Oscar winner to direct Digital Production Arts at Clemson

CLEMSON, SC – August 10, 2010 – Jerry Tessendorf, winner of the Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 2008, has been named director of the Digital Production Arts program at Clemson University, a graduate program for professionals in the film, video and gaming industries.

Jerry will take the lead in implementing our five-year plan to achieve recognition as the lead institution in the training of technical directors and technical artists for the film and electronic games industries, said Esin Gulari, dean of Clemson’s College of Engineering and Science. We’re excited to have his knowledge, experience and enthusiasm at the forefront of this important program.

Tessendorf will be a professor of visual computing in Clemson’s School of Computing. In addition to directing the Digital Production Arts program, he will teach and perform research in animation and rendering for visual effects production.

The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences bestowed Tessendorf and three colleagues an Oscar for technical achievement in 2008 in recognition of their development of custom fluid dynamics tools. The tools allow artists to create realistic animation of liquids and gases. The system also included a unique scripting language for working with volumetric data.

Tessendorf’s film credits include Titanic, Waterworld, the X-Men series, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Night at the Museum series and Superman Returns. Most recently he was principal graphics scientist at Rhythm & Hues Studios.

The Master of Fine Arts in Digital Production Arts (DPA) at Clemson is a professional degree program aimed at producing technically savvy, artistically talented graduates for the growing electronic arts industry, particularly by those companies engaged in visual effects in the entertainment, commercial video, film and electronic games industries.

Recent advances in visual effects in film, television and games has created an unprecedented demand for educational programs leading to careers in the field, said Larry Hodges, director of the School of Computing. The DPA program seeks to fill this need by offering a unique blend of instruction from art, computer science, engineering, graphic communication, performing arts, philosophy and psychology, together with courses targeted at production techniques specific to the animation effects industry.

The visual effects production process has evolved into a massively complex and sophisticated technical environment, and DPA graduates have contributed greatly to its success at most of the largest VFX (visual effects) companies, Tessendorf said. The DPA program will be evolving as well over the next several years to better prepare graduates to excel in this world.

Tessendorf earned his doctorate in theoretical physics from Brown University. His research interests include techniques in dynamic simulation, ocean optics and volume rendering. He will begin his new duties at the start of Clemson’s fall semester.