Image credit: Image provided by SIGGRAPH Asia 2026
Led by Conference Chair Frank Guan, professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology, the SIGGRAPH Asia 2026 committee brings together dedicated experts from across the computer graphics and interactive techniques community.
From 1–4 December 2026, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre will host four days of innovation, creativity, and connection. Join us as SIGGRAPH Asia 2026 returns with cutting-edge research, inspiring showcases, and opportunities to meet the people driving the future of digital media, technology, and visual storytelling.
Frank Guan, Conference Chair, Associate Professor, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore
Dr Frank Guan is an associate professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) with extensive research expertise in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), computer graphics, and artificial intelligence (AI). He received his BEng from Zhejiang University and Ph.D. from Nanyang Technological University. He had successfully chaired the IEEE ISMAR 2022 conference in Singapore. Additionally, Dr Guan had served on the advisory boards of three tech startup companies and has founded a tech startup company in Singapore.
His accolades include the Andrew Fraser Prize from IMechE (2006) and the prestigious “SMART Innovation Fellow” award from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) (2015). In 2024, he was named the inaugural SIT Fellow by SIT. Most recently, he was appointed to the judging panel for the Lee Hsien Loong IDM Smart Nation Award by Singapore’s Ministry of Education and was elected to the Steering Committee for IEEE ISMAR conference.
Fun Fact: Frank loves sea-fishing, but the waves usually catch him before he catches the fish.
Yuichiro Katsumoto, Art Gallery Chair, Professor, Tokyo Denki University, Japan
Yuichiro Katsumoto is an artist and educator based in Saitama, Japan, whose practice positions letters and images at the intersection of symbols and the concrete, using linear materials such as strings, ribbons, and springs. His work reimagines writing and drawing by expanding two-dimensional lines back into physical space, creating kinetic typography and motion graphics. Katsumoto earned his Ph.D. from Keio University in 2010 and later conducted research at the National University of Singapore before returning to Japan. Since 2019, he has been teaching at Tokyo Denki University, where he also directs The Utsuroi Lab. His works have been regularly presented at SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia. In 2024, he chaired the first ACM SIGGRAPH Asia Art Papers program held outside the English-speaking world, dramatically increasing submissions and fostering an active international dialogue.
Fun fact: He submitted his work to the SIGGRAPH Asia Art Gallery in 2021 and again in 2025. Twice, SIGGRAPH Asia cast him aside without hesitation. But perhaps that is precisely the arrangement most fitting to art. After all, he now awaits the submissions of those equally spurned — for it is always the rejected who perfect the art of appearing far more dazzling than the ones who were let in.
Juergen Hagler, Art Papers Chair, Professor, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Austria
FH-Prof. Dr. Juergen Hagler is a researcher, educator, artist, and curator working at the intersection of animation, games, and media art. He studied art education, experimental visual design, media culture, and art theory at the University of Art and Design Linz, Austria. Currently, he is professor of animation and media studies and head of the Digital Arts bachelor’s and master’s programmes at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Hagenberg Campus, where he launched the Digital Arts bachelor’s degree in 2021. From 2014–2024, he co-led the Playful Interactive Environments research group and since 2024 has been a key researcher at the university’s Digital Media Lab. Closely connected to Ars Electronica since 1997, he has directed the Ars Electronica Animation Festival since 2017 and founded several international conferences, including Expanded Animation and Expanded – Conference on Animation and Interactive Art. He also founded ANIMA PLUS (2023) and co-organizes Austria’s flipbook festival FLIPT!
Fun fact: In winter, Juergen can often be spotted on the ski slopes, making a quick escape from the stubborn fog that blankets Linz.
Carlene Tan, Computer Animation Festival Chair, Senior Director – Animation and Kids Content, Warner Bros. Discovery APAC, Singapore
Carlene Tan leads the animation and kids team for Warner Bros. Discovery, managing the family and animation brands in Asia Pacific.
Emmy nominated Producer of Lamput Season 4 (2025) and Oddbods (2017).
Lead creative producer of the Asian adaptations of Mickey Mouse and Friends for Disney and Tom & Jerry for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Fun fact: Carlene can fall asleep nearly anywhere and everywhere.
Jianmin Zheng, Courses Chair, Professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Jianmin Zheng is a professor in the College of Computing and Data Science at Nanyang Technological University. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. from Zhejiang University. His research spans computer graphics, geometric modeling, 3D vision, AR/VR, visualization, AI for design, and 3D printing, with inventions adopted by Autodesk Inc and HP Inc. He has served as conference and technical program co-chair for several international conferences and was on the Technical Papers Committee of the inaugural SIGGRAPH Asia in 2008. He serves on the editorial boards of Computer-Aided Design, Computers & Graphics, The Visual Computer, and IEEE CG&A, and is a Fellow of the Solid Modeling Association.
Fun fact: Jianmin likes to find fun in everything, even the dull stuff.
Wei Ting Chan, Samantha, Educator’s Forum Chair, Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Dr. Samantha Chan’s research is at the intersection of human-computer interactions (HCI) and artificial intelligence (AI), where she develops and studies interfaces to support human cognitive abilities and cognitive health. This includes pioneering work in physiological sensing, brain-computer interfaces, and extended reality (XR) applications. Prior to NTU, Dr. Chan was a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Media Lab. She holds a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Singapore University of Technology and Design. Dr. Chan’s work on memory augmentation interfaces has been published in premier HCI journals and conferences such as CHI, IMWUT/Ubicomp, CSCW, and ISMAR. Her works have received several awards and recognitions, including Fast Company World Changing Ideas and “Gold Pin” New Zealand Best Design Awards (best in category).
Fun fact: Samantha enjoys filmmaking and motorcycling.
Hiroyuki Kajimoto, Emerging Technologies Chair, Professor, The University of Electro-Communications, Japan
Hiroyuki Kajimoto is a professor at the Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, University of Electro-Communications (UEC), Tokyo. He received his Ph.D. in information science and technology from the University of Tokyo in 2004. His research focuses on human–computer interaction, haptics, and electrotactile interfaces, spanning tactile sensing, electrical stimulation, and virtual reality. He has also served on editorial boards and program committees of major international conferences, including IEEE World Haptics and Haptics Symposium. His lab develops wearable and immersive haptic systems, bridging engineering and perceptual science to expand how humans experience touch in digital environments.
Fun fact: Hiroyuki has been raising two toads since they were eggs.
William (Will) Ramey, Featured Sessions Chair, Sr. Director, Developer Programs, NVIDIA, USA
Will Ramey serves senior director at NVIDIA, where he is responsible for leading the company’s worldwide developer programs and training initiatives. His journey with NVIDIA since 2003 encompasses both technical and managerial roles, including a significant tenure as the product manager for the groundbreaking CUDA parallel programming platform.
Before joining NVIDIA, Will’s dynamic career included overseeing an independent game studio and pioneering advanced technology for the entertainment realm while holding roles as a product manager and software engineer. Armed with a degree in computer science from Willamette University, he further enriched his intellectual horizons through the immersive Japan Studies Program at Tokyo International University.
At NVIDIA, he guides industry-leading global teams responsible for the NVIDIA Developer Program and Deep Learning Institute, reflecting his commitment to fostering the next wave of technological advancements. His legacy is that of a strategic visionary, shaping the contours of modern computing and inspiring the next generation of technological pioneers.
Fun fact: Will is an avid open water swimmer and enjoys introducing new people to the sport.
Chin Ike Tan, Games Chair, Associate Professor and Head of School, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Malaysia
Tan Chin Ike is an associate professor and head of the computing school at the Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation. With over two decades of experience in the game development sector, he has established game development degree programmes at two Malaysian universities and led national initiatives to strengthen the country’s game development talent ecosystem. He founded MYGAMEDEV (EPP14) under the Malaysian Economic Transformation Programme and the Game Development Council of Malaysia under the Department of Higher Education. In 2024, he also initiated and now chairs the Kuala Lumpur Chapter for ACM SIGGRAPH.
Fun fact: In his free time, he performs open-mic stand-up comedy to sharpen his public speaking skills. His family, however, still refuses to laugh at his jokes.
Peng Song, Posters Chair, Assistant Professor, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
Peng Song is an assistant professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) since 2019. Prior to joining SUTD, Peng was a research scientist at EPFL, Switzerland. He received his Ph.D. from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore in 2013. His research interest is in computer graphics, with a focus on geometric modeling, computational design, and computational fabrication. He is an associate editor of Computers and Graphics (Elsevier) and Graphical Models (Elsevier). He regularly serves on the program committee of leading international conferences in computer graphics such as SIGGRAPH Asia and Pacific Graphics. He received SIGGRAPH Technical Papers Award Honorable Mention (2022) and Shape Modeling International Best Paper Award (2024).
Fun fact: Peng likes swimming!
Stephen Spencer, Publications Chair, Graphics System Engineer, University of Washington, USA
Stephen is a senior computer specialist in the Paul G. Allen School for Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington, part of the IT support team. He’s been involved with ACM SIGGRAPH since the early ‘90s and has served as chair of the ACM SIGGRAPH Publications Committee for many years. Additionally, he has served two terms on the ACM Publications Board. He’s a father of two young adults, enjoys bicycling, running, and playing the guitar.
Fun fact: Stephen has run 11 full marathons.
Yibing Jiang, Real-Time Live! Chair, Founder/Creative Director of IceMemory Animation, USA
Yibing is a filmmaker and game developer with 17 years of experience bridging animation and real-time technology. She began at Pixar and Disney Animation before moving into games, later advancing character shading at Naughty Dog. As creative director at Unity, she directed Windup, an Oscar-qualified real-time short featured in the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater. She now leads IceMemory Animation, creating stylized real-time content.
Yibing has also served as a juror for SIGGRAPH Real-Time Live! four times and later as chair in 2022.
Fun fact: Yibing met her husband when they were both presenting at SIGGRAPH 2016 Real-Time Live!.
Nicolas Nghiem, Student Volunteers Chair, Crowds Technical Director, Industrial Light & Music, United Kingdom
After graduating from France’s Ecole Polytechnique with a master’s degree in artificial intelligence and advanced visual computing, as well as Gobelins with a diploma in 3D character animation, Nico started by exploring research by doing an internship at KAIST at the Visual Media Lab. However, his desire to do art caught up to him and he eventually became an artist, doing crowds and FX at Disney Animation Studios then later on at Industrial Light & Magic, where he is now responsible for various pieces of the tooling of the crowds department. His career grew alongside SIGGRAPH Asia conferences, so he believes strongly in giving back and creating an environment where students will be able to benefit the most from what the conference has to offer.
Fun fact: Nicolas love birds and would stop talking mid-sentence to look at pigeons/seagulls or others doing funny things!
Qi Sun, Technical Communications Chair, Assistant Professor, New York University, USA
Qi Sun is an assistant professor at New York University. Before joining NYU, he was a research scientist at Adobe Research. He received his Ph.D. at Stony Brook University. His research interests lie in VR/AR, perceptual computer graphics, computational display, and applied perception. He is a recipient of the IEEE Virtual Reality Best Dissertation Award. With colleagues, his research has been recognized as several best paper and honorable mention awards at ACM SIGGRAPH, IEEE ISMAR, IEEE VR, IEEE VIS, and ACM SAP.
Fun fact: Qi Sun’s cat has curled up beside him through all his SIGGRAPH deadlines, which he practically thinks his cat deserves to be a co-author!
Ravi Ramamoorthi, Technical Papers Chair, Ronald L. Graham Professor, University of California San Diego, USA
Ravi Ramamoorthi is the Ronald L. Graham Professor of Computer Science at UCSD and founding director of the UC San Diego Center for Visual Computing. He also holds a part-time appointment as a distinguished research scientist at NVIDIA. He has authored more than 200 publications in computer graphics and vision, including 100+ SIGGRAPH/Asia/TOG papers. Prof. Ramamoorthi has received more than 20 major honors for his contributions including the ACM SIGGRAPH Significant New Researcher Award for his research in computer graphics, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for his work on physics-based computer vision. He is a fellow of IEEE, ACM, and the SIGGRAPH Academy, received an inaugural Frontiers of Science Award and again the following year, and has twice been honored with the edX Prize certificate for exceptional contributions in online teaching and learning. He has graduated more than 30 postdoctoral and Ph.D. students, who have received the ACM Dissertation Award honorable mention, and the SIGGRAPH outstanding dissertation and significant new researcher awards.
Fun fact: Ravi’s first programming experience was on a Casio PB-110 pocket computer with 544 bytes of RAM, and later a ZX spectrum with 16KB RAM, a substantial improvement!
Huamin Wang, Technical Papers Assistant Chair, Chief Scientist, Style3D Research, USA
Huamin Wang is the chief scientist at Style3D, and he leads Style3D’s research team. His research interests focus on high-performance, high-fidelity physics-based simulations accelerated by GPUs and enhanced by AI, with applications in computer graphics, computer vision, and machine learning.
Before joining Style3D, he was a tenured associate professor at the Ohio State University (2011–2021) and a postdoc researcher at UC Berkeley (2009–2011). He is the recipient of the Lumley Research award (2017) and the NVIDIA fellowship (2005). He earned a Ph.D. degree from Georgia Institute of Technology (2009).
Fun fact: Huamin’s most productive hours came from sleepless nights when kids were young.
Eugene Ch’ng, XR Chair, Dean, School of Culture and Creativity, Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, China
Professor Eugene Ch’ng is dean of the School of Culture and Creativity at Beijing Normal–Hong Kong Baptist University and director of BNBU’s Centre for Computational Culture and Heritage | NVIDIA DLI. A leading scholar in digital culture and heritage and a recognized VR expert, he is editor-in-chief of MIT Press’s PRESENCE: Virtual and Augmented Reality. He previously founded and led major labs, including the IBM Visual & Spatial Technology Centre and Digital Humanities Hub (University of Birmingham, 2011–2013) and the NVIDIA Joint-Lab on Mixed Reality (University of Nottingham Ningbo China, 2016–2023). He has authored 140+ publications and advanced digital technologies for cultural heritage, attracting significant funding across the U.K., Europe, and China. Named among Stanford University’s top 2% most-cited scientists, Prof. Ch’ng bridges culture, creativity, and computation, building cross-sector collaborations that translate research into impact for museums, cultural agencies, and the public.
Fun fact: With multicellular eyes, Eugene’s reality renders differently from yours. His world refuses default settings.
Vinod Krishnan, Industry Outreach Chair, Animation TD, Walt Disney Company, USA
Vinod Krishnan is a production technical director and visual development artist who thrives at the crossroads of storytelling, technology, and creative problem-solving. Born and raised in Bahrain, his global upbringing shaped a curiosity-driven approach that carries through his work today. Vinod has contributed to animated series, features, and live-action projects for studios including Walt Disney Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, Adult Swim, and more, working across the pipeline from early visual development to final delivery.
He’s known for collaborating closely with show runners, directors, and producers to translate creative vision into efficient, production-ready workflows. Along the way, he’s also served as a production lead on projects and music videos for artists like Kelly Clarkson, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and Post Malone.
Outside the studio, Vinod is deeply involved with ACM SIGGRAPH since 2011 and Wacom Technologies, supporting branding efforts, studio partnerships, and live art demos at major global events. His work blends hands-on artistry, technical leadership, and genuine love for building things with people.
Fun fact: Vinod got his first paycheck as a teenager, working as a radio operator and helping with catering at Bahrain’s F1 circuit. Before that, he had also received a stipend while representing the national cricket team, a role he continued until he turned 22. Eventually, he faced a real Sophie’s choice moment: Choosing between cricket and animation as his profession.
Ruizhen Hu, Workshops Chair, Professor, Shenzhen University, Guangdong, China
Ruizhen Hu is a distinguished professor at Shenzhen University, China. She received her Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Zhejiang University in 2015 and was honored with the Asia Graphics Young Researcher Award in 2019. Her research interests encompass computer graphics, geometric modeling, and embodied AI, with a focus on pioneering novel techniques to accurately model the 3D world and bolster the capabilities of embodied agents to interact with the 3D world.
Fun fact: Ruizhen loves playing cards!
That’s a wrap for now! 😉 We hope you enjoyed meeting the incredible minds shaping SIGGRAPH Asia 2026. Stay tuned for more exciting updates as we gear up for an unforgettable edition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!
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