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updated: Feb 22, 2013, 8:41 PM

UC Santa Barbara professor wins Academy Award.

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 377732P	2013-02-22 09:48 PM
Not sure if I should congrats him or not.
YIN YANG	2013-02-22 11:08 PM
I will! Congratulations. Wasn't there an article about this technology months ago here on Edhat? Many do not support or appreciate basic research or what may seem to be "flashy" research. The applications for research that we may think is simply "flashy" often go far deeper and further than we're aware of, and real-world applications of research are regularly noted in scientific journals of all types. When they really bloom, you'll hear of it on the front page or Google news page. We non-research, non-scientist people don't usually see results until there's a product or process that we're made aware of because it's in use. We never knew how it came to be. In other words, the uses and benefits of basic research and technological development are real. And science, like mathematics, is a building block endeavor, scientific baby step after baby step. One never knows precisely where it will lead or what application can be found for the discoveries, though the researchers have a good view of a conclusion, even if it's only for the benefit of other researchers, which is no small thing -- it's another building block, another baby step. There's always a background and a future for scientific research. Oh well. Just want to say that this science is not simply for movie making. Congratulations to all involved!
COMMENT 377746P	2013-02-22 11:24 PM
I congratulate him. He made an important contribution to movie making. Movie making has been about the wonders of modern technology since its inception: photographic film! stereoscopes! motion pictures! special effects! animation! sound! color! cinerama! 3-D! cgi! Movie making is a giant industry in our area and employs thousands of people, including many software engineers and computer graphic designers. I love the technical Oscars because they're awarded in an untelevised ceremony to people who work behind the scenes to make the rest possible.
YIN YANG	2013-02-22 11:33 PM
http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=106783 Google "application of wave turbulence research" and, if interested, "kim ucsb wave turbulence". Not that I understand it, but I imagine wave theory has some real-world applications. Wave damping will be useful as large cities seek to weather-proof themselves from storm surges. The research is also applicable to air turbulence, meteorology, and even cardiology. I love this stuff, love to read about science if I can glean only a drop of information. It's only a drop because I'm not a scientist.
YIN YANG	2013-02-22 11:38 PM
I agree with 746. Not sure it was Kim's goal! This is a cool quote: "We were very surprised," Kim said of the invention's quick ascension as a go-to graphics tool. "Usually you present a paper to 100 or 200 peers, maybe release the source code into the public domain, there is interest for a little bit, then it dissipates. In this case, there was quite a bit of interest from beginning. And because the source code was distributed for free, it turns out a lot of people were downloading and integrating it into their own software. Now it's used in places all over the world."
HOLAZOLA	2013-02-23 07:46 AM
Yes, Congratulations Ted! Amazing and interesting work. My father received a Technical Oscar years ago (I think they were "Scientific and Engineering Awards" then), and I can guarantee he was not out looking to win something. He too was working on technology that the film industry adopted to its needs, but had applications in many areas. But that said, It is so great to have this kind of recognition from the Academy. What a great thing to look back on for the rest of your life. And I will also agree with 746 - the technical awards ceremony could not be more different from the televised one - and that's a good thing!
COMMENT 377795	2013-02-23 08:40 AM
More explosions on film! Think of the money we can save on writers.
COMMENT 377801	2013-02-23 09:06 AM
Explosions are substitutes for real story. But this software applies to dozens of other special effects. Stuff that can be done in the computer makes movie making safer.
COMMENT 377814P	2013-02-23 09:59 AM
I know, there are way too many movies with explosions just filling up space, but as with any creative form including books, there's always a lot of dross turned out along with the good stuff. Just off the top of my head some old movies with impressive disaster moments created by people working without computers: 1926 Ben Hur battle at sea, San Francisco with Clark Gable that shows the 1906 earthquake, ditto Clark Gable in the burning of Atlanta, Patton, Battleground and so many war movies, White Heat's Top of the world, Ma!--greatest explosion scene ever!
COMMENT 377831	2013-02-23 10:50 AM
@YIN YANG Yes it has real-world applications, and this was one of them. This was certainly Kim's goal, as the video makes clear ... to apply wave theory to moviemaking.
COMMENT 377844	2013-02-23 11:24 AM
LOL, -795.
BLUEB	2013-02-23 12:03 PM
Congratulations to Ted and his team!

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