SMPTE 2024 Awards Gala Program by SMPTE-Marketing

HOLLYWOOD, CA

We Thank Our Sponsors

Welcoming Remarks & Introductions

Presentations of Medals, Awards, and Recognitions

JOURNAL AWARD

IEVGEN KOSTIUKEVYCH, MOHAMED NABIL IBRAHIM, PAVLO KONDRATENKO, THOMAS KERNEN AND THORSTEN LOHMAR

JOURNAL CERTIFICATE OF MERIT

ERIK REINHARD, CLAIRE-HÉLÈNE DEMARTY, LAURENT BLONDE AND TIM BORER

CITATION FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE SOCIETY

MICHAEL FRANK DAY, CHRIS LAPP AND WES SIMPSON

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION MEDAL CHAITANYA CHINCHLIKAR

LOUIS F. WOLF, JR. MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP GABRIEL CASSELMAN

STUDENT PAPER AWARD

IRENE MUÑOZ LÓPEZ

PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION

BILL BAGGELAAR, COREY P. CARBONARA, ANNIE CHANGFERGUSON, MARINA KALKANIS, LANNY SMOOT, RESHMA SAUJANI AND JENSEN HUANG

FELLOWS

NAVEED ASLAM, PETER BRIGHTWELL, ALEXANDER FORSYTHE, MICHEL PROULX, BRIAN QUANDT, PIERRE-HUGHES ROUTHIER, ALEXANDRE ROUXEL , PAOLA SUNNA , STUART C. YOUNG AND GENE J. ZIMMERMAN JR.

EXCELLENCE IN STANDARDS AWARD

PAUL TRELEAVEN

DAVID SARNOFF MEDAL

JOHN MAILHOT

CAMERA ORIGINATION AND IMAGING MEDAL

TAKASHI NAKAMURA (POSTHUMOUS)

JAMES A. LINDNER ARCHIVAL TECHNOLOGY MEDAL

KAREN CARIANI

HONORARY MEMBERSHIP

IOAN ALLEN, VICTORIA ALONSO AND FRANZ KRAUS

DIGITAL PROCESSING MEDAL

DR. JENS-RAINER OHM

WORKFLOW SYSTEMS MEDAL UNREAL ENGINE

Journal Award

"Supporting Live Production Using Precision Time Protocol Over 5G Systems with Dedicated Time Synchronization Support," published in the January/February 2023 issue of the Motion Imaging Journal, Vol 132, No. 1.

Ievgen Kostiukevych

Ievgen Kostiukevych is the team leader for media over IP, media in the cloud, and timing & synchronization technologies at the European Broadcasting Union and the media over IP trainer at the EBU Academy. He gathered more than a decade of experience with media over IP integrations and solutions architecting before joining the EBU Technology & Innovation team as an expert with an emphasis on infrastructure design and interoperability challenges. Ievgen is the SMPTE fellow, AMWA board member, JT-NM Tested Program coordinator, and member of AES.

Mohamed Nabil Ibrahim

Mohamed Nabil Ibrahim is a skilled research professional with a robust background in 5G technology, having worked at Ericsson as a Senior Researcher from October 2014 to December 2022. His work primarily focused on advancing 5G applications across different sectors, including automotive, industrial, and media production. In his role, Mohamed Nabil made significant contributions to the 5G-RECORDS project, a collaborative initiative funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 program. He led efforts in preparing and deploying the media production use case within Ericsson’s private 5G network. This project explored the capabilities of 5G technology in supporting live media production, addressing technical challenges like wireless camera synchronization and low-latency video transmission. Mohamed Nabil’s work was pivotal in demonstrating how 5G can enhance media production workflows, bringing new possibilities for wireless and remote operations. His expertise in this area has been instrumental in pushing forward the boundaries of 5G technology, particularly in its application within the media industry.

Pavlo Kondratenko

Thomas Kernen

Pavlo Kondratenko is a project manager (media production over IP networks) at EBU Technology and Innovation Team, Geneva, Switzerland. His background is in network engineering. He is a document editor of PICS for the SMPTE ST 2110 standards suite.

Thomas Kernen is a Principal Architect at NVIDIA focused on Media and Entertainment, Networking and Time Transfer. Building upon 25+ years of experience in networking, a decade on time transfer and being a Fellow at the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), he enjoys mixing things up and architecting cross-boundary solutions. He’s authored numerous publications in journals and conference papers and holds multiple patents that cover networking, timing and video coding optimisations.

Thorsten Lohmar

Thorsten Lohmar graduated from the Technical University of Aachen (1997), where he also received his PhD (2011) in Electrical Engineering. Thorsten joined Ericsson in Germany in 1998 and worked for many years in different business and Ericsson Research units, often in relation to standards. He worked on a variety of topics related to mobile communication systems and led research projects specifically in the multimedia technologies area. His focus is on video delivery (downlink and uplink) and delivery optimizations, including broadcast distribution of media.

Journal Certificate of Merit

"Pixel Value Adjustment to Reduce the Energy Requirements of Display Devices," published in the August 2023 issue of the Motion Imaging Journal, Vol 132, No. 7.

Erik Reinhard

Erik Reinhard has worked at InterDigital since June 2019. His current interests are around reducing the energy cost of media systems. He was founder and editor-in-chief of ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, and authored several books on topics including high dynamic range imaging and color imaging. His academic presence involves co-authoring more than 100 scientific papers, membership of more than 50 program committees, cochairing of 6 conferences and workshops, and delivering 6 keynotes. In standardization he is co-chair of the ITU-R rapporteur group on energy aware broadcasting and the DVB working group on energy efficiency. He is recognized as contributor to the Emmy-award winning standard on high dynamic range imaging, ITU-R BT.2100.

Claire-Hélène Demarty

Claire-Helene Demarty graduated from Telecom ParisTech in 1994 and received a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Mathematical Morphology, from Mines ParisTech in 2000. She joined InterDigital Research & Innovation Center in 2019 as a senior scientist, where she is part of the Energy-Aware Media project. Prior to InterDigital, she worked at Technicolor (2004 – 2018), LTUTechnologies (2002 - 2004) and at INRIA Rennes –IRISA (2003 – 2004), as a researcher in image analysis and computer vision technologies. Her research focuses on image analysis, multimedia indexing technologies, perceptual understanding of content, applied machine learning, and more recently, energy-aware processing. She is author or co-author of more than 30 papers (see Google Scholar profile) and holds several patents.

Laurent Blonde

Laurent Blonde is a seasoned principal scientist at InterDigital Cesson-Sévigné, France. He graduated from Institut d’Optique Graduate School Palaiseau, France, in 1985 and received a PhD degree in signal and image processing from Rennes University, Rennes, France. His career has focused in part on various applications of image analysis, synthesis, depth, and color vision, mainly for TV and cinema applications. He has also focused on optics, light propagation understanding, light-matter interaction at wavelength scale, and metasurfaces. In his toolbox, he has image processing, mathematics, teamwork experience, and, mostly, creative thinking. He likes working in an international environment and enjoys interacting with diverse people from various cultures and fields of expertise. He is the author and coauthor of papers and patents.

Journal Certificate of Merit

"Why Holographic 3D Light Field Displays are Impossible, and How to Build One Anyway," published in the November/December 2023 issue of the Motion Imaging Journal, Vol 132, No. 10.

Tim Borer

Dr. Tim Borer has worked for many years in broadcasting R&D at the BBC and elsewhere. His work includes video processing, standards conversion, networked production, video compression, high dynamic range video and, of course, light fields. He’s a Chartered Engineer (UK), Senior Member of the IEEE andSMPTEFellow.

Citation for Outstanding Service to the Society

This award recognizes individuals for dedicated service to the Society over a sustained period of time.

Michael Frank Day

In recognition of his long-standing dedication to the betterment of the Australia, New Zealand, and Southern Pacific Islands Section, as well as to the Society as a whole. Day has been a key figure in the Section, collaborating with two long-term chairs and a wide range of board members. He is driven by a strong desire to support local members and ensure the Region’s longevity and growth. Day has helped the Section address the challenges in membership relevance, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the two-time reinvention of the MET Expo.

In recognition of his contributions in his role as Membership Director, including his diligence in creating the SMPTE Discord channel, which enables communication and collaboration among more than 250 students and young professionals worldwide. He continues to serve as the channel admin and provides technical expertise when needed. Lapp is also passionate about growing membership and enhancing member benefits and has been a champion for providing the Sections with the necessary technology to allow their programs to be shared with the local members and worldwide.

Chris Lapp

Wes Simpson

In recognition of his many years of service to the SMPTE New York Section. He selflessly gives his time and efforts to better the organization. Simpson helped transition the New York Section to virtual meetings during the COVID19 pandemic. He conducted Zoom-based meetings regularly and mentored others transitioning to virtual meetings. Thanks to his efforts, the Section has continued to deliver value to its members and guests. He continues to serve the larger organization through his training efforts, ongoing guidance and sharing of experience.

Louis F. Wolf, Jr. Memorial Scholarship

The Louis F. Wolf Jr. Memorial Scholarship is designed to help students further their undergraduate or graduate studies in motion pictures and television, with an emphasis on technology.

Gabriel Casselman

In high school, Gabriel led an award-winning news program and produced several nationally recognized videos. At the same time, he was part of an engineering academy where he developed a strong foundation in design and innovation. This dual focus has driven his desire to merge these areas of expertise, fostering a unique approach to his studies and professional pursuits. Gabriel is currently a sophomore studying Motion Picture Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology. During the summer he has gained experience working both as a videographer for a classical music academy and as a manufacturing engineer building CT scanner machines. He is focused on furthering his knowledge and skills in the field, constantly seeking to learn new technologies and techniques. Gabriel is committed to exploring all the possibilities in imaging and videography, aiming to continually grow and adapt in this dynamic field.

Presidential Proclamation

This award recognizes individuals of established and outstanding status and reputation in the motion picture and television industries worldwide.

Bill Baggelaar

In recognition of his decades of leadership and innovation in post-production, animation, film, and television. He has invented, adopted, and integrated next-generation workflow tools and techniques. His work with SMPTE and MovieLabs has ensured that the artists’ and engineers’ voices are considered in the design and standards processes. Baggelaar’s influence ranges from production to mastering and all points in between. As a leader in adopting computer science methodology within media and entertainment pipelines, he has driven the change and the next generation of production technology solutions.

Corey P. Carbonara

Dr. Carbonara’s impact on SMPTE and the industry looms large. After decades of work, instruction, and innovation, he continues to challenge the industry to do more with technology. He is a passionate thought leader in the area of production technology, as well as an excellent advocate and mentor for many people at various stages of their careers.

Annie Chang-Ferguson

Marina Kalkanis

Lanny Smoot

In recognition of her pioneering career and inspiring, provocative, and innovative thought leadership in the media and entertainment industry. Her work as an executive within the studio system, specifically as a model for modern production technologists, has inspired industry-wide advancements and the adoption of more efficient animation and live-action solutions. She is an exemplary leader in the production industry who continues to inspire those who have the opportunity to work with and learn from her, as well as those with whom she partners through her many volunteer activities, including SMPTE.

In recognition of her accomplishments in establishing sustainable media in the cloud architecture and live media in the cloud procedures and distribution solutions. Kalkanis remains a leader in practical cloud solutions and edge cloud use cases. As co-founder of M2A Media, Kalkanis works tirelessly to expand the use of cloud products in broadcasting. Her outstanding collaboration with her team at the BBC led to the creation of iPlayer, a groundbreaking solution that has inspired numerous imitations worldwide.

In recognition of more than four decades of excellence in engineering and over 100 patents ranging from electrical engineering to bringing fantasy and sci-fi science into reality. As the patent holder for glassless 3D displays and a functional lightsaber, his work has brought joy and inspiration to generations of moviegoers and theme park attendees. His work and dedication to inspiring young people to pursue STEM careers knows no bounds.

Reshma Saujani

Jensen Huang

In recognition of her tireless efforts to close the gender gap in technology, Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code and author of Brave, Not Perfect, has impacted millions with her organization's initiatives and her TED Talk, “Teach Girls Bravery, Not Perfection.” Saujani holds degrees from the University of Illinois, Harvard, and Yale and is regarded as one of the world’s most influential women for change. Her efforts have resulted in the evolution of the technology industry at all levels, including leadership.

In recognition of over three decades of innovation and advancement in computer science, gaming, and motion graphic creation. Huang has led the industry in illustrating the importance of the GPU in the media and entertainment production pipeline, including video editing and 3D rendering. His work as an engineer and executive has also led to the development of foundational components of accelerated computing, deep learning, and artificial intelligence. As CEO of NVIDIA, Huang has created a culture of exploration and innovation that continues to push the very limits of what’s possible.

Fellow Membership

The Fellow Grade of membership is awarded to individuals who have, by proficiency and contributions, attained an outstanding rank among engineers or executives in the motion-picture, television or related industries.

Naveed Aslam

Naveed Aslam serves as Vice President of Technology & Engineering for CBS, leading teams that design, build, and maintain the broadcast infrastructure for the network on both coasts. A technologist in the industry for over 30 years, Naveed started out as a field engineer for CNN in London, providing engineering support for the news gathering offices around the world, and covering breaking news events. He relocated to the US to help build Cartoon Network at the Turner campus in Atlanta, and subsequently oversaw countless projects including the build of a new Network Operations facility in 2002. Aslam joined Fox Networks in 2016 as SVP of Strategic Development & Engineering, overseeing the refresh and upgrade of the Regional Sports Network facility in The Woodlands, Texas,

ultimately working on the transition of the facility to Disney after the Fox acquisition. Coming to CBS in 2019, Naveed helped develop the cloud playout architecture for Paramount, ahead of spending much of 2021 and 2022 building the Cloud Control Center in Long Island, Paramount’s largest 2110 IP facility to date. Naveed was born in London and graduated from Ravensbourne University. He lives in New York with his wife, Sabur, and sons Aarun and Haris.

Peter Brightwell has had a long career at BBC, with extensive project work in research, development and technology departments covering video compression, file-based production, networked delivery and virtual graphics. In the mid-2010s, he played an key role in demonstrating and promoting an interoperable approach for live IP production facilities. This included leading a showcase at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and co-authoring the Joint Task Force on Network Media's Reference Architecture and EBU's Pyramid for Media Nodes. Peter has led many AMWA activities developing the Networked Media Open Specifications, and chairs the Networked Media Incubator for new activities. His recent work has concentrated on

Peter Brightwell

demonstrating how broadcast facilities can benefit from cloud-based technologies and techniques, including leading the EBU's Dynamic Media Facility Initiative and IBC Connect & Produce Anywhere Accelerator Incubator.

Alexander Forsythe

Alex Forsythe is the Senior Director of Science and Technology at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where he leads the staff of the Academy’s Science and Technology Council. With over 17 years at the Academy, Alex has held various leadership roles, including Director of Imaging Technology and Imaging Engineering Manager. He serves as the project director and technical lead for the development and implementation of the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES). Before joining the Academy, Alex worked as an Imaging Scientist at Intel Corporation and a Research Engineer at Eastman Kodak Company, focusing on imaging technology, color science, and new business

initiatives. He holds a Master's degree in Printing Technology from Rochester Institute of Technology and is currently pursuing a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Color Science and Cinema Technology at Simon Fraser University. Alex has been part of teams that received several awards, including the SMPTE Workflow Systems Medal and a Primetime Emmy Engineering Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He regularly contributes to the development of industry standards in cinema and imaging technology as a member of SMPTE and the US technical advisory group to ISO TC-3 6.

Michel Proulx is a Media Industry technologist and executive with over 40 years of experience working with leading manufacturers and broadcasters in the television broadcasting and production industry. Since retiring as CTO of Miranda Technologies at the end of 2012, Michel has split his time between perfecting the art of being a Western Canadian ski bum and consulting for broadcasters and broadcast industry vendors. Michel’s focus over the past 15 years has been helping the industry transition first to IP and now to software-based technology. Michel has spent his entire career designing and implementing new technology for the television

Michel Proulx

industry, but his passion has always been communications and helping others understand and navigate major technology transitions. For most of his career, Michel has been a member and contributor to SMPTE educational events.

Brian Quandt

Brian Quandt received a software engineering degree from University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee as well as an honorary advanced degree from Missouri S&T. Quandt has been an important participant in many industry and international standards for SMPTE and was a significant contributor to the Emmy-winning ISO/IEC’s MPEG standards. Brian is an accomplished entrepreneur and leader having developed dailies, conversion, stereoscopic and encoding technologies used on numerous feature films including Casino Royale, Underworld, 2012 and many others. Quandt has also expressed a passion for art, and has collaborated with numerous world renowned

video artists on a variety of projects at the Guggenheim NYC, Music Center Los Angeles and the iconic Millennium Project at the Crown Plaza in Chicago. Brian has also recently put his interest in human and environmental causes via Act Local Festivals–a movement designed to connect local cinemas with film festivals, technology experts and creators around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to make a better world.

Former aerospace engineer Pierre (Pete) Routhier is a specialist in advanced imaging technologies that provides training to studios, manufacturers, and broadcasters worldwide. He has developed innovative solutions and workflows for studios and postproduction facilities in all fields of advanced imaging: ultra-high resolution, high frame rate, VR/AR, HDR, and others. Routhier is credited with more than a dozen patents related to advanced imaging and has been published in several industry papers. He is the author of the “Digital Troublemaker Guide” series of books, which delve into HDR, Immersive technologies and BroadcastingEngineering.

Pierre-Hughes

Routhier

Alexandre Rouxel

Alexandre Rouxel is a Senior Project Manager at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in the Technology and Innovation (T&I) department, where he coordinates collaborative work on AI and metadata with EBU Members, i.e. European public broadcasters. Within the T&I department, Alexandre leads the development of AI algorithms focused on media content analysis, tagging, and enrichment. He also manages the EBU AI HUB, an innovative platform designed to support the development and evaluation of tailored AI solutions for the media industry. Alexandre is actively involved in international projects and standards. He contributes to the SMPTE task force focusing on AI and metadata for media and serves as the task leader for the specification of the metadata model for the European Media Data Space (TEMS). Prior to joining the EBU, Alexandre accumulated 25 years of experience with Nasdaq-listed companies as an algorithm and systems engineer in the field of communication systems. Alexandre has authored and co-authored several scientific papers and is the inventor or co-inventor of 12 issued patents. He holds a master’s degree in Signal Processing from the University of Rennes 1 and a specialized master’s degree in Data Science from Telecom ParisTech.

Paola Sunna

Paola joined the Centre for Research & Technology Innovation of RAI in 1997 after getting her degree in Electronic Engineering at Politecnico of Torino. She worked on a wide variety of projects, including: image processing, video coding, next generation video formats, multimodal user-interfaces, hybrid broadcast and broadband middleware, second screens apps, standards (DVB, MPEG, etc), HD/UHD, HDR workflows and 3D CG (Computer Graphics). Sunna has led teams specializing in adopting emerging technologies to improve the existing workflows and to validate new services for the end-users. In 2011, she won the Italian Prize for Innovation in Information Communication & Media Technology (ICMT) in the media-driven category. She co-founded a startup to deploy RightTVforKids, an advanced system for parental control. In 2017, she moved to the EBU Technology and Innovation Department as Senior Project Manager, where she managed activities related to VR / AR and personalized sound experiences with next generation audio codecs like MPEG-H and AC-4. Currently, as Senior Technology and Innovation Manager (Eurovision Italy/EBU), she is focusing on advanced and emerging technologies for audio & video production workflows to produce immersive experiences and test new ways of content production including AI/generative AI.

Stuart C. Young

Stuart Young is currently a Senior Solutions Engineer with Television New Zealand Ltd (TVNZ). He currently has a variety of responsibilities with TVNZ, from maintaining and developing technical standards, to researching possible solutions for business cases, tender/procurement documents and their implementation. For some light relief he also writes bespoke software for both cloud and local applications, for controlling or supplying data for some of TVNZ’s systems. Young’s history in television is long, starting 55 years ago in the era of monochrome analogue television as a trainee for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC). He then held a range of engineering positions within the New Zealand television industry, working to usher in the changes to colour, digital systems, and now to IP and cloud technologies.

Gene J. Zimmerman Jr.

Gene Zimmerman, CEO and President of Cobalt Digital, has a 44-year history designing products, broadcast facilities and working in live television production. Gene launched his career at a Midwest television station, operating, building and repairing equipment while earning his BSEE/MSEE at the University of Illinois. He went on to design cart machines, video servers and other electronics for Odetics’ Broadcast, Space and ATL divisions. Keen to learn more, he joined SMPTE and became involved in SDI standards, designing and producing the industry’s first parallel video to/from SDI devices. He then served as a senior consultant for National TeleConsultants, working on numerous projects such as Warner Brothers Motion Picture Imaging, Fox 11 and various facilities for other motion picture studios. Gene also worked on three Olympics for NBC Engineering: Atlanta, Sydney and Salt Lake City, receiving two Emmys. Providing consultancy services, Gene participated on the build of Fox News NYC, the 16x9 conversion of Fox News Sunday, Fox White House International Press Pools, and engineering support for the launch of Fox Business, Fox Sports and Fox Speed Channel. In 1997, Gene founded Cobalt Digital, a leading design and manufacturing company, to facilitate the transition to digital. Cobalt’s technology has since been deployed at the world's largest sporting events, on cruise ships, in government and military operations, television networks and streaming companies. Cobalt is the recipient of 50 industry awards and has received the Technology & Engineering Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2018.

Student Paper Award

It is the purpose of this award to recognize the outstanding paper prepared and submitted by a Student Member.

Irene Muñoz López

Irene is a recent graduate in Film production and Broadcast Engineering driven by a profound love for creativity and an enjoyment of technical challenges. Blending these two areas she discovered an interest for Virtual Production, and dedicated her Technical Project to investigate the Camera Tracking Techniques that are used in this process. In 2022-23, she honed her storytelling skills with an internship at the Walt Disney Company as a Creative Producer for National Geographic. In her final year at the University of Surrey, she produced the original short film UNCANCELLED and directed the multi-cam live show Univision Song Contest 2024. She has also been an active member of the award-winning student TV station for StagTV since her first year at Surrey, and was president of the society during her second and fourth year. Through StagTV, she also directed Univision 2023 which won Gold for Best Live Broadcast, and the Univision 2024 Heats awarded her a Silver for Best Directing at the NASTA ceremony 2024.

Excellence in Standards Award

This award recognizes individuals or companies who have been actively involved in advancing Society standards activities and processes.

Paul Treleaven

In recognition of his continuous efforts to ensure prompt dissemination of information within SMPTE to partner organizations and the general public. Treleaven ensured timely and effective information exchange and collaboration with SMPTE partner organizations as Liaison Chair. He produced quarterly meeting reports and gave the public an invaluable window into ongoing SMPTE activities. He has also contributed to developing transparent, effective, and accountable standards as chair and as secretary of several technical committees. SMPTE acknowledges Treleaven for his dedication to the standards process.

Excellence in Education Medal

This award, established in 2016 and sponsored by William C. Miller and Ellen Sontag-Miller, honors the recipient by recognizing outstanding contributions to new or unique educational programs that teach the technologies of motion pictures, television, or other imaging sciences including emerging media technology.

Chaitanya

Chinchlikar

in recognition of his efforts, alongside Whistling Woods International – India's premier Film & Creative Arts institute, to mainstream media and entertainment education in India and to incorporate emerging technologies into the curriculum, such as Virtual Production, Cinematic VR, AI, and cloud computing. While integrating new technologies into the school’s curriculum, Chinchlikar has also led the institution’s efforts to establish partnerships with global Media and Entertainment Technology companies to create multiple Research & Development labs at the Whistling Woods campus. By developing workflows and designing courses around these emerging technologies, Whistling Woods continues to foster a learning environment where students contribute to raising the qualitative & technical bar of the Indian Film Entertainment industry.

Chaitanya has had a multi-faceted two-decade career in the Film, Media & Entertainment industry. He is currently at Whistling Woods International in the capacity of Vice President & Business Head. He also serves as the Chief Technology Officer for the institute and heads its Emerging Media initiatives. Over the past 15+ years at Whistling Woods, he has worked towards mainstreaming of Film Education particularly, and of Media & Entertainment education generally, in India’s high school, graduate & post-graduate education spectrum. He has also spearheaded Whistling Woods’ initiatives to work with Emerging Technologies, develop workflows around them, write curriculum for the same and then introduce it into the education at Whistling Woods in particular, and for the filmed entertainment industry in general. He currently serves on several public policy and innovation bodies like India’s Media & Entertainment Skills Council (MESC) and the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming & Comics) Task Force established by the Government of India to draft India’s national policy for the AVGC industry.

David Sarnoff Medal

Established in 1950, the David Sarnoff Medal, sponsored by SRI International, honors the recipient by recognizing outstanding contributions to the development of new techniques or equipment that have improved the engineering phases of television technology, including large venue presentations.

John Mailhot

In recognition of his role in promoting the adoption of the SMPTE 2110 standard for Carriage of Media over IP, not just through SMPTE but also through industry organizations such as AMWA, AIMS, and the VSF. Since graduating from MIT in 1988, Mailhot has been a leader in the broadcast and media industry. Beginning with his work in the development with AT+T Bell Labs on the HDTV Grand Alliance system for over-the-air HDTV distribution and the migration of media carriage on IP networks, he has been an authority figure driving the deployment of innovative change in the industry.

John Mailhot has worked in the field of digital high-definition (HD) television systems since 1990. He began as part of the AT&T-Zenith team, responsible for system architecture and integration of the digital spectrum compatible high-definition television (DSC-HDTV) system prototype, and then served as technical lead for the Grand Alliance encoder at Lucent Technologies. He subsequently held engineering manager and general manager roles at Lucent Digital Video, Aastra Digital Video, and the Harris Broadcast Video Networking Group. Today, Mailhot is the Senior VP of Product Management for Playout and Infrastructure at Imagine Communications. He has dual bachelor's degrees in computer science and electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has been recognized as a SMPTE Fellow. He also serves on the boards of the Video Services Forum (VSF) and the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA).

Camera Origination and Imaging Medal

Established in 2012, the Camera Origination and Imaging Medal honors the recipient by recognizing significant technical achievements related to invention or advances in imaging technology including sensors, imaging processing electronics, and the overall embodiment and application of image-capture devices.

Takashi Nakamura (Posthumous)

The 2024 Camera Origination and Imaging Medal Award is conferred posthumously to Takashi Nakamura for the development of a practical video system comprising a high frame rate camera and video recorder with easy replay.

James A. Lindner Archival Technology Medal

The James A. Lindner Archival Technology Medal, established in 2012 and sponsored by James A. Lindner, honors the recipient by recognizing significant technical advancements or contributions related to the invention or development of technology, techniques, workflows, or infrastructure for the long-term storage, archive or preservation of media.

Karen Cariani

In recognition of her pioneering contributions to advancing technology, techniques, workflows, and infrastructure for preserving and providing access to the public broadcasting archives in the U.S. Her commitment to cultural heritage preservation along with her use of “trusted digital repository” and open-source technology has raised the standards for archival practices. Cariani’s work leading the American Archive of Public Broadcasting and GBH Archives has inspired many to embrace new methodologies, catalyzing positive change. Her passion and visionary leadership in audiovisual preservation have greatly improved our understanding of the past, present, and future.

Karen Cariani, is the David O. Ives Executive Director of the GBH Archives and GBH Project Director for the American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB), a collaboration with the Library of Congress to preserve and provide on-line access to content created by public media. Karen has 40+ years of television production, project and archival management experience for projects focused on providing access to audiovisual collections online and long-term digital preservation. She served on the AMIA board, Digital Commonwealth board, and the National Stewardship Digital Alliance (NDSA) Coordinating Committee. She chaired the NDSA Levels of Preservation revision WG, co-chaired the NDSA Infrastructure WG, and AMIA committees including Open Source, Local TV and Doc, and Copyright. Other projects include the GBH Open Vault, and the Boston Local TV News Digital Library. Technology has evolved enabling the creation of digital libraries, archives, and educational resources that can now be widely distributed, allowing better access to unique materials. Karen is committed to using and leveraging technology to preserve and provide access to historical and cultural materials, especially audiovisual materials, to the public that might otherwise be inaccessible. Karen believes in collaborative communities, and as such she is a dedicated beekeeper.

Digital Processing Medal

Established in 2012, the Digital Processing Medal honors the recipient by recognizing significant technical achievements related to the development of digital processing of content for cinema, television, games, or other related media.

Dr. Jens-Rainer Ohm

In recognition of leading the development of several widely successful MPEG and ITU video compression standards. Ohm has been an active member of MPEG since 1998, serving as chair of the MPEG Video Subgroup for the past 16 years. He was the co-chair of the Joint Video Team (JVT), which developed the H.264/MPEG AVC standard. As co-chair of the Joint Collaborative Team (JCT), he oversaw the development of the H.265/HEVC standard. He also co-chaired and eventually chaired the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET), which developed and continues to improve the H.266/VVC standard. AVC and HEVC have received three Emmy Awards for their wide adoption in video content delivery. Ohm is widely recognized as a world-class expert and thought leader in video compression and image processing.

Jens-Rainer Ohm holds the chair position at the Institute of Communication Engineering at RWTH Aachen University, Germany since 2000. His research and teaching activities cover the areas of multimedia signal processing, analysis, compression, transmission and content description, including 3D and VR video applications, bio signal processing and communication, application of deep learning approaches in the given fields, as well as fundamental topics of signal processing and digital communication systems. Since 1998, he participates in the work of the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). He has been chairing/co-chairing various standardization activities of ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 (MPEG) in video coding, namely the MPEG Video Subgroup 2002-2018, the Joint Video Team (JVT) of MPEG and ITU-T SG16/Q6 (VCEG) 2005-2009, the Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC) 2010-2020, as well as the Joint Video Experts Team (JVET) since 2015. In 2020, after disbanding of WG11, he was appointed convenor of ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG5, and since then, he is chairing JVET on behalf of both ISO and ITU-T parent bodies. Beyond Emmy Awards acknowledging the standards developments conducted by JVT and JCT-VC, Prof. Ohm received the Eduard Rhein Technology Award and the VDE Ring of Honor for his contributions to the field of video coding.

Workflow Systems Medal

Established in 2012, the Workflow Systems Medal, sponsored by Leon D. Silverman, honors the recipient by recognizing outstanding contributions related to the development and integration of workflows, such as integrated processes, end-to-end systems, or industry ecosystem innovations that enhance creativity, collaboration, and efficiency, or novel approaches to the production, post-production, or distribution process.

Unreal Engine

In recognition of its contributions to media production and its role in enabling new options for creators. Unreal Engine’s integration with LED volumes and motion capture technology enables realistic backgrounds with reflective lighting, live character animation, and interactions in virtual sets. Its advanced rendering capabilities and real-time visualization tools have created opportunities for virtual production and previsualization, providing powerful new workflows that augment and enhance the creative toolkit.

Epic Games’ Unreal Engine is the world’s most open and advanced real-time 3D tool. Creators across games, film and television, broadcast and live events, architecture, automotive, simulation and other industries choose Unreal Engine to deliver cutting-edge content, interactive experiences, and immersive virtual worlds.

Honorary Membership

Honorary Membership in the Society honors individuals who have performed eminent service in the advancement of engineering in motion pictures, television, or in the allied arts and sciences. Such contributions shall represent substantially a lifetime’s work and Honorary Membership is the supreme accolade of the Society.

Ioan Allen

In recognition of his enduring contributions to audio production and presentation technologies. His innovations at Dolby Laboratories and involvement in SMPTE, AES, and ICTA have established new standards and fostered collaboration within the professional community. His vision and leadership have created groundbreaking audio formats that have become industry standards. Allen has received numerous accolades, including Scientific and Engineering Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the AES Silver Medal Award, and both the SMPTE Progress Medal and Samuel L. Warner Memorial Medal. He has transformed entertainment technology with his relentless ingenuity. His achievements inspire engineers, filmmakers, and creatives worldwide.

Ioan Allen was a leader in the development and introduction of most of the sound-on-film formats from Dolby Laboratories from 1972 onwards. He has for many years been active in standards activities within SMPTE and ISO-TC36, and led the introduction of wide-range electro-acoustic characteristics standards for analog film. As engineering director motion pictures for SMPTE he was heavily involved in early digital cinema developments and standards. He also led the industry in developments such as the transition to dyesoundtracks for analog film, and the creation of TASA, the procedure for measurement and constraint procedures for movie trailers. He has been recognized many times for his contributions to the film industry. He has received five awards from the Motion Picture Academy, including an Oscar. He was presented the Silver medal by the Audio Engineering Society (AES). He was awarded an Icon award by the ICTA. Previously from the SMPTE he received the Samuel L. Warner Award, and the Progress medal.

Honorary Membership

Victoria Alonso

In recognition of her contributions as a producer and entertainment industry leader. Alonso moved to the U.S. to pursue her career in the entertainment industry after growing up in Argentina. She worked in visual effects at Digital Domain, and then spent 18 years at Marvel Studios. In her role as President, Physical and Postproduction, VFX and Animation Production, she oversaw the production of 32 Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including 10 of the top 15 grossing superhero movies. Alonso relentlessly communicates her story vision to artisans and technicians and is a strong and outspoken champion for underrepresented groups in the entertainment industry.

Victoria Alonso is an Argentine film producer who formerly served as president of physical and post-production, visual effects, and animation at Marvel Studios. Alonso was born in La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. She relocated to Los Angeles, where she began working in the visual effects industry, including at Digital Domain as a visual effects producer for four years, working on films such as Big Fish, which was nominated for Best Special Visual Effects at the 57th British Academy Film Awards.

Alonso joined Marvel Studios as executive vice president of visual effects and postproduction, working as a co-producer on Marvel Cinematic Universe films Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Tor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, and serving as executive producer on every Marvel Studios production since The Avengers, including television shows. In 2016, Alonso became the first woman to win the Harold Lloyd Award for her achievements in visual effects. In January 2020, she was awarded the Filmmaker Award by the Motion Picture Sound Editors at the 67th Golden Reel Awards.

Honorary Membership

Franz Kraus

For advancing the cinematography vision of the ARRI corporation, founded in 1917. Kraus joined ARRI in 1983 and successfully led the company into the digital age by developing digital film scanners and cameras. Always keeping the camera user in mind, Kraus ensured that the physical interfaces and software tools were simple for cinematographers. This resulted in the ARRI ALEXA camera suite becoming one of the most popular products in the entertainment industry today.

Prof. Franz Kraus joined ARRI in 1983 as Technical Director for a newly started Postproduction facility. In 1996 he took over the responsibility for R&D, comprising of Camera, DI, and Lighting Businesses. From 2001 until his retirement in 2018 he served as a member of the Executive Board of ARRI AG. Under his leadership, ARRI received nine awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for outstanding technical achievements, including the development of the ARRILASER film recorder system and the ALEXA digital camera system. In 2012, Kraus was personally honored with an Academy Award of Merit. In 2004, he was appointed Honorary Professor and Head of the Technology Department at the University of Television and Film (HFF) in Munich. In addition, he was appointed curator at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (ISS) and the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI). He is also member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science (AMPAS), the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and the German Society of Cinematographers (BVK). Before joining ARRI, he was with the Heinrich Hertz Research Institute (HHI) in Berlin for seven years, working on storage and telecom solutions for interactive audio-visual communication. Since his retirement from the executive board in 2018 Franz Kraus has served as a member of the supervisory board and still acts as an advisor for ARRI.