Professor Emeritus Named Distinguished Educator by ACM SIGGRAPH

When Jim Foley attended his 50th ACM SIGGRAPH Conference in 2023, he expected it to be his last one. 

SIGGRAPH, however, gave him another reason to return for its 2026 conference in Los Angeles.

Foley accepted the organization’s Distinguished Educator Award, presented annually since 2019. 

“I guess it wasn’t my last one after all,” Foley said. 

The award recognizes SIGGRAPH members who have made impactful contributions to computer graphics in educational environments. Foley has a strong pedigree in this area.

He co-authored the 1982 textbook Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics, which was renamed in its second edition as Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice. With over 1,100 pages, it is widely regarded as the foundational text of modern computer graphics and animation.

“Some people called it ‘the bible’ of computer graphics, though I think there were some other good graphics textbooks,” Foley said. “We covered many different aspects of computer graphics, from hardware to algorithms to software systems to user interface and design.

“It stands out as an all-encompassing textbook, whereas current books are targeted at specific aspects of computer graphics rather than a broad introduction.”

Foley co-authored the first edition with Andries Van Dam, a professor who co-founded Brown University’s Department of Computer Science. Van Dam was the first to receive the Distinguished Educator Award in 2019.

“I had people thanking me for the book while I was at the conference and telling me it was the first book they learned computer graphics from,” Foley said. 

Foley came to Georgia Tech in 1991 and founded the Graphics, Visualization, & Usability (GVU) Center, which merged with Tech’s Institute for People and Technology (IPaT) in 2023. GVU faculty helped establish Georgia Tech’s prestigious reputation in computer graphics, and GVU students became highly sought after by video game and film animation studios, including Disney and Pixar.

Foley and other GVU faculty were also at the forefront of the emerging field of human-computer interaction (HCI).

Foley said he enjoyed teaching in the classroom as much as anything and preferred practical approaches.

“I was always big on learning by doing, so I always had projects in my class that made students apply what I was talking about and not just regurgitate stuff on exams,” he said. “I think students enjoy having that hands-on experience.”

However, teaching was something he had to learn.

“I wasn’t good at it at first, but I think writing the book helped with that,” he said. “When you write a book, you discover how much you don’t know about something because you’re trying to carefully explain it so other people can understand.

“It makes you do more thinking, work through the explanations so that it makes sense to you and the reader.”

Georgia Tech established the James D. Foley Endowment in 2007 to honor his achievements. Since then, annual fellowships in his name have been awarded to outstanding graduate students. 

The 2026 Foley Scholar Awards will be announced in November.