Esther Dyson to Keynote SIGGRAPH 2002 Conference

Esther Dyson, chairman of EDventure Holdings, presents the SIGGRAPH2001 keynote address, at the 29th International Conference on ComputerGraphics & Interactive Techniques, 21-26 July 2002 at the Henry B.Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Nearly 25,000 computer graphics and interactive technologyprofessionals from six continents will gather to showcase their bestwork to a multi-disciplinary international community. A comprehensivetechnical program, three-day exhibition, and special activitiesfocusing on research, art, animation, games, interactivity, and the Webare planned.

"Esther Dyson has long been regarded as one of the most powerfulthinkers in the computing industry," said Tom Appolloni, SIGGRAPH 2002Conference Chair from Harris Corporation. "The SIGGRAPH community islooking forward to hearing from Dyson, who is a strategic thinkerimmersed in emerging technologies and their impact on the world."

As an active investor and commentator, Dyson focuses on emergingtechnologies and business models - peer-to-peer, artificialintelligence, the Internet, wireless applications - emerging markets inEastern Europe, and emerging companies. In 1994, she had alreadyexplored the impact of the Net on intellectual property. In 1997, shewrote a book on the impact of the Net on individuals' lives, Release2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age. She remains an activeplayer in discussions and policy-making concerning the Internet andsociety.

Dyson is also chairman of EDventure Holdings (www.edventure.com),which publishes the influential monthly technology-industry newsletter,"Release 1.0," and sponsors two of the industry's premier annualconferences. Dyson also writes a fortnightly column for the New YorkTimes syndicate titled "Release 3.0" which also appears in EDventure'sonline newsletter, "The conversation continues."

In addition, she donates time and money as a trustee to emergingorganizations including Bridges.org, the Santa Fe Institute, theNational Endowment for Democracy, and the Eurasia Foundation. Sherecently finished a two-year-term as founding chairman of ICANN, theInternet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the internationalagency charged with setting policy for the Internet's coreinfrastructure (technical standards and the Domain Name System)independent of government control. Now she sits on its "reform"committee, dedicated to defining a role for individuals in ICANN'sdecision-making and governance structures.

Immediately preceding the keynote, ACM SIGGRAPH will present threeawards: The Computer Graphics Achievement Award, the Significant NewResearcher Award, and the ACM SIGGRAPH Outstanding Service Award.SIGGRAPH 2002 is sponsored by ACM SIGGRAPH, the leading professionalsociety for computer graphics and interactive techniques. Informationon ACM SIGGRAPH membership and other conferences and activities can befound at www.siggraph.org.