CHICAGO – ACM SIGGRAPH has announced the selection of Mikki Rose, fur technical director at Blue Sky Studios, as the SIGGRAPH 2019 conference chair. Rose, who chaired the production sessions during SIGGRAPH 2016 last July in Anaheim, has been a longtime volunteer and active member of ACM SIGGRAPH over the last 15 years.
“We are thrilled to have Mikki on board to lead the SIGGRAPH 2019 conference,” says Rebecca Strzelec, SIGGRAPH Conference advisory group chair. “She has consistently demonstrated superb leadership in her various roles with us over the years, starting as a student volunteer in 2002.”
Rose hails from North White Plains, NY, and has carved out a niche working in computer graphics (CG), working on films such as The Peanuts Movie and Hotel Transylvania, and dubbing herself a “CG hairstylist” due to her specialization in fur at Blue Sky Studios – everything from hair to cloth to feathers and even vegetation. She studied general CG production at university and holds BS degrees in computer science and digital animation from Middle Tennessee State University, as well as an MFA in digital production arts from Clemson University. Prior to Blue Sky, she lived in California and held positions with Rhythm & Hues Studios and Sony Pictures Imageworks.
SIGGRAPH 2019 will take place in Los Angeles from July 28th through August 1st. The upcoming SIGGRAPH 2017 conference will take place in Los Angeles too. Rose will follow SIGGRAPH 2018 Conference Chair Roy C. Anthony, Research & Innovation at Christie.
“I have grown to rely on each SIGGRAPH as an opportunity for renewal of inspiration in both my professional and personal creative work,” says Rose. “In taking on the role of chair, my goal is to provide an environment for those exact activities (to others). Our industries are changing and developing at an astounding rate. It is my task to incorporate new techniques while continuing to enrich our long-standing traditions.”