Hanrahan is the author of numerous articles on image synthesis and scientific visualization. His current research involves volume rendering, image synthesis, and graphics systems and architectures.
SIGGRAPH 1991
Pat Hanrahan is on the faculty of the Computer Science Department at Princeton University where he teaches computer graphics. In 1990 he received the E-Council Award for Excellence in Teaching. His primary research interests are in the fundamental algorithms and computer architectures underlying computer graphics. Before joining Princeton, Dr. Hanrahan was a Senior Scientist at Pixar in San Rafael, CA. While at Pixar he developed software for the Pixar image computer, and was the chief architect of the RenderMan(TM) Interface – a protocol that allows modeling programs to describe scenes to high quality rendering programs. Previous to Pixar he directed the 3D computer graphics group in the Computer Graphics Laboratory at New York Institute of Technology.
SIGGRAPH 1990
Pat Hanrahan is on the faculty of the Computer Science Department at Princeton University where he teaches computer graphics. In 1990 he received the E-Council Award for Excellence in Teaching. His primary research interests are in the fundamental algorithms and computer architectures underlying computer graphics. Before joining Princeton, Dr. Hanrahan was a Senior Scientist at Pixar in San Rafael, CA. While at Pixar he developed software for the Pixar image computer, and was the chief architect of the RenderMan(TM) Interface – a protocol that allows modeling programs to describe scenes to high quality rendering programs. Previous to Pixar he directed the 3D computer graphics group in the Computer Graphics Laboratory at New York Institute of Technology.
Course Organizer:
Award(s):
- SIGGRAPH 2003 Steven Anson Coons Award: Hanrahan
- SIGGRAPH 1993 Computer Graphics Achievement Award: Hanrahan
Learning Presentation(s):

Type: [Keynote]
Turing Award and Beyond: In Conversation With Ed Cartmull and Pat Hanrahan Presenter(s): [Catmull] [Hanrahan]
[SIGGRAPH 2021]

Type: [Panels]
NYIT Computer Graphics Lab Then and Now Presenter(s): [Grebe] [Catmull] [Smith] [Hanrahan] [Rygiel] [Hopen]
Entry No.: [04]
[SIGGRAPH 2020]

Type: [Talks (Sketches)]
Multiple Scattering using Machine Learning Presenter(s): [Xie] [Kaplanyan] [Hunt] [Hanrahan]
Entry No.: [70]
[SIGGRAPH 2019]

Type: [Technical Papers]
Opt: A Domain Specific Language for Non-Linear Least Squares Optimization in Graphics and Imaging Presenter(s): [DeVito] [Mara] [Zollhöfer] [Bernstein] [Ragan-Kelley] [Theobalt] [Hanrahan] [Fisher] [Niessner]
[SIGGRAPH 2018]

Type: [Technical Papers]
Scanner: efficient video analysis at scale Presenter(s): [Poms] [Crichton] [Hanrahan] [Fatahalian]
Entry No.: [138]
[SIGGRAPH 2018]

Type: [Technical Papers]
Darkroom: compiling high-level image processing code into hardware pipelines Presenter(s): [Hegarty] [DeVito] [Brunhaver] [Ragan-Kelley] [Bell] [Vasilyev] [Cohen] [Horowitz] [Hanrahan]
[SIGGRAPH 2014]

Type: [Technical Papers]
Probabilistic color-by-numbers: suggesting pattern colorizations using factor graphs Presenter(s): [Lin] [Ritchie] [Fisher] [Hanrahan]
[SIGGRAPH 2013]

Type: [Technical Papers]
Synthesis of Tiled Patterns Using Factor Graphs Presenter(s): [Yeh] [Breeden] [Yang] [Fisher] [Hanrahan]
[SIGGRAPH 2013]

Type: [Courses]
PhysBAM: Physically Based Simulation Organizer(s): [Dubey]
Presenter(s): [Dubey] [Hanrahan] [Fedkiw] [Lentine] [Schroeder]
Entry No.: [07]
[SIGGRAPH 2011]

Type: [Panels]
Future Directions in Graphics Research Presenter(s): [Hodgins] [Foley] [Hanrahan] [Greenberg]
Entry No.: [01]
[SIGGRAPH 2010]

Type: [Technical Papers]
Reducing shading on GPUs using quad-fragment merging Presenter(s): [Fatahalian] [Boulos] [Hegarty] [Akeley] [Mark] [Moreton] [Hanrahan]
[SIGGRAPH 2010]

Type: [Courses]
State of the Art in Monte Carlo Ray Tracing for Realistic Image Synthesis Organizer(s): [Jensen]
Presenter(s): [Jensen] [Arvo] [Fajardo] [Hanrahan] [Mitchell] [Pharr] [Shirley]
Entry No.: [29]
[SIGGRAPH 2001]

Type: [Courses]
3D Visualization of Medical Data Organizer(s): [Ney]
Presenter(s): [Ney] [Fishman] [Fuchs] [Hanrahan] [Kikinis] [Lorensen] [Meinzer] [Yoo]
Entry No.: [24]
[SIGGRAPH 1994]

Type: [Courses]
Making Radiosity Practical Organizer(s): [Rushmeier]
Presenter(s): [Rushmeier] [Borel] [Cohen] [Dorsey] [Hanrahan] [Mckeller] [Recker] [Sillion] [Wallace] [Zembrot]
Entry No.: [22]
[SIGGRAPH 1993]

Type: [Courses]
Three dimensional Visualization Using Medical Data Organizer(s): [Fuchs] [Yoo]
Presenter(s): [Yoo] [Fuchs] [Fishman] [Ney] [Hanrahan] [Kikinis] [Lorensen]
Entry No.: [21]
[SIGGRAPH 1993]

Type: [Courses]
3D Visualization in Medicine Organizer(s): [Fishman] [Ney]
Presenter(s): [Fishman] [Ney] [Hanrahan] [Meinzer]
Entry No.: [34]
[SIGGRAPH 1992]

Type: [Courses]
Radiosity Organizer(s): [Cohen]
Presenter(s): [Cohen] [Campbell] [Greenberg] [Hanrahan] [Rushmeier] [Sillion] [Wallace]
Entry No.: [11]
[SIGGRAPH 1992]

Type: [Panels]
Computer Graphics: More Unsolved Problems Presenter(s): [Barr] [Brooks] [Card] [Clark] [Forrest] [Hanrahan] [van Dam]
Entry No.: [02]
[SIGGRAPH 1991]

Type: [Courses]
Frontiers in Rendering Organizer(s): [Glassner]
Presenter(s): [Glassner] [Gunn] [Haines] [Hanrahan] [Kochevar] [Mitchell]
Entry No.: [12]
[SIGGRAPH 1991]

Type: [Courses]
Frontiers in Rendering Organizer(s): [Glassner]
Presenter(s): [Glassner] [Gunn] [Haines] [Hanrahan] [Kochevar] [Mitchell]
Entry No.: [12]
[SIGGRAPH 1991]

Type: [Courses]
Introduction to Volume Visualization Organizer(s): [Levoy]
Presenter(s): [Levoy] [Hanrahan] [Kreuger] [Lorensen] [Westover]
Entry No.: [07]
[SIGGRAPH 1991]

Type: [Courses]
State-of-the-Art in Volume Visualization Organizer(s): [Hanrahan]
Presenter(s): [Hanrahan] [Kajiya] [Kreuger] [Schröder] [Wilhelms]
Entry No.: [08]
[SIGGRAPH 1991]

Type: [Courses]
The RenderMan Interface and Shading Language Organizer(s): [Apodaca]
Presenter(s): [Apodaca] [Beffrey] [Hanrahan] [Peachey] [Upstill]
Entry No.: [21]
[SIGGRAPH 1991]

Type: [Courses]
The Renderman Interface and Shading Language Organizer(s): [Apodaca]
Presenter(s): [Apodaca] [Beffrey] [Dippe] [Hanrahan] [Peachey] [Upstill]
Entry No.: [18]
[SIGGRAPH 1990]

Type: [Courses]
Volume Visualization Algorithms And Architectures Organizer(s): [Levoy]
Presenter(s): [Levoy] [Hanrahan] [Hoehne] [Kaufman] [Lorensen]
Entry No.: [11]
[SIGGRAPH 1990]

Type: [Courses]
Introduction to Ray Tracing Presenter(s): [Cook] [Glassner] [Haines] [Hanrahan] [Heckbert] [Speer]
Entry No.: [13]
[SIGGRAPH 1987]

Type: [Courses]
Computer Animation: 3D Motion Specification and Control Organizer(s): [Sturman]
Presenter(s): [Sturman] [Hanrahan] [Lundin] [Entis] [Reynolds] [Chuang] [Gomez] [Wilhelms] [Barsky] [Armstrong] [Green] [Girard] [Maciejewski] [Baerle] [Magnenat-Thalmann]
Entry No.: [23]
[SIGGRAPH 1986]

Type: [Technical Papers]
Beam tracing polygonal objects Presenter(s): [Heckbert] [Hanrahan]
[SIGGRAPH 1984]

Type: [Courses]
Introduction to Computer Animation Organizer(s): [Parke]
Presenter(s): [Hanrahan] [Palyka] [Parke] [Smith] [Williams] [Zeltzer]
Entry No.: [08]
[SIGGRAPH 1984]

Type: [Courses]
Introduction to Computer Animation Organizer(s): [Parke]
Presenter(s): [Parke] [Smith] [Stern] [Palyka] [Doll] [Hanrahan] [Lundin]
Entry No.: [07]
[SIGGRAPH 1983]

Type: [Technical Papers]
Creating volume models from edge-vertex graphs Presenter(s): [Hanrahan]
[SIGGRAPH 1982]
Role(s):
- Art Show Jury Member
- Awardee
- Course Organizer
- Course Presenter
- Keynote Speaker
- Panel Presenter
- Talk (Sketch) Presenter
- Technical Paper Presenter