Pol Jeremias Vila
Computer Graphics Leadership
Biography
Pol Jeremias Vila is a computer graphics engineer. Pol is currently a Lead Graphics Engineer at Pixar Animation Studios where he develops algorithms to help artists make movies. Pol is credited in multiple films including Soul, Toy Story 4, Incredibles 2, Coco and Finding Dory. Prior to Pixar, Pol worked in rendering technology for multiple games including Star Wars 1313 and The Force Unleashed 2.
Aside from his contributions to films and games, Pol co-founded Beautypi LLC with Iñigo Quilez, a company dedicated to bringing computer graphics everywhere. In 2013, Beautypi released Shadertoy.com, a global social network with tens of thousands of contributors that enables graphics enthusiasts to create and share computer graphics knowledge. Today, Shadertoy is one of the biggest repositories of computer graphics experiments, ideas, and projects. In 2020, Beautypi released Memix, a software to improve video conferencing using computer graphics technology. Memix was acquired that same year by Mmhmm Inc.
Pol has spoken and juried work at multiple international conferences and events, including the Game Developers Conference, SIGGRAPH, SIGGRAPH Asia, FMX, GTC, and Eurographics. Since 2012, Pol has been actively involved with SIGGRAPH, the premiere conference in computer graphics, by directing the Computer Animation Festival, Real-Time Live!, and the Immersive program. In 2021, Pol will be the SIGGRAPH Conference Chair.
Pol was born and raised in Barcelona, Spain. He moved to Los Angeles, California in 2006 and currently resides in San Francisco.
Interests
- Computer Graphics
- Game Development
- Emulators & Retro Gaming
Education
-
MSc in Computer Science, 2009
University of Southern California
-
BSc in Multimedia, 2007
Universitat Ramon Llull - La Salle
Experience
Lead Engineer
Pixar Animation Studios
Contributed to leadership, development and/or mantainance of the following packages used to make films such as Soul, Coco, Finding Dory and more:
- Hydra: Part of the Universal Scene Description distribution. Hydra is a plugable system to transport data from multiple scene graph data to multiple renderers. Learn more
- Storm: Also part of the Universal Scene Description distribution. Storm is preview renderer used in Pixar’s film production pipeline. Learn more
- Presto: Pixar’s internal animation tool.
- OpenSubdiv: Consistent representation of subdivision surfaces. Learn more
ACM SIGGRAPH Leadership
ACM SIGGRAPH
Responsibilities over the years include:
- Conference Advisory Group: Current.
- SIGGRAPH 2021 Conference Chair: Current. Learn more
- SIGGRAPH 2018 Immersive Chair: Expanded the presence of immersive technologies at SIGGRAPH by introducing a new space, the Immersive Pavilion. Learn more
- SIGGRAPH 2017 Computer Animation Festival Director: Organized the Electronic Theater, created a team, selected a group of jurors, and developed and executed the show in Los Angeles. Additionally, Pol expanded the show into the VR space, developing and executing the first VR Theater. A physical space to enjoy VR content at SIGGRAPH. Learn more
- SIGGRAPH 2016 Real Time Live Chair: Created a team and executed the 2016 edition of Real-Time Live, the live event that showcase the latest real-time rendering projects. Learn more
Co-Founder
Beautypi
Products:
- Shadertoy: A global social network that enables programmers, artists, and students to push pixels from code to the screen. Learn more
- Memix: A virtual camera to enhance video conferencing and live streams using computer graphics (Acquired by Mmhmm Inc). Learn more
