The Pierre Bézier Award

With the approval of the family of the late Pierre Bézier, the Solid Modeling Association has established The Pierre Bézier Award for Solid, Geometric and Physical Modeling and Applications, in 2007.

Pierre Bézier is one of the founders of the fields of solid, geometric and physical modeling. Beginning with his work on representing curves, and continuing through his work on one of the first CAD/CAM systems at Renault (UNISURF), Pierre Bézier led the transformation of design and manufacturing, through mathematics and computing tools, into computer aided design and three dimensional modeling. He made contributions to computer control, interactive free-form curve and surface design and 3D milling for manufacturing clay models and masters. Bézier's approach to research exemplifies how the problems from the real world can drive scientific inquiry and lead to engineering accomplishments.

Solid, geometric and physical modeling have matured and came a long way since the 1950s, resulting in a rich set of theories, mathematics and algorithms that define and manipulate representations of physical objects, their properties, and their associated abstractions. These representations are intimately tied to processes (such as simulation, design, manufacturing, and analysis) and application domains (automotive, aerospace, bio-medical, graphic arts, etc). These representations support the creation, exchange, simulation, visualization, animation, interrogation, and annotation of the digital models of the objects and their evolution.

Award Recipients

2010: Malcolm Sabin

2009: Richard Riesenfeld and Elaine Cohen

2008: I. Braid, A. Grayer and C. Lang

2007: A. Requicha and H. Voelcker

Sponsors of the Pierre Bézier Award