In 2026, the Solid Modeling Association (SMA) has established this award to honor Elaine Cohen and Richard Riesenfeld for their lifetime contributions to the field. The Cohen-Riesenfeld Young Investigator Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments, particularly outstanding published papers in the area of Solid Modeling, by researchers of 40 years or younger. That is, eligibility requires that the nominee does not turn 41 in the year the award is presented. The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation has funded this award in perpetuity through a generous contribution. The awardee receives a stipend of approximately $2,500.
Elaine Cohen and Richard Riesenfeld
In 1973 Riesenfeld’s PhD dissertation introduced B-splines as a powerful representation and design technique for geometric modeling and CAD/CAM. In 1974 with Cohen’s support, Riesenfeld and Barnhill organized the first International Conference on Computer Aided Geometric Design (Proceedings: Academic Press, 1974) to bring together for the first time many international pioneers in disparate areas, many of whom had never met.
Published in 1979, the now eponymous Lane-Riesenfeld Algorithm for subdivision of Bézier surfaces and refinement of uniform B-spline surfaces has become classic. Using the powerful discrete spline theory, Cohen, Lyche and Riesenfeld followed this result in 1980, with the seminal Oslo Algorithm, a general method for simultaneously refining nonuniform B-splines with multiple new knots. This capability had practical impact on the adoption of B-splines as today’s de facto representation standard in nearly all major CAD/CAM systems.
Since their collaboration on the Oslo Algorithm, Cohen and Riesenfeld maintained a close research partnership lasting more than 40 years and resulting in numerous important results, nearly all involving B-spline technology. Following the Oslo Algorithm, they initiated the Alpha_1 Project to develop a coherent experimental testbed for B-spline based research in geometry. Many outstanding graduate students trained in this unique modeling environment. Alpha_1 was the first system to use B-splines as the exclusive geometric representation for shape.
Typically producing theoretical results motivated by practical problems, Cohen and Riesenfeld have contributed several seminal papers in CAGD, including important works in box splines, cone splines, and simplex splines. Their work found applications in fields including approximation theory, CAD/CAM, computer graphics, and human computer interaction.
Additionally, they were co-authors (with Elber) of a textbook on advanced B-spline methods in CAGD, and they co-founded a successful technology start-up company.
Over decades of making important research contributions and teaching, their sustained leadership and vision has left their names inseparable from the field of freeform geometric modeling.
Former Awardees
In the period 2019–2025, the award was called the Young Investigator Award. The list of former awardees is given below:
- 2025: Changjian Li
- 2024: Xiaoming Fu
- 2022: Tsz Ho Kwok
- 2021: Jun Wu
- 2020: Xin Li
- 2019: Michael Barton
2027 SMA COHEN-RIESENFELD YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD: Nominations are due by April 30, 2027
Nomination Form and Timeline:
To nominate a candidate for the distinction of SMA Cohen-Riesenfeld Young Investigator Award, please fill in the nomination form (provided below) and change the file name for the completed form using the nominee name (e.g., “YIA_nomination_John_Smith.pdf”) and send it by e-mail to the Award Committee and SMA Executive Committee Chairs. For the e-mail subject line, please use “SMA Cohen-Riesenfeld YIA Nomination”. The e-mail should be sent from the e-mail account of the nominator.
- Download nomination form (PDF), complete, and send via e-mail.
- The information on this webpage can be downloaded here (PDF).
Please send your nomination for SMA Cohen-Riesenfeld Young Investigator Award to YIA Award Committee Chair Xin Li (xinli@tamu.edu) and copy the SMA EC Chair, Michael Bartoň (mbarton@bcamath.org).
Every nominator can only nominate one candidate for each award. Self-nomination is not accepted. The current SMA EC members are not eligible for nominating or being nominated any SMA awards.
Each year, the nomination deadline and the emails of the Chair(s) of the SMA Awards Committee will be announced via email to SMA members and will be posted on the SMA website.
Selection Process and Announcement:
Each year, the recipients are selected from the submitted nominations by a vote of the SMA YIA Award Committee. The committee chair is appointed by the SMA Executive Committee, and the chair then selects the committee members. The details of the nomination and voting process are left to the discretion of the committee chair. The recipients are announced at the SPM conference and posted on the SMA website, together with the suggested announcement text, a short biography, and a photo of each recipient.