Natural Phenomena Simulation
Submission Deadline: September 30th, 2005
Since the beginning of computer graphics, researchers have been attracted
to
visually reproduce Nature's beauty
and complexity present in a myriad
of phenomena, from a small water droplet
to a space nebula. During this
time,
different approaches have been taken to simulate such phenomena.
Researchers
working on entertainment applications,
for example, usually
emphasize the believable visual representation of
natural phenomena, while
researchers
working on scientific applications usually focus their efforts on
the
accuracy of the models representing the underlying
natural processes.
Ideally, we would like to be able to create realistic
displays of natural
phenomena using
accurate models in a reasonable time. Such a goal highlights
one the most
important research challenges facing the
computer graphics
community today, namely the predictive simulation of
natural phenomena,
involving both the
light interaction with matter and the dynamics of natural
systems.
Predictive simulations make the image synthesis process more
intuitive and
have a broader scope of applications,
including not only
believable picture making, but also scientific and
medical visualization. The
key issue in this context,
however, consists in establishing the
predictability of the models. It is
not a trivial task since computer
models
are intrinsically less predictable than physical phenomena. Currently,
two
guidelines are used in the development
of predictive simulations of
natural phenomena. First, the models are
designed to be controlled by
biophysically
meaningful parameters. Second, their evaluation involves
comparisons of
modeled results with actual measured
data or the real
phenomenon.
In this special issue, we welcome contributions describing original
research
work on natural phenomena simulation,
preferably taking into
account the predictability guidelines outlined above.
Furthermore, due to the
multidisciplinary
nature of this theme, special attention will be given to
papers that are
supported by reliable scientific data
from fields
including, but not limited to, oceanography, remote sensing
physics,
chemistry, biology and medicine,
and which can also provide evidence of
practical contributions to these
fields. Authors are encouraged to select
one
or more of the following topics:
Gaseous Phenomena
Atmospheric Phenomena
Astrophysical
Phenomena
Spectral Rendering of Fluids
Visualization of Fluid
Flow
Transformation of Materials (e.g., seasonal changes, tanning,
melting
etc...)
Biophysically-Based Rendering of Organic Materials
Biophysically-Based Animation of Biological Systems
Important dates:
E-mail expression of interest: as soon as possible
Submission of
contributions: September 30th, 2005
Notification of acceptance / rejection:
December 1st, 2006
Submission of final manuscripts: February 1st,
2006
Publication: August, 2006
Guest Editors for this issue:
Marcio Lobo Netto
Electronic Systems Engineering
Department
Politechnic School - University of Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo,
Brazil
lobonett@lsi.usp.br
While it is not required, authors are strongly encouraged to e-mail
the
Guest Editors indicating their intent to
submit an article.
We also encourage contributions with complementary multimedia
material
(images, videos, or applets). They
shall be available with the
electronic version of the paper, at the
Computers & Graphics web
site.
All papers will be peer reviewed by multiple experts. Electronic
submission
is strongly encouraged. Contributions
should be submitted by
(preferably) emailing the URL where the submission
can be retrieved or by
emailing
the paper itself as one file (PDF or Compressed Postscript) to
Marcio Lobo
Netto or Gladimir V. G. Baranoski.
If this is impossible,
please send 4 copies to:
or
Whatever the submission method, you should send an email to the editors
with
the title of the paper, the authors'
names and affiliations, the
contact author's address, the abstract and the
submission method URL,
attached file, the
filename used for ftp, or surface mail tracking
information.