==course no. 18 === 

Global Illumination

course level: advanced / full
day offered: Tuesday

Chair(s): Paul Heckbert - Delft University of Technology
- 
==Lecturer(s)===
Paul Heckbert
Delft University of Technology, Netherlands

Francois Sillion
Ecole Normale Superieure, France

Peter Shirley
Indiana University

Greg Ward
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

Holly Rushmeier
National Institute for Standards and Technology 

==Course Description===  
This course investigates the phenomena of global illumination (the 
scattering of light in three-dimensional scenes) and current algorithms for 
its simulation, including both radiosity and ray tracing approaches.  
Mathematical tools such as integral equations, finite element methods, and 
Monte Carlo techniques will be described.  Current techniques will be 
described for extending radiosity methods to non-diffuse and foggy 
environments and for extending ray tracing methods to diffuse
environments.

==Who Should Attend=== 
Researchers and programmers working in any area of science or
engineering (not just graphics!) who are interested in understanding global 
illumination at an advanced level.

==Recommended Background (Prerequisites)=== 
Knowledge of calculus and an interest in advanced numerical techniques is 
essential.  Some familiarity with radiosity and ray tracing algorithms is 
recommended.

==Course Objectives=== 
This course explores global illumination from a mathematical perspective, 
employing symbolic techniques to describe the phenomena of reflection, 
transmission, and scattering, and the use of numerical techniques to create 
fast, accurate simulations.  Techniques that have been theoretically derived 
and verified will be favored over ad hoc techniques.  Unsolved problems 
and promising areas of research will be discussed.

==Chair Biography=== 
Paul Heckbert has been doing research and development in computer 
graphics and image processing since 1977.  At MIT's Architecture 
Machine Group (now the Media Lab), he investigated algorithms for color 
image quantization.  At the New York Institute of Technology Computer 
Graphics Lab, and later at Pixar, he developed rendering software 
and participated in animation projects for television and film.  Paul has
consulted at Pacific Data Images, Xerox PARC, Lawrence Berkeley Lab, 
Apple Computer, and Bell Labs on topics including graphics software 
engineering, image filtering, and ray tracing.  He has presented his work in 
numerous SIGGRAPH papers and tutorials.  Paul received a bachelor's 
degree in Mathematics from MIT and master's and PhD degrees in
Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley in the 
topics of texture mapping and global illumination, respectively.  He is 
currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Delft University of Technology, 
the Netherlands.