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Mini-Grants Recap: Special Interest Group on GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH) Conference

Attending SIGGRAPH was definitely a highlight of my summer. As a computer science and digital arts major, it was quite an experience to be able to attend the largest conference in computer graphics. My mind was blown with the possibilities in emerging technologies from talking baby simulators to 3D scans of teeth with a single camera pen.

Catherine Most '16 outside the LA Convention Center on the first day of SIGGRAPH.

Furthermore, the everyday conversation during the conference on how the most recent Disney and Pixar movies were created was delightful. Who knew there were so many different roles within every step of the process from ideation to lighting within a film? The experience of interacting with the other visitors and learning about their diverse backgrounds that brought them to SIGGRAPH was reassuring to hear as I am still figuring out my future.

Catherine Most '16 holds a 3D-printed candy at the SIGGRAPH.

Trying out all of the cutting edge augmented and virtual reality gear was worth getting a little sick from them. I was able to bring this experience back to campus by giving a presentation at an open Women in Computer Science (WiCS) meeting. Many other WiCS members have approached me about finding resources for exploring what they might be passionate about which I have enthusiastically helped them find (thanks so much to the Rockefeller Center for their help!)
Once Fall courses are under way and everyone is back on campus I will be hosting a perception and Q&A at one of our WiCS meetings. I will keep it casual, as we try to keep all WiCS meetings, and go into the process of how I learned about SIGGRAPH and Rocky Mini Grants. I will also be talking about the great connections I made with other students, employers and professionals in the field. I had mentioned getting a Rocky grant to go to SIGGRAPH in the spring, and since then I have been contacted by many younger women in the club about attending similar conferences.
-Written by Catherine Most '16

Students reflect on the opportunities provided to them by the Rockefeller Center's Mini-Grants program through this ongoing series. The Mini-Grants program funds registration fees for students attending conferences relevant to the Rockefeller Center's mission as well as the costs of bringing speakers to the Dartmouth campus.