Photo of Munkhtsetseg Nandigjav by Bryan Clendenen
It’s official! ACM SIGGRAPH leadership has selected Munkhtsetseg Nandigjav, of Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), as chair of the 49th annual SIGGRAPH conference. Nandigjav, a native of Mongolia, is the associate chair of SCAD’s digital communications department and oversees its day-to-day operations.
“Since joining my team as Student Volunteer Team Leader in 2012, Munkhtsetseg has showed strength and prowess as a leader and creative thinker. She is more than suited for this role and I cannot wait to see where she takes the conference in 2022 … a decade after we first started working together,” shared SIGGRAPH Conference Advisory Group Chair Mikki Rose.
With much of her time at SCAD dedicated to preparing future creative professionals, Nandigjav emphasizes teaching diverse methods and digital tools, and empowers students to communicate their stories professionally in a digital world. She also develops and oversees curriculum design and instructional effectiveness, among other responsibilities. Nandigjav has a background in designing experiences through interactive and digital media, and will be the SIGGRAPH conference’s first-ever chair from Mongolia.
Since beginning her tenure with ACM SIGGRAPH as a student volunteer in 2008, Nandigjav has held multiple roles on conference committees, including as Student Volunteer Chair, Computer Animation Festival Electronic Theater Director and two years as Creative Development Director. She holds a B.S. in computer graphics technology from Purdue University and an M.F.A. in animation from SCAD.
“The conference has been fueling my creative energy and passion for years, allowing me to meet and collaborate with creative professionals from the computer graphics community around the world,” noted Nandigjav. “During my time volunteering, I have found a community to which I belong, and I’m humbled and excited to serve as leader of SIGGRAPH’s 49th conference. The SIGGRAPH community has grown to be a lot like a family over the years.”
Next Stop: Vancouver
But first, Los Angeles! For SIGGRAPH 2021, Conference Chair Pol Jeremias-Vila (lead graphics engineer, Pixar Animation Studios) will take the 48th event to sunny California, 1–5 August 2021. Then, Nandigjav and her SIGGRAPH 2022 team will return to the Vancouver Convention Centre, 7–11 August 2022.
For more information on conference volunteer positions, click here.
