SIGGRAPH Selects Carnegie Mellon's Don Marinelli as a Keynote Speaker

(Chicago, IL) - ACM SIGGRAPH announces the selection of Don Marinelli, a leading Carnegie Mellon scholar and educator, to give one of its keynote presentations at SIGGRAPH, the 37th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, Sunday 25 July - Thursday, 29 July 2010 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California.

Marinelli is the executive producer of Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, a joint initiative between the College of Fine Arts and the School of Computer Science, where technologists and non-technologists work together on projects that produce installations intended to entertain, inform, inspire, or otherwise affect an audience, guest, player, or participant.

"With each passing year, the boundary between artists, scientists, and graphic experts becomes more blurred," stated Terrence Masson, SIGGRAPH 2010 Conference Chair from Northeastern University. "To truly have the highest quality final product, whether that is a film or an interactive installation, collaborators from different fields must understand each other. Marinelli is an expert at bridging these different disciplines for the best end result. In essence, this is an underlying theme throughout SIGGRAPH's history and his insights will be enlightening to all working professionals and students."

For the past 29 years Marinelli has served different roles at Carnegie Mellon including co-creator of the Master of Arts Management Program, co-creator of the Master of Fine Arts in Acting degree program with the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia, and co-founding the Master of Entertainment Technology Degree Program with Randy Pausch. Marinelli is also a tenured professor and holds degrees from the University of Tampa, Duquesne University, and a Ph.D from the University of Pittsburgh.

Marinelli's upcoming book, The Comet and the Tornado, is being released this spring and recounts the six years he and Pausch shared an office creating the center that has become recognized internationally as Carnegie Mellon's "Dream Fulfillment Factory."

Please note: Conference dates for SIGGRAPH 2010 have been changed from their original Monday through Friday pattern, to Sunday, 25 July 2010 through Thursday, 29 July 2010. SIGGRAPH Exhibition dates have remained Tuesday, 27 July 2010 - Thursday, 29 July 2010.

About SIGGRAPH
SIGGRAPH 2010 will bring approximately 25,000 computer graphics and interactive technology professionals from six continents to Los Angeles, California, USA for the industry's most respected technical and creative programs focusing on research, science, art, animation, music, gaming, interactivity, education, and the web from Sunday, 25 July through Thursday, 29 July 2010 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. SIGGRAPH 2010 includes a three-day exhibition of products and services from the computer graphics and interactive marketplace from 27-29 July 2010. More than 200 international exhibiting companies are expected. More details are available at www.siggraph.org/s2010.

About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.