Dear Eurographics members,
After serving as Vice Chair for four years, I have taken the post of President of Eurographics from January 1st 2017. I am deeply honored to be trusted with this very important role. I will do my best to serve the community during my two-year tenure, in the spirit of previous chairs and members of the governing bodies of the organisation.
My first thoughts are for Anders Ynnerman, who successfully chaired Eurographics for the past two years. Among his invaluable contributions, he created the EG gold medal, enabling us to celebrate individuals who have made exceptional contributions to Eurographics in terms of research, education or organization. The first medal was given to José L. Encarnação at the Eurographics 2016 conference in Lisbon. To open the association more widely to the ideas and influence of junior researchers, which is essential in a quickly evolving world, he also worked towards the creation of the EG Young Research Fellows, a new community which will be launched very soon. Lastly, he actively contributed to bringing the Computer Graphics and Visualization communities closer together, which will be made more visible soon through regular co-located events for Eurographics and EuroVis.
On behalf of the whole association, I would like to warmly thank Anders for his outstanding work as President of Eurographics, and also personally thank him for his support and help in getting ready for the task.
Changes to the Executive Committee and Officers of the Association
The candidates you elected last summer started their three year terms of office on January 1st 2017. They are Sabine Coquillart, Diego Gutierrez, Wolfgang Heidrich, Hans-Peter Seidel, Marc Stamminger, Tim Weyrich, and Anders Ynnerman, who is also serving within the executing board as Past President. Oliver Deussen is continuing as vice chairman of the association. Paolo Cignoni has now been appointed second vice chairman and EG conference Steering Committee chair. The secretary is Hamish Carr. The treasurer and assistant treasurer will be from now Jean-Jacques Bourdin and David Duce, pending your approval at the general assembly. I’d like to thanks all these colleagues for their very strong commitment to the Eurographics association, and more generally for their service to the community.
A Professional Association in a Changing World
With the rapidly changing academic environments and traditions, professional associations like Eurographics face many challenges, at the same time that new opportunities are emerging. The role of associations is thus changing. In some ways they are even more important than before, while in other ways new actors and information channels are appearing. I see it as a priority for the EG association to continue its existing successful activities, but also to identify and further develop the unique services that it can provide our community with, and to continue to make EG membership a natural and invaluable component in every computer graphics and visualization researcher’s portfolio of affiliations.
In this process, a most valuable resource is the input and contributions from members of the association. I hope to meet many of you at the upcoming Eurographics conference in Lyon, to discuss the future of Eurographics. In particular, I’d like to invite all of you to attend the general assembly – Thursday, April 27, 17:00, in “Auditorium Lumière”. The yearly general assembly is the most vibrant part of the life of an association. It is where new members learn about the role of Eurographics for the development of research and education in our field, and get details about the way the organization works. It is also where our recent actions are presented, and where all members get a chance to take an active part in the decisions. I am looking forwards to seeing you there!
Sincerely,
Marie-Paule Cani
President of Eurographics 2017-2018
