Cinematic Scientific Visualization

  • November 18, 2020
  • 6:00 PM - 7:00 CST
  • online
  • Ronald Greenberg, rig@cs.luc.edu
  • free
  • all
     Open to the public.
  • https://www.meetup.com/acm-chicago/events/274082869
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  • Details

    For our November meeting, direct from SIGGRAPH 2020, we have a talk that combines big data, computer graphics, animation and visualization with a terrific speaker. Don't miss out on attending this exciting meeting!

    Remember to click on the Online event Zoom URL in the sidebar!

    Abstract:
    Scientific visualization for public education serves a vital role in our modern society which communicates with image-based memes and incentivizes out-of-context sensationalism through clickbait journalism. The data visualization community has the unique capacity to engage public audiences by cutting through the noise with meaningful scientifically validated imagery. The Advanced Visualization Lab at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications has years of experience in creating high-quality cinematic scientific visualizations for public outreach. They work with scientists, film producers, and education experts to create virtual tours through data collected from astronomers, geologists, biologists, and other scientific domains for high-resolution immersive screens. Films that contextualize cutting-edge computational research with a narrative and use innovative visual effects help audiences build a foundational understanding about complex science concepts. This presentation will explore the process of creating cinematic scientific visualizations with scientific and visual effects tools for public audiences.

    Agenda:

    6:00 - 6:05 PM Introduction
    6:05 - 6:45 PM Talk
    6:45 - 6:55 PM Q&A
    6:55 - 7:00 PM Closing and Adjournment

    Join us and learn how cinematic scientific visualization can help you illuminate vital facts to audiences everywhere!

    About the speaker:
    Kalina Borkiewicz is a senior research programmer for the Advanced Visualization Lab at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She spends much of her time writing computer graphics software and tools that are used to convert extremely large scientific datasets into high-fidelity, production-quality, IMAX-screen-ready visuals. She is the primary developer of Ytini, an open-source middleware between the scientific analysis Python package, yt, and the visual effects package, Houdini. She has contributed to documentaries including ¿Imagine the Moon¿ (Adler Planetarium), ¿A Beautiful Planet¿ (IMAX/Hulu), and ¿Seeing the Beginning of Time¿ (Amazon Prime).

    Additional Reading:
    SIGGRAPH Asia 2020 interview with Kalina Borkiewicz
    https://blog.siggraph.org/2019/07/why-cinematic-scientific-visualization-is-more-important-than-ever.html/

    https://bluewaters.ncsa.illinois.edu/liferay-content/document-library/BW%20Webinars/Slides/Scientific%20Visualization%20in%20Houdini.pdf

    IMPORTANT: You must also click the online link to attend the meeting over Zoom! See the link in the right sidebar in a browser or the Attend Online button on a phone.