Demetri Terzopoulos
is a Greek-Canadian-American
computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science.
Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...
and
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones.
An entreprene ...
.
He is currently a
Distinguished Professor and Chancellor's Professor of Computer Science in the
Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
, where he directs the UCLA Computer Graphics & Vision Laboratory.
Education
Terzopoulos was educated at
McGill University
McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
where he was awarded an Honours
Bachelor of Engineering
A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution.
In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...
degree with Distinction in 1978 and a
Master of Engineering
A Master of Engineering (abbreviated MEng, ME, M.E. or M.Eng.) is a Professional degree, professional master's degree in the field of engineering.
International variations
Australia
In Australia, the Master of Engineering degree is a research ...
degree, advised b
Steven W. Zucker in 1980, both in
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
.
[ He went on to study at the ]Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
, where he was awarded a PhD degree
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
in 1984 for computer vision
Computer vision tasks include methods for image sensor, acquiring, Image processing, processing, Image analysis, analyzing, and understanding digital images, and extraction of high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical ...
research on the computation of visible-surface representations, advised by Shimon Ullman and J. Michael Brady.[Demetri Terzopoulos CV]
UCLA His university education was fully funded by two NSERC Canada and two Quebec government postgraduate scholarship
A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...
s in addition to two McGill University J.W. McConnell undergraduate scholarships.[
]
Career and research
Following his PhD studies, Terzopoulos was a research scientist at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, a program leader at Schlumberger
Schlumberger (), doing business as SLB, is a global multinational oilfield services company. Founded in France in 1926, the company is now incorporated as Schlumberger NV in Willemstad, Curaçao, with principal executive offices in Houston ...
research centres in Palo Alto, California, and Austin, Texas, Professor of Computer Science and Professor of Electrical
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
and Computer
A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...
Engineering at the University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, and Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, where he held a Lucy and Henry Moses Endowed Professorship in Science. He then moved to UCLA, where he has been Chancellor's Professor of Computer Science since 2005 as well as Distinguished Professor, the University of California's highest distinction for faculty members, since 2012.[
Since 2016, Terzopoulos has been Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of VoxelCloud, Inc., a multinational healthcare AI company with offices in Los Angeles and Shanghai. He has held adjunct, visiting, consultancy, part-time, and internship positions at ]Schlumberger
Schlumberger (), doing business as SLB, is a global multinational oilfield services company. Founded in France in 1926, the company is now incorporated as Schlumberger NV in Willemstad, Curaçao, with principal executive offices in Houston ...
, IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
, Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until ...
, Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
, Bell-Northern Research, the National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council Canada (NRC; ) is the primary national agency of the Government of Canada dedicated to science and technology research and development. It is the largest federal research and development organization in Canada.
Th ...
, Ontario Tech University, Paris Dauphine University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) is a public university in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 98 ...
.[
Terzopoulos' research interests are primarily in ]computer graphics
Computer graphics deals with generating images and art with the aid of computers. Computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, digital art, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. ...
, computer vision
Computer vision tasks include methods for image sensor, acquiring, Image processing, processing, Image analysis, analyzing, and understanding digital images, and extraction of high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical ...
, medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to revea ...
, computer-aided design
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...
, and artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
/life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
. He has authored or co-authored more than 400 scientific publications, including several volumes, spanning these fields, 19 of which have been recognized with outstanding paper awards, and has delivered more than 500 invited talks worldwide about his research,
among them well over 100 distinguished lectures and keynote/plenary addresses.[
Terzopoulos has served on review and advisory committees at DARPA (United States), the National Science Foundation (United States), the National Institutes of Health (United States), the ]National Academies (United States)
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), also known as the National Academies, is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization that serves as the collective scientific national academy of the Uni ...
, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada), and the Max Planck Institute for Informatics (Germany).[
]
Awards and recognition
Terzopoulos was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...
in 2009.[, gf.org, 2009] He is or was an ACM Fellow, a Fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
(FRS) of London,[ a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC),][ a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), a Distinguished Fellow of th]
International Engineering and Technology Institute (IETI)
a Fellow of th
Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA)
and a member of th
European Academy of Sciences
the New York Academy of Sciences, Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is an international non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a faculty member and graduate students in 1886 and is one of the oldest ...
, and th
Hellenic Institute of Advanced Studies (HIAS)
[
In 2020, the ]IEEE Computer Society
IEEE Computer Society (commonly known as the Computer Society or CS) is a technical society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) dedicated to computing, namely the major areas of hardware, software, standards and people ...
awarded Terzopoulos its Computer Pioneer Award
The Computer Pioneer Award was established in 1981 by the Board of Governors of the IEEE Computer Society to recognize and honor the vision of those people whose efforts resulted in the creation and continued vitality of the computer industry. ...
"for a leading role in developing computer vision, computer graphics, and medical imaging through pioneering research that has helped unify these fields and has impacted related disciplines within and beyond computer science".
Terzopoulos was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2014.[ His certificate of election and candidature reads:
In 2013, at the International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV), Terzopoulos was awarded a Helmholtz Prize for his 1987 ICCV paper with Kass and Witkin entitled ''"Snakes: Active contour models"'',] which received a Marr Prize citation in 1987.
In 2007, at the International Conference on Computer Vision (ICCV), Terzopoulos was awarded the inaugural IEEE PAMI Computer Vision Distinguished Researcher Award for his "pioneering and sustained research on deformable models and their applications". ''Deformable Models'', a term he coined in his computer vision and graphics research work, is listed in th
IEEE Thesaurus
an
IEEE Taxonomy
(''Systems engineering and theory'' → ''Modeling'' → ''Deformable models'').
In 2006, at the 78th Academy Awards
The 78th Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time Zone, P ...
, Terzopoulos won an Academy Award for Technical Achievement
The Technical Achievement Award is one of three Scientific and Technical Awards given from time to time by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (The other two awards are the Scientific and Engineering Award and the Academy Award of M ...
from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
with John Platt for "their pioneering work in physically-based computer-generated techniques used to simulate realistic cloth in motion pictures"; furthermore, their 1987 ACM SIGGRAPH
ACM SIGGRAPH is the international Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques based in New York. It was founded in 1969 by Andy van Dam (its direct predecessor, ACM SICGRAPH was ...
Conference paper entitled ''"Elastically deformable models"'' was recognized by the Academy as "a milestone in computer graphics, introducing the concept of physically-based techniques to simulate moving, deforming objects".[Academy Awards for 2006]
at the Internet Movie Database
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
In 2006, Terzopoulos was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada by its Academy of Science, whose short citation reads:
In 2002, Terzopoulos was inducted as an inaugural Member o
The European Academy of Sciences
with the citation "Elected for outstanding and lasting contributions to computer science and pioneering developments in the field of computer vision"; he resigned from the academy in 2012.[
Terzopoulos was awarded a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Fellowship (1989–1995), a ]Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; , CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. NSERC directly funds university professors and students as ...
E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship (1996–1998), and a Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study a ...
Killam Research Fellowship (1998–2000). Th
Canadian Image Processing and Pattern Recognition Society (CIPPRS)
cited him for his "outstanding contributions to research and education in Image Understanding" with its Young Investigator Award (1998) as well as with its Lifetime Achievement Award for Research Excellence (2015). Th
Canadian Human-Computer Communications Society (CHCCS)
presented him with its Achievement Award (2023) for his "pioneering and sustained contributions to computer graphics over the course of nearly four decades". He is the recipient of six University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Science Dean's Excellence Awards.[
In 1973, Terzopoulos was awarded the Governor General's Academic Medal and Centennial Fund Scholarship by the High School of Montreal.][
Terzopoulos' former students and postdocs have won significant awards for their work, among them the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award in 1996 to ]Xiaoyuan Tu
Xiaoyuan Tu (born 1967) is a Chinese researcher and computer scientist specializing in machine learning, behavior modeling, physics modeling, biomechanical modeling, motion control interfaces, and intelligent virtual characters. She holds a Ph.D. ...
.
See also
* Active contour model
References
External links
Personal website of Demetri Terzopoulos
Curriculum vitae of Demetri Terzopoulos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terzopoulos, Demetri
Living people
Fellows of the Royal Society
Canadian fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
2007 fellows of the Association for Computing Machinery
Fellows of the IEEE
Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners
Computer graphics researchers
Computer graphics professionals
Computer vision researchers
American artificial intelligence researchers
McGill University Faculty of Engineering alumni
Greek computer scientists
Canadian computer scientists
American computer scientists
University of California faculty
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences faculty
Academic staff of the University of Toronto
MIT School of Engineering alumni
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
High School of Montreal alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
People from Bel Air, Los Angeles
People from Big Bear Lake, California