Computer Science Professor Hans-Peter Seidel Awarded the Gold Medal from Eurographics

Professor Hans-Peter Seidel, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken and spokesman for the Cluster of Excellence „Multimodal Computing and Interaction,“ has been bestowed with the Eurographics Medal in Gold by the European Association for Computergraphics (Eurographics, EG). He received this award „for his outstanding scientific contributions to computer graphics and geometric modelling, for his academic achievements as a scholar and mentor, and for his leadership in developing the Eurographics Association.“ Marie-Paule Cani, President of Eurographics and Professor at École normale supérieure, presented the award to Seidel during the EG annual meeting in Lyon, France.

The laudator, professor Markus Gross, ETH Zürich, praised Seidel as “one of the most prolific, influential, and most widely cited researchers in computer graphics in the world”, whose “technical contributions comprise a wide range of topics in visual computing including geometric modelling, rendering, imaging, vision, scene reconstruction, video processing and perception.” He said further that, through his work, Hans-Peter Seidel “has contributed significantly to the establishment and advancement of computer graphics as an academic discipline. Hans-Peter is one of the all-time leading authors of SIGGRAPH publications, and he is the leading author of Eurographics.”

In addition to his scientific achievements, Seidel’s was also praised for his support of young scientists. “Through his mentorship, Hans-Peter Seidel has also developed a whole generation of students and postdocs into leading senior scholars, and thus, he has shaped the academic landscape in computer graphics in Europe and throughout the world.” Moreover, he has, over the decades, “displayed strongest commitment to the Eurographics Association, and he has served in leading positions as its president, long-term member of the executive committee and board, as well as its conference chair.” At the requests of the EG, Seidel also served as a founding chair of the awards program.

Seidel’s colleagues on the Computer Science Campus Saar were excited to hear the news. “Hans-Peter Seidel has brought about decisive advancements in the area of computer graphics and is undoubtedly a leading player worldwide – the award is fantastic and, by all means, absolutely deserved”, says Philipp Slusallek, Professor for Computer Graphics at Saarland University and Director at the German Center for Artificial Intelligence. Kurt Mehlhorn, Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute, adds: “Seidel has a superb sense for scientific talents. He is delighted with all of his young scholars and the connections to his alumni often continue for a very long time.”

Prof. Dr. Manfred Schmitt, President of Saarland University, sees the award in the context of the Cluster of Excellence Multimodal Computing and Interaction, headed by Seidel: “An important element of our Cluster is the Junior Group Leader model that supports high-potential young scientists, providing them with the chance to push their topics on their own. Hans-Peter Seidel is one of the guarantors for the success of this model; I’m exceptionally pleased about this outstanding accolade.”