Alain Fournier (1943-2000) was a computer graphics researcher. 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Computer graphics (CG) is the field of visual computing, where one utilizes computers both to generate visual images synthetically and to integrate or alter visual and spatial information sampled from the real world. ...

Biography

Alain Fournier was born on November 5, 1943 in Bourg-en-Bresse, France. November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Bourg-en-Bresse is a city in eastern France, préfecture (capital) of the Ain département, and was capital of the former province of Bresse. ...

He wed Beverly Fournier on August 17, 1968. In the mid 1980s, he married Adrienne Drobnies. August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

Fournier's early training was in chemistry earning a B.Sc. from INSA, France in 1965. After emigrating from France to Montreal, Canada in the 1970s, he co-wrote a textbook on chemistry, and taught the subject in Quebec. His career in computer graphics spanned only about 20 years. In 1980 he received a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Texas at Dallas under the supervision of Zvi Meir Kedem, and with Donald Fussell and Loren Carpenter reported the results of his Ph.D. work on stochastic modeling in a seminal paper in 1980. He then went on to an outstanding academic career, first at the University of Toronto and subsequently at the University of British Columbia. He has contributed to ACM Transactions on Graphics as an author, as co-guest editor of a special issue in 1987, and, from 1990 to 1992, as an associate editor. Chemistry (derived from alchemy) is the science of matter at or near the atomic scale. ... The Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (National Institute of Applied Sciences) is a grande école - a respected, competitive engineering university in France. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... City motto: Concordia Salus (Latin: Well-being through harmony) Province Quebec Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area  - % water 366. ... Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Official languages French Capital Quebec City Largest city Montréal Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 75 24 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked 2nd 1,542,056 km² 1,183,128 km² 176... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The University of Texas at Dallas is a branch of the UT system, which, despite its name, is located in the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas. ... Loren Carpenter (born 1947) is a computer graphics researcher and developer. ... The University of Toronto (U of T), in Toronto, Ontario, is the largest university in Canada. ... The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university with its main campus located at Point Grey, in the University Endowment Lands adjacent to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and another smaller campus known as UBC Okanagan located in Kelowna, British Columbia. ... ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG) is a quarterly scientific journal that aims to disseminate the latest findings of note in the field of computer graphics. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

Fournier made contributions to computer graphics dealing with modeling of natural phenomena. He advocated a methodology that required validation against real visual phenomena. He once called his approach impressionistic graphics and it both revolutionized the field and drove it forward. An example is his beautiful paper (with Bill Reeves) on the depiction of ocean waves. His subsequent work dealt with illumination models, light transport, rendering, and sampling and filtering. Breaking waves at Childrens Pool, in La Jolla, CA A wave just before breaking at Manhattan Beach, CA Waves breaking on rocks Plunging wave or dumper forming a tube Ocean surface waves are surface waves which occur at the surface of an ocean. ... Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model, by means of a software program. ...

Fournier died of lymphoma in the early hours of August 14, 2000 in Vancouver. He is survived by his wife Adrienne, and daughter Ariel. Lymphoma is a variety of cancer that originates in the lymphatic system. ... August 14 is the 226th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (227th in leap years), with 139 days remaining. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Vancouver (pronounced ) is a Canadian city in the province of British Columbia. ...

Eugene Fiume dedicated the Siggraph 2001 Proceedings to Alain. SIGGRAPH 2005 official logo SIGGRAPH (short for Special Interest Group in Graphics) is the name of the annual conference on computer graphics convened by the ACM SIGGRAPH organization. ...

Publications

Fournier published 32 scholarly papers about computer graphics.

Bibliography for Alain Fournier

Photo

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/nest/imager/imager-web/Dedications/Alain/AlainExpress.gif