The History of the Institute of Computer Graphics and Knowledge Visualization (CGV)

The Institute of Computer Graphics and Knowledge Visualisation (CGV) was founded in 2005 as part of the faculty of Computer Science by Prof. Dieter Fellner. Moving to Graz from previous positions as Associate Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Professorships at the Universities of Bonn and Braunschweig, Dieter Fellner and his team in Graz worked on questions of computer graphics, knowledge visualization, and semantics in the geometric modelling process. Over the years, research was carried out in basic, as well as applied areas, including geometric modeling and visualization in fields like architecture, automotive design, cultural heritage content and digital libraries. The group worked on algorithms and methods, and also developed large-scale visualization equipment, notably, a Powerwall and a CAVE immersive environment, called the DAVE.

Dieter Fellner, Horst Bischof and Dieter Schmalstieg explore the DAVE at the CGV.

(more details can be found at the webpage to celebrate 10 years DAVE: https://www.tugraz.at/tu-graz/services/news-stories/tu-graz-news/einzelansicht/article/virtuelle-welten-an-der-tu-graz-10-jahre-dave) 

 

In 2006, Dieter Fellner was appointed as head of the Fraunhofer Institute of Computer Graphics Research in Darmstadt, Germany, while still developing and collaborating at the CGV. Dieter Fellner in 2008 founded the Fraunhofer Visual Computing research group in collaboration with TU Graz and the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. Since then, a close collaboration between Fraunhofer and the TU Graz emerged, leading to numerous scientific projects and results. The CGV to date has run many research projects funded by the FWF, FFG, and EU frameworks. The institute grew over time and was extended in topical directions by research groups of Dr. Sven Havemann (habilitated in 2014), Assoc. Prof. Ursula Augsdörfer (joined in 2010), Prof. Tobias Schreck (joined in 2015), and Dr. Reinhold Preiner (joined in 2018). With these researchers, the institute further developed into areas of Computer-aided Geometric Design, Generative Modeling, Geometry Processing, Virtual Reality, 3D Object Retrieval, Visual Analysis, and Information Visualization. The institute over time has established many international collaborations, e.g., with NTU Singapore during the TU Graz – NTU Joint PhD program. The institute members developed instrumental services to the EuroGraphics Association, including the EG Digital Library, and the EG SRM submission and review management system, used to date in hundreds of events, hence supporting the community. The institute has organized several scientific events to date, including the Symposium of Geometry Processing (2015), the EG Workshop on Graphics and Cultural Heritage (2017), and the EG Workshop on 3D Object Retrieval (2020).