Fundamentals of Graphic Data Processing

Foundations of Modern Communications Media
for Information Exchange

Graphic Data Processing is a fundamental technology for so-called “Man-Machine Interfaces”. These interfaces form the links between computers and all kinds of computercontrolled devices, appliances, and systems. They open up a wealth of new and exciting functionalities that characterize modern “smart” technical products. Therefore, they are widely considered key elements of modern computer systems. As fas as standardization activities and their international use are concerned, basic graphics services are just as important as operating systems or communications systems.

Since the inception, design, and testing of a “Graphic Core System” in the early eighties, José Luis Encarnação has done pioneering work that led to national and international technical standards. J. L. Encarnação is probably best characterized by his ability to foster both the practical implementation and the dissemination of the results of his basic scientific word. His findings, of course, also have a strong impact on his academic teaching and publishing activities. He is a Professor on the Faculty of Information Sciences at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. His textbooks and monographs are available in many languages around the world. His professional activities include being a member of various standardization bodies (e.g., the German Industry Standards Organization, DIN, and the International Standards Organization, ISO) as well as other scientific societies.

J. L. Encarnação has been one of the founders, President, and Chairman of the Board of EUROGRAPHICS, the European Association for Graphic Data Processing. He was a Board Member of the German Informatics Society (Gesellschaft für Informatik, GI) and Chairman of GI’s Technical Activities Board for Graphic Data Processing. He was instrumental in founding and setting up that TAB. Since 1983, J. L. Encarnação has been a Member of GI’s Department for Information Technology an Technical Utilization of Informatics. Within GI, he has also been a Member of their liaison committee with the International Federation for Information Processing, IFIP. He is the German Representative to IFIP’s Technical Committee TC5 and Chairman of the Technical Activities Group on Computer Graphics, WG5.10. J. L. Encarnação is a Member of ACM, ACM-SIGGRAPH, IEEE, GI, and VDE.

J. L. Encarnação is an exceptional researcher, educator, and valued member of various scientific societies. He bedame the initiator and the driving force behind INI-GraphicsNet, a unique worldwide scientific and operational network with a annual totoal rounover of 70 Million German Marks (DM). At present, their task force includes about 350 employees plus some 450 scientific staff members. This unique network ist formed by 10 institutions located in Germany, Europe, the United States, and Asia. It is one of the largest research centers of its kind for new media, communications technologies, and related technical applications. At INI-GraphicsNet, 50 – 60 students per year obtain their academic degrees in one of the network’s special areas. Every year, about 6 – 9 doctoral students complete their Ph.D. thesis under Prof. Encarnação’s supervision.

In the past 30 years, J. L. Encarnação has significantly contributed to the vision, the conceptual design, and the successful implementation of graphic data processing systems. He is truly an internationally respected expert in his field of work. Today, his eminent contributions are honored by the Eduard Rhein Foundation’s Technology Award 2001.

Prof. Dr. Klaus Bender,
Technische Universität München