Michael Kass
{{short description|American computer scientist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Michael Kass
| image = Kass academy award photo.jpg
| caption = Michael Kass receiving his Academy Award in 2006
| nationality = American
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
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| notable_works =
| awards = {{Plainlist|
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| website =
| module = {{Infobox scientist
| embed=yes
| fields = {{Plainlist|
| known_for = Active contour model
| workplaces = {{Plainlist|
}}
}}
}}
Michael Kass is an American computer scientist best known for his work in computer graphics and computer vision. He has won an Academy Award{{Cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/2006/digital/awards/pixar-draws-academy-kudos-1117938558/ |title=Pixar draws academy kudos |magazine=Variety |date=February 20, 2006}} and the SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award{{Cite news|url=https://www.siggraph.org/participate/awards/2009-cg-award|title=2009 CG Achievement Award: Michael Kass|date=2015-01-28|work=ACM SIGGRAPH|access-date=2018-07-27}} and is an ACM Fellow.
Kass, David Baraff and Andrew Witkin shared an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement in 2005 for clothing animation, including his pioneering work on the clothing simulator{{Cite news|url=https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/scientific-and-technical-achievements-to-be-honored-with-academy-awards|title=Scientific and Technical Achievements to Be Honored with Academy Awards|work=TvTechnology|access-date=2018-07-31}} used by Pixar in the short Geri's Game,{{Cite news|url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/cgi/geris-game-turns-20-director-jan-pinkava-reflects-game-changing-pixar-short-154646.html|title='Geri's Game' Turns 20: Director Jan Pinkava Reflects On The Game-Changing Pixar Short|date=2017-11-25|work=Cartoon Brew|access-date=2018-08-11}}{{Cite web|url=http://graphics.pixar.com/library/Geri/paper.pdf|title=Subdivision Surfaces in Character Animation |last=|first=|date=|website=Pixar|access-date=}} Best Animated Short Film, Academy Awards 1997. He contributed a variety of technologies to Pixar animated films, from A Bug's Life through Monsters University.
In 2009, Kass was honored by ACM SIGGRAPH for "his extensive and significant contributions to computer graphics, ranging from image processing to animation to modeling, and in particular for his introduction of optimization techniques as a fundamental tool in graphics." The award citation notes: "Michael is a graphics renaissance man: he's worked on animation, modeling, textures, image processing and even on graphics systems. In each area, he's made groundbreaking contributions."{{Cite book|date=2009-08-03|title=Computer Graphics Achievement Award: Michael Kass|chapter-url=http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1667228.1667230|publisher=ACM|pages=2:1|doi=10.1145/1667228.1667230|series=Siggraph '09|chapter=Computer Graphics Achievement Award|last1=Unknown|isbn=9781450379373 |s2cid=23688843}}
Google Scholar counts over 30K citations to his work,{{Cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ma2bi00AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao|title=Michael Kass - Google Scholar Citations|website=scholar.google.com|access-date=2018-07-28}} including one of the top 20 most cited papers in computer science,{{Cite journal|title=Rapid, Stable Fluid Dynamics for Computer Graphics|last1=Kass |first1=Michael |last2=Miller |first2=Gavin |date=1990 |journal=Computer Graphics |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=49–57 |doi=10.1145/97880.97884 |citeseerx = 10.1.1.89.1204}} “[https://www.cs.ait.ac.th/~mdailey/cvreadings/Kass-Snakes.pdf Snakes: Active Contour Models]," authored with Andrew Witkin and Demetri Terzopoulos. The "Snakes" paper launched the Active contour model, a framework for delineating an object outline from a possibly noisy 2D image for applications like object tracking, shape recognition, segmentation, edge detection and stereo matching.
Kass developed the [http://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/spr01/cs598b/papers/greene93.pdf Hierarchical Z-Buffer] with collaborators Ned Greene and Gavin Miller, a rendering technique that enables great increases in practical scene complexity compared to traditional Z-buffering. The algorithm can be found in all modern graphics processing units (GPU).{{Cite news|url=https://blog.siggraph.org/2018/01/a-talk-with-2017-acm-fellow-michael-kass.html/|title=A Talk with Michael Kass, ACM Fellow and Industry Innovator|date=2018-01-04|work=ACM SIGGRAPH Blog|access-date=2018-07-27}}
Currently a distinguished engineer at NVIDIA, Kass is involved in a variety of projects related to augmented reality, virtual reality, and various types of content creation. Prior to NVIDIA, he was a senior principal engineer at Intel, a distinguished fellow at Magic Leap, a senior research scientist at Pixar, and a principal engineer at Apple Computers. His early days in advanced technologies began at Schlumberger Artificial Intelligence Research Laboratory after earning his Ph.D. from Stanford.
Kass has 28 issued U.S. patents{{Cite web|url=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=0&f=S&l=50&d=PTXT&RS=%28%28%28IN%2FKass+AND+IN%2FMichael%29+AND+IS%2FCA%29+AND+%28AS%2FCA+OR+AANM%2FKass%29%29&Refine=Refine+Search&Query=IN%2FKass+AND+IN%2FMichael+AND+IS%2FCA+AND+%28AS%2FCA+OR+AS%2FFL+OR+AANM%2FKass%29|title=Kass 28 issued U.S. Patents at USPTO.org|last=|first=|date=|website=|access-date=}} and was honored in 2018 by the New York Intellectual Property Law Association as [https://www.nyipla.org/nyipla/InventoroftheYearAward.asp Inventor of the Year].
Kass is also a champion juggler,{{Cite web|url=https://www.juggle.org/jugglers-where-are-they-now-part-1-2/|title=Jugglers - Where Are They Now: Part 1 · IJA|website=www.juggle.org|access-date=2018-07-27|date=2015-07-12}} Argentine tango dancer,{{Cite news|url=http://tangousachampionship.com/usa-tango-championship/|title=USA TANGO CHAMPIONS|date=2014-11-21|work=ARGENTINE TANGO U.S.A.|access-date=2018-07-27}} and an accomplished ice dancer.{{Cite web|url=http://graphics.pixar.com/aux/kass/icedancing.html|title=Graphics Research Group: Home Page|website=graphics.pixar.com|access-date=2018-07-28}}
Education
Kass received a B.A. summa cum laude in artificial intelligence (independent concentration) from Princeton University, an M.S. in computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.{{Cite web|url=http://graphics.pixar.com/people/kass/|title=Pixar - Michael Kass CV|last=Kass|first=Michael|date=|website=Pixar|access-date=}}
Career
Michael Kass has been a distinguished engineer at NVIDIA since 2017. Prior to NVIDIA, he was a senior principal engineer in the New Technology Group at Intel,{{Cite web|url=https://scien.stanford.edu/index.php/workshop-on-augmented-and-mixed-reality-featured-speakers/|title=Workshop on Augmented and Mixed Reality: Speakers, Moderators and Panelists|website=scien.stanford.edu|access-date=2018-08-14}} distinguished fellow at Magic Leap,{{Cite web|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/magic-leap-draws-from-the-bay-area-to-assemble-its-brain-trust|title=Magic Leap Draws From the Bay Area to Assemble Its Brain Trust|website=IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News|access-date=2018-08-06}} a senior research scientist at Pixar Animation Studios, and a principal engineer with the Advanced Technology Group at Apple Computers. He began working on computer graphics and computer vision at Schlumberger's Palo Alto Research Center following his Ph.D.
Honors, awards and achievements
= Computer science =
- Academy Award for Technical Achievement (2005), for "pioneering work in physically-based computer-generated techniques used to simulate realistic cloth in motion pictures," with David Baraff and Andrew Witkin{{Cite web|url=http://atogt.com/askoscar/nominations-by-year.php?yr=78&origin=overview|title=2005 Academy Award Nominations & Winners|website=atogt.com|access-date=2018-08-06}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/scientific-and-technical-achievements-to-be-honored-with-academy-awards|title=Scientific and Technical Achievements to Be Honored with Academy Awards|work=TvTechnology|access-date=2018-07-27}}{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2006/digital/awards/pixar-draws-academy-kudos-1117938558/|title=Pixar draws academy kudos|date=2006-02-21|work=Variety|access-date=2018-07-27}}
- SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award (2009), "for his extensive and significant contributions to computer graphics, ranging from image processing to animation to modeling, and in particular for his use of optimization for physical simulation and image segmentation"
- ACM Fellow (2017), "for contributions to computer vision and computer graphics, particularly optimization and simulation"{{Cite web|url=https://awards.acm.org/fellows|title=About ACM Fellows|website=awards.acm.org|access-date=2018-07-27}}{{Cite web|url=https://awards.acm.org/award_winners?year=2017&award=158|title=All Award Winners|website=awards.acm.org|access-date=2018-07-27}}
- New York Intellectual Property Law Association [https://www.nyipla.org/nyipla/InventoroftheYearAward.asp Inventor of the Year] (2018), "for contributions to the field of computer graphics"{{Cite web|url=https://www.nyipla.org/nyipla/InventoroftheYearAward.asp|title=Inventor of the Year - NYIPLA|website=NYIPLA|access-date=2018-07-28}}
- [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/stats/articles Most Cited Paper in Computer Science - Citeseer] (19th), for "[http://www.lpi.tel.uva.es/muitic/pim/docus/Snakes Snakes: Active contour models]," International Journal of Computer Vision (1988), with Demetri Terzopoulos and Andrew Witkin{{Cite web|url=http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/stats/articles|title=CiteSeerX — Statistics - Most Cited Articles in Computer Science|access-date=2018-08-06}}
- Helmholtz Award, International Conference on Computer Vision (2013), for "[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00133570 Snakes: Active Contour Models]," ICCV 1987, with Demetri Terzopoulos and Andrew Witkin{{Cite web|url=https://www.computer.org/web/tcpami/helmholtz-prize|title=Helmholtz Prize • IEEE Computer Society|website=www.computer.org|access-date=2018-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626030800/https://www.computer.org/web/tcpami/helmholtz-prize|archive-date=2018-06-26|url-status=dead}}
- Golden Nica, Prix Ars Electronica (1992), with Andrew Witkin, for the image "[http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.86.298&rep=rep1&type=pdf Reaction Diffusion Texture Buttons]," Linz, Austria
- [http://imagina.ina.fr/Imagina/2000/ap/ppi.en.html Grand Prix, Pixel INA, Imagina] (1991), for the animation Splash Dance, with G. Miller{{Cite news|url=https://www.aec.at/prix/en/jury/1993-prix-jury-computer-animation/|title=1993 Prix Jury: COMPUTER ANIMATION|work=Prix Ars Electronica|access-date=2018-07-27}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i02qCAAAQBAJ&q=%E2%80%9CSplash%20Dance%E2%80%9D,%20(Grand%20Prix%20at%20Imagina%20%E2%80%9991)&pg=PA33|title=Creating and Animating the Virtual World|last1=Thalmann|first1=Nadia Magnenat|last2=Thalmann|first2=Daniel|date=2012-12-06|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9784431681861}}
- Marr Prize Honorable Mention, 1st International Conference on Computer Vision, London (1987), for "Snakes: Active contour models," with Demetri Terzopoulos and Andrew Witkin{{Cite web|url=https://www.computer.org/web/tcpami/iccv-best-paper-award|title=ICCV Best Paper Award (Marr Prize) • IEEE Computer Society|website=www.computer.org|access-date=2018-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126151408/https://www.computer.org/web/tcpami/iccv-best-paper-award|archive-date=2018-11-26|url-status=dead}}
- Best Paper in Perception-Vision, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (1987), for "[https://www.aaai.org/Papers/AAAI/1987/AAAI87-135.pdf Energy constraints on deformable models: Recovering shape and non-rigid Motion]," with Demetri Terzopoulos and Andrew Witkin{{Cite web|url=https://aaai.org/Conferences/AAAI/aaai87.php|title=AAAI-87: Sixth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence|website=aaai.org|access-date=2018-07-27}}
- Honorable Mention, Prix Ars Electronica (1987), for the animation [https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~aw/gallery.html Knot Reel], with Andrew Witkin and K. Fleischer.{{Cite web|url=http://90.146.8.18/en/archives/prix_archive/prix_projekt.asp?iProjectID=10670|title=ARS Electronica ARCHIVE|website=90.146.8.18|access-date=2018-07-27}}
- Nomination, Best Paper prize, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (1986), for "[https://www.aaai.org/Papers/AAAI/1986/AAAI86-119.pdf Linear image features in stereopsis]"{{Cite web|url=https://dblp1.uni-trier.de/db/conf/aaai/aaai86-1|title=dblp: 5. AAAI 1986: Philadelphia, PA|website=dblp1.uni-trier.de|access-date=2018-07-27}}
- Grand Prix, Parigraph (1986), for the animation Knot Reel, with Andrew Witkin and K. Fleischer{{Cite web|url=https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~aw/gallery.html|title=Andy Witkin's Gallery|website=www.cs.cmu.edu|access-date=2018-07-27}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.computer.org/csdl/mags/cg/2011/01/mcg2011010102.html#bibmcg20110101024|title=Andy Witkin: From Computer Vision to Computer Graphics|website=www.computer.org|access-date=2018-07-27}}
= Other =
- 2nd place, U.S. Argentine Tango Stage Championships, 2012
- U.S. Adult National Silver Medalist in ice dance, 2003{{cite web |title=graphics.pixar.com/aux/kass/vitae.html |url=https://graphics.pixar.com/aux/kass/vitae.html |website=graphics.pixar.com |access-date=8 September 2021}}
- U.S. Juggling Champion, 1980
Notable publications
- M. Kass, A. Witkin and D. Terzopoulos, [http://www.lpi.tel.uva.es/muitic/pim/docus/Snakes "Snakes: Active contour models,"] International Journal of Computer Vision, 1(4): 321–331, January 1988
- A. Witkin and M. Kass, [https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~cga/dynopt/witkin/spacetime.pdf "Spacetime constraints,"] Siggraph 1988: 159-168{{Cite web|url=http://www.cgw.com/Publications/CGW/2013/Volume-36-Issue-5-July-August-2013-/Back-to-School.aspx|title=Back to School {{!}} Computer Graphics World|access-date=2018-08-13}}
- D. Terzopoulos, A. Witkin and M. Kass, [https://www.pervasive.jku.at/download/1988_Constraints%20on%20Deformable%20Models.pdf "Constraints on deformable models: Recovering 3d shape and nonrigid motion,"] Artificial Intelligence, 35, 1988.
- M. Kass and A. Witkin, [https://ijcai.org/Proceedings/85-2/Papers/054.pdf "Analyzing oriented patterns,"] Computer Vision, Graphics, and Image Processing, 37(3): 362–385, 1987
- [http://graphics.pixar.com/people/derose/ T. DeRose], M. Kass and [http://graphics.pixar.com/library/indexAuthorTruong.html T. Truong], [http://graphics.pixar.com/library/Geri/paper.pdf "Subdivision surfaces in character animation,'] Siggraph 1998: 85–94.
- N. Greene, M. Kass and G. Miller, [https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/academic/class/15869-f11/www/readings/greene93_hierarchicalz.pdf "Hierarchical Z-buffer visibility,"] Siggraph 1993: 231-238
- M. Halstead, M. Kass and T. DeRose, [http://graphics.pixar.com/library/FairSubdivision/paper.pdf "Efficient, fair interpolation using Catmull-Clark surfaces,"] Siggraph 1993: 35-44
- M. Kass and G. Miller, [http://www.heathershrewsbury.com/dreu2010/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/RapidStableFluidDynamicsForComputerGraphics.pdf "Rapid, stable fluid dynamics for computer graphics,"] Siggraph 1990: 49–57.
- D. Terzopoulos, A. Witkin and M. Kass, [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.138.3568&rep=rep1&type=pdf "Symmetry-seeking models and 3D object reconstruction,"] International Journal of Computer Vision, 1(3): 211–221, 1987.
- A. Witkin and M. Kass, [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.86.298&rep=rep1&type=pdf "Reaction-diffusion textures,"] Siggraph 1991: 299-308
- A. Witkin, D. Terzopoulos and M. Kass, [http://www.aaai.org/Papers/AAAI/1986/AAAI86-120.pdf "Signal matching through scale space,"] International Journal of Computer Vision, 1(2): 133–144, 1987.
- [https://www.disneyresearch.com/people/david-baraff/ D. Baraff], A. Witkin and M. Kass, [https://graphics.pixar.com/library/UntanglingCloth/paper.pdf "Untangling cloth,"] ACM Trans. Graph. 22(3): 862-870 (2003).
Pixar film credits
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://graphics.pixar.com/people/kass/ Pixar People - Michael Kass]
- [https://www.disneyresearch.com/people/michael-kass/ Disney Research - Michael Kass]
- {{IMDb name}}
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:American computer scientists
Category:Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners
Category:Stanford University School of Engineering alumni
Category:MIT School of Engineering alumni
Category:Princeton University alumni
Category:2017 fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery