Each year, Eurographics honors an accomplished individual in computer graphics to highlight outstanding technical achievement. Congratulations to our Michael Wimmer for receiving the 2023 Outstanding Technical Contributions Award!
Prof. Michael Wimmer heads the Rendering and Modeling Group at the Technical University of Vienna and leads the Center for Geometry and Computational Design. He is also the Special Research Program “Advanced Computational Design” coordinator. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from TUWien in 2001. He was elected a Fellow of the EUROGRAPHICS Association in 2018.
Michael Wimmer has made several pioneering contributions in advancing the field of computer graphics through his research in real-time rendering, physically based rendering, computer games, point-based graphics, procedural modeling, shape modeling, and computational fabrication. He is one of the early pioneers in pointbased graphics and procedural modeling of cities. He received the Eurographics Best Paper award for the “Instant Visibility” work in 2001. He is well known for his seminal “Instant Architecture” paper, which eventually established the subarea of procedural modeling. Beyond procedural and shape modeling, Michael is widely recognized for his contributions to real-time shadow rendering, where he co-authored the standard textbook on this topic. His work on visibility computation, point-based rendering, and fast algorithms for computer games have paved the way for significant advancements in the field.
Michael has recently heavily contributed to computational fabrication, combining concepts from shape modeling, form finding, and function-aware geometric optimization. His work has resulted in the development of the Center for Geometry and Computational Design.
Michael Wimmer is a prolific researcher and has published 200+ papers. He is regularly serving on major program committees and the editorial boards of many leading journals. He co-chaired the Eurographics conference in 2015 and is part of the papers advisory board for Eurographics and SIGGRAPH, and Assistant Chair of SIGGRAPH 2023.
In addition to his groundbreaking research, Michael is also an exceptional leader, heading one of Europe’s most noted computer graphics groups. His leadership and guidance have enabled his team to achieve sustained and remarkable results, profoundly influencing the European research landscape. This has been foundational for both computer games and rendering-related industries. Michael is known for his tireless and extensive community service and dedication to sharing his knowledge and ability with others. He has been a mentor and advisor to many students and young researchers, has significantly contributed to improving the organization of Eurographics at various levels, and his contributions to the community continue to have a lasting impact on the field of computer graphics.
Eurographics is pleased to recognize Michael Wimmer with the 2023 Outstanding Technical Contributions Award (Eurographics).
