Computer Graphics History

1972 

• Howard Moraff, an acting director at the National Science Foundation who had directed Cornell’s Langmuir Radiation Biology Lab, encouraged Greenberg to apply for NSF funding for computer graphics.
• Rod Rougelot ’55 allowed Greenberg and his students to utilize General Electric’s Visual Simulation Lab in Syracuse, NY. They developed an innovative, computer-generated image of the Johnson Art Museum, placing it in the middle of the Arts quad. Students: William H. Cunningham ‘72, Thomas Fridstein ‘73, Marc Levoy ’76, M.S. Arch. ’78, Nicholas Lindabury ‘72, David McNeil ‘72, David Montanari ‘72, John Nicolls, Alfreda Radzicki ‘72, David Ross ‘72, Stephen Snyder ‘72, Diego Suaraz-Bettancourt ‘GR, and Nicholas Weingarten ‘73, along with and TA Robert Hastings ‘67 and Professor David Simons.
• As described in a paper Greenberg produced for NASA in 1976: “A fifteen-minute movie was made four years ago (1972) by twelve dedicated architecture students and me working at the General Electric Visual Simulation Laboratory in Syracuse. Since General Electric was on an eight-to-five shift, we worked from five-to-eight, three nights a week, for a semester. The movie was filmed from a standard television raster-display using a hidden-line algorithm requiring substantial preprocessing on object space. The maximum number of colors was limited to sixty-four, appearing on any single image, and thus neither edge smoothing nor smooth shading algorithms are included. The story depicts the chronological development of the Arts and Science quadrangle of Cornell from 1865 to 1975.”
• “Cornell in Perspective,” the first architectural fly-through of computer-generated renderings, revolutionized computer animation. View “Cornell in Perspective” 

1973

• Greenberg submitted two proposals for NSF funding: 
  • Steve Squyres '78, Ph.D. '81, the James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences and principal investigator of the Mars Rover project, and then a Cornell postdoctoral fellow, and Greenberg discussed using computer graphics to map the surface of Mars for future landings. A proposal by Cornell astronomer Carl Sagan, Squyres and Greenberg, “Uses of Computer Graphics in Modeling Planetary Phenomena and the Creation of Static and Time-Dependent Stellar Maps,” using data from Mariner 9, was rejected.
  • A second, successful proposal to NSF provided $500,000 for the purchase of the program’s first computing equipment, helping to make possible the establishment of Cornell’s Program of Computer Graphics.

1974

• The program’s first computing facility was established on the ground floor of Rand Hall in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, serving architecture students as well as students in structural engineering.
• Scientific American’s May issue features a computer-generated cover image of renowned architect I.M. Pei’s Johnson Art Museum before it was built.

1977 

• A landmark article, “A color animation system: based on the multiplane technique,” was published by Marc Levoy ’76, MS ’78 in ACM’s SIGGRAPH proceedings. 
• “An interactive computer graphics approach to surface representation,” by Sheng-Chuan Wu, Ph.D. CivEnvEng, ’81, Greenberg, and engineering professor John Abel were featured in the same issue along with a piece by Greenberg, “An interdisciplinary laboratory for graphics research and applications,” to describe the program’s state-of-the-art facility and operation.

1978

• Greenberg and Alexander Sunguroff published a SIGGRAPH landmark paper on radiation treatment planning using tomographic data: “Computer generated images for medical applications.” Two computer graphics systems for the presentation of biomedical information for diagnosis and treatment planning were described, with both using computer tomographic (CT) data as input. Software developed from the project was later donated to MIT and Mass General for the benefit of cancer patients.
• The program’s first master's theses were presented by three candidates – Peter Atherton, M.S. Arch. ’79, Robert W. Thornton, M.S. Arch. ’79, and Nicholas H. Weingarten, ’74, M.S. Arch. ’77 – in fulfillment of degree requirements. The inaugural class of three graduate students was followed by an additional two hundred-some students in the years to come.

1980-83 

• Marc Levoy ’76, M.Arch. ‘78, together with Greenberg, persuaded Hanna-Barbera Productions to use their system for television animation after it was rejected by Disney. The system reduced labor costs and helped to save the company. It was used until 1996. 

1981

• Greenberg originated Cornell’s Computer-Aided Instructional Facility (CADIF), housed in Hollister Hall within the College of Engineering, serving as its first director under then-Dean Thomas E. Everhart, with key involvement from professors John Abel and Tony Ingraffea, as well as manager John Dill, Ph.D. CADIF’s teaching resources crossed college and school disciplinary boundaries, drawing students from across AAP, Engineering and Arts and Sciences. Don credits Tom Everhart as a key, visionary advocate.

1981

• Rob Cook M.Arch. ’82, and Professor Ken Torrance introduced a realistic lighting model based on geometric optics. The model simulated a wide variety of rough surfaces, allowing metallic and plastic surfaces to be correctly rendered.

1982

• Kim Shelley, M.S. Arch. ’82, became the first woman to receive a degree from Cornell’s computer graphics lab.

1984

• Cindy Goral, M.S. Arch. ’85, published a landmark paper, and the first on the novel technique of radiosity: “Modeling the interaction of light between diffuse surfaces.” The paper’s coauthors included professors Kenneth Torrance, Donald Greenberg, and Bennett Battaile. "The Cornell Box" made history as the first radiosity image, with computations measured in tens of minutes. 

1985

• Michael F. Cohen, M.S. Arch. ’85, advanced the simulation of light in images, further developing the concept of radiosity. He used the technique to create a new landmark image of the “Cornell Box”. SIGGRAPH published “The hemi-cube: a radiosity solution for complex environments” by Cohen and Greenberg. Also, image note: In 1985, Michael Cohen's radiosity image of "The Magritte Studio" was computed using the hemi-cube algorithm. It took four hours on a VAX 11/780.

1987 

• Rob Cook, M.S. Arch. ’82, won the ACM SIGGRAPH Achievement Award for his contributions to algorithms for realistic rendering of images and visual effects, using a reflectance model to simulate a range of materials. Cook established a groundbreaking materials-modeling paper for his master’s thesis, “A reflection model for realistic image synthesis”, changing the software model for reflective light. This system was used to render a number of animated film,s including Pixar’s “Red’s Dream” (1987).

1987

• SIGGRAPH published additional significant publications on radiosity:
• “The zonal method for calculating light intensities in the presence of a participating medium” by Holly E. Rushmeier, M.S. Arch. ’86, Ph.D. ’88 and Kenneth E. Torrance
• John Wallace, M.S. Arch. ’88 and Michael Cohen, M.S. Arch. ’85, combined the diffuse lighting effects of radiosity with the specular contributions of a view-dependent algorithm to produce the first "two-pass" rendering method. Such hybrid renderers are now available in commercial software. The techniques were incorporated in a simulation of light and reflections in Vermeer-inspired Dutch interiors.

1988

• Michael F. Cohen, M.S. Arch. ’85, Shenchang Eric Chen, M.S. Arch. ’89, John R. Wallace, M.S. Arch. ’88, and Donald P. Greenberg published “A progressive refinement approach to fast radiosity image generation” in SIGGRAPH.

1988

• The US Department of Education awarded the program a grant for Project SOCRATES, created to share techniques and tools with other universities and co-directed by Greenberg and Ingraffea.

1989

• A National Geographic story, “Images for the Computer Age,” featured a simulated image of a steel mill by Stuart Feldman, M.S. Arch. ’89, John Wallace, M.S. Arch. ’88, Michael Cohen, M.S. Arch. ’85, and Greenberg, and described Cornell as “a world leader in graphics research.”

1990

• SIGGRAPH published, “Incremental radiosity: an extension of progressive radiosity to an interactive image synthesis system” by Shenchang Eric Chen, M.S. Arch. ’85.

1991

• Scientific American published “Computers and Architecture” by Greenberg as its February cover story, featuring a rendering of Le Corbusier’s chapel at Ronchamp in France by Paul Boudreau, Keith Howie, and Eric Haines, M.S. Arch. ’86.
• Cornell became one of five universities participating in a new National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Computer Graphics and Scientific Visualization. The research center was established by Don Greenberg with four academic colleagues, with Greenberg directing the center until 1995. The other universities included Brown, Caltech, University of Utah and University of North Carolina.
• His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited the Program of Computer Graphics during a trip to Ithaca and Cornell to view a 3-D mandala animation. The Venerable Pema Losang Chogyen worked with staff members and students for more than a year to create a model of the Vajrabhairava mandala. Staff and students included Ben Trumbore, Donald P. Greenberg, Paul Wanuga, Jim Ferwerda, M.S. Arch. ’87, Ph.D. ’98 and Tim O'Connor.

• The Program of Computer Graphics moved from Rand Hall across campus to the new Engineering and Theory Center Building, later renamed Rhodes Hall. View PCG The Move 

1993

• Julie Dorsey ’87, M.S. Arch. ’90, Ph.D. ’93, currently a Frederick W. Beinecke Professor of Computer Science at Yale University, produced her master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation on computer graphics techniques for opera lighting design and simulation, making site visits to the Staatsoper, La Scala, and the Metropolitan Opera. She is noted for her groundbreaking contributions to the field of computer graphics, including algorithms for lighting and acoustical design, methods for modeling and simulating material appearance, and interactive conceptual design tools. 

1998

• Moreno Piccolotto,  M.S. Arch. ’98, M. Arch. ’02 introduced novel techniques for digital sketching in his master’s thesis, “Sketchpad+ architectural modeling through perspective sketching on a pen-based display.” The techniques developed by Piccolotto with Greenberg and Michael Malone, M.S. Arch. ‘98, allowed for sketch rotation and navigation in three dimensions and allowed two or more designers to collaborate via the internet. 

From 2000-2023, the Lab’s students produced or contributed to the publication of several master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, and proceedings at SIGGRAPH and Eurographics. Topics have included global and direct illumination, complex luminaries, and interactive rendering. Examples include:

• “A perceptually-based decision theoretic framework for interactive rendering,” by Fabio Pellacini, PhD ’02
• “Two algorithms for progressive computation of accurate global illumination,” by Parag Prabhakar Tole, PhD ’03
• “Interactive direct illumination in complex environments,” by Sebastian Pablo Fernandez, PhD ’04
• “Complex luminaires: Illumination and appearance rendering,” by Edgar Velazquez Armendariz, MS, PhD ‘14

In addition, computer graphics at Cornell has continued to advance new knowledge through the ongoing leadership of Dean Kavita Bala, originally a postdoctoral fellow in the Lab, and Professor Steve Marschner, Ph.D. ’98, a colleague and former student of Don Greenberg. Both are faculty, among others, within the Cornell Graphics and Vision Group and have garnered top awards that include: 

Kavita Bala: 

• 2021: IIT Bombay Distinguished Alumnus Award
• 2020: ACM SIGGRAPH Academy
• 2020: ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award 
• 2019: ACM Fellow
• 2007: NSF Career Award

Steve Marschner:

• 2021: ACM Fellow
• 2018  ACM SIGGRAPH Academy
• 2015: SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award
• 2006: Sloan Research Fellowship
• 2004: NSF CAREER Award
• 2004: Technical “Oscar” Achievement Award, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

2001

• Rob Cook, M.S. Arch. ’82, received the first technical Oscar awarded for software.

2007 

• Jeffrey Wang ‘04, M.Arch ’0,6 animated the ivory-billed woodpecker, producing a master’s thesis on the project, to help Cornell ornithologists attempt to positively identify a bird captured in flight on video in Alabama. A skeletal animation of the bird appeared in a documentary film. The animated graphics were also reported in Science magazine and in a 2010 Computer Graphics World feature.

2008 

• Pixar released its first animated film, “Wall-E,” incorporating novel techniques in physically based shading developed by Brian Smits, Ph.D. ’94. The late Smits was also credited in the film “Inside Out.”

2008 

• Vikash Ravi Goel ’02, M.S. Arch. ’05, Roy K. Greenberg, and Donald P. Greenberg published “Automated Vascular Geometric Analysis of Aortic Aneurysms” in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications. Their novel techniques for imaging resulted in software and 3D printing to allow cardiologists to personalize the creation of aortic devices for their patients. 

2009 

• SIGGRAPH awarded Rob Cook, M.S. Arch. ’82, the Steven A. Coons Award, ADM’s top award for lifetime contributions to computer graphics, for his numerous pioneering technical contributions to rendering, as well as for his extraordinary record of service to ACM SIGGRAPH. Cook was the co-creator of RenderMan, commercially available computer graphics software that remains a motion picture industry mainstay. 

2010

• Collaboration among architecture, engineering and computer graphics specialists awarded federal stimulus funds over three years to create a 3-D simulation tool to speed green building design.

2015

• Cornell Dean Kavita Bala, a former CPG postdoctoral fellow,  discusses the university's pioneering research: "Virtual Realism and Computer Graphics."  View video

2017

• Autodesk and Cornell University joined together to pay tribute to Don Greenberg at San Francisco’s Autodesk Gallery. Some 200 former students, colleagues and industry leaders gathered for the event. View 3-D photomosaic created by Eric Haines
• Program research associate Christopher Morse, M. Arch. ’17 and Ethan Arnowitz advanced 3-D modeling in virtual reality and implemented spline-based mesh geometry for both creating and editing 3-D models in VR, presenting their work at ACADIA 2017, a conference of digital design researchers and professionals: “vSpline: Physical Design and the Perception of Scale in Virtual Reality.”

2019

• Michael F. Cohen, M.S. Arch. ’85, was awarded the Steven A. Coons Award for his groundbreaking areas of research that include radiosity, motion simulation & editing, light field rendering, matting and compositing, and computational photography, as well as for his extensive service to the computer graphics community.

The continuing rapid acceleration in computing power is driving innovation. The lab is currently working with Nvidia on creating architectural digital twins that are navigable in real time. Additional research topics include: 3d interactive sketching and design, energy related to shade/shadows, foveated rendering, and data visualization. 

2022

• Greenberg, still teaching at 88, launched a new course on ​​“Design in the Age of Digital Twins.” It expands the realm of 3D digital design by enabling architects and engineers to visually demonstrate, in real time, the effects of such factors as energy use, sunlight and extreme weather events early in the design process, when strategic decisions are made.