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Eurographics Honorary Fellowship | |
José Luis Encarnação |
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He made it happen!
José Luis Encarnaçé was born in Cascais, Portugal, on May 30, 1941. He came to Germany in 1959 with a fellowship of the Gulbenkian foundation and studied electrical engineering at TU Berlin where he received his diploma in 1968. He subsequently became a PhD student under Wolfgang Giloi at the Heinrich-Hertz-Institute and completed his doctorate with a dissertation titled „Untersuchungen zum Problem der rechnergesteuerten räumlichen Darstellungen auf ebenen Bildschirmen” in 1970 with „summa cum laude”. He stayed on at Heinrich-Hertz-Institute until 1972 when he accepted a faculty position at Saarland University at the age of 31. In 1975 he became a full professor (C4) and head of the Graphical Interactive Systems Group (GRIS) at the Technical University of Darmstadt. He became one of the major driving forces behind the development of the Graphical Kernel System GKS and its approval as a DIN and ISO standard. Encarnação's success with GKS is based on a number of talents: His vision to identify a research area with potential to grow, strong technical depth in the area of graphics standardization (an area in which he had been involved since joining the Heinrich-Hertz-Institute), networking, forceful-ness and persistence, and a lot of self-discipline. The ongoing work on graphics standards triggered a significant number of international contacts and collaborations. Most of the early participants still have deep memories of this early period of computer graphics (including the famous Chateau Seillac meetings in 1976), and several working relationships have meanwhile turned into long lasting friendships. In 1980 Encarnação became one of the founders of Eurographics, the European Association for Computer Graphics, and he was its first chairman from 1980 to 1984. He organized Eurographics 1981 in Darmstadt, and introduced the Best Paper Award there. From 1985 to 1991 he was chairman of its Professional Board. Under Encarnação's tenure, Eurographics got started, bootstrapped, and was given its first operational structure that essentially works until this day. He made it happen. He became a fellow of Eurographics in 1987. Encarnação's success with GKS also sent his whole group on a path of growth. Milestones include the establishment of the Computer Graphics Center (ZGDV) in 1984, the establishment of the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics, first as a working group (FhG-AGD) in 1987 and subsequently as a full-blown institute (FhG-IGD) in 1992, and finally the INI-GraphicsNet in 1999. Of particular importance has been the Fraunhofer label. This has given him access to new funding sources (such as BMBF) and established him as one of the big players in the funding game in Germany and beyond. During 1995-2004 he was an elected senior technical reviewer and advisor to the German Research Foundation (DFG). Since 2001 José Encarnação has been chairman of the Fraunhofer Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Group, a member of the influential „Feldafinger Kreis”, and a member of the Information Society Technologies (IST) Advisory Group of the EU which he chaired during the period 2002-2004 for FP6. José Encarnação's outstanding contributions and achievements have been recognized widely. He received the Karl-Heinz-Beckurts-Award in 1989 and the Konrad-Zuse-Medal by the German Computer Society (GI) in 1997. In 1995 he was the recipient of the ACM SIGGRAPH Steven A. Coons Award for Outstanding Creative Contributions to Computer Graphics and in 1996 he became an ACM Fellow. In 2001 he was elected full member of the „Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften”. In the same year he received the „Technologiepreis der Eduard-Rhein-Stiftung” and also the Fraunhofer Medal which is the highest award of the Fraunhofer Society. In 2004 he received the Honorary Golden Needle of the German Association of Electrical Engineers (VDE). He was awarded with the German Federal Service Cross in 1983 and with the German Federal Service Cross First Class in 1996. The country of Portugal honoured him with the „Ordem Militar de Sant'lago des Espada” in 2001. At the age of 65 José Encarnação will soon be retiring as Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics, but as Chairman of the INI-GraphicsNet-Stiftung he will remain a key figure in the field. Innovation and technological changes are the main drivers of economic growth and the key to competitiveness. Successful innovation depends on the ability to expand existing knowledge through first class research and to efficiently exploit this newly created knowledge by turning it into innovative services and products. The INI-GraphicsNet-Stiftung will promote research and innovation in computer graphics and related domains for many years to come and has just inaugurated its new building. It is certainly rare for someone to celebrate the inauguration of yet another new building on the occasion of his 65th birthday - but this is José Encarnação, and he just made it happen again! For his contributions to computer graphics, to innovation, and to the founding, shaping and continuing development of the Eurographics Association, the Executive Committee bestow upon Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Dr. E.h. José Luis Encarnação, in this his 65th year, an Honorary Fellowship of the Association. |
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