Award-winning Group

Rochester Institute of Technology's Motion Picture Science program routinely receives honors at the annual Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) awards for its many contributions to cinema technology. 

At the 2018 event highlighting innovative leaders advancing technology in media and entertainment, Motion Picture Science students, faculty and alumni all were recognized. 

Grace Annese '19 and Jake Zuena '19 won two of the three Louis F. Wolf Jr. Memorial Scholarships — which assist students in furthering their studies.

Emily Faw '18, a color science technician at Technicolor, received an honorable mention for her paper titled, "What Does a High-Dynamic Range Mean: Creating a High-Dynamic Range Workflow for Film Students."

Catherine Meininger '18, a color scientist at Portrait Displays, Inc., earned an honorable mention for her paper titled, "Determining Visibility Thresholds for Spatial and Spatiotemporal Chromatic Noise."

A Journal Certificate of Merit was presented to 2017 Motion Picture Science alumnae Jaclyn Pytlarz and Elizabeth Pieri, who were recognized for their article titled, “Objectively Evaluating High-Dynamic-Range and Wide-Color-Gamut Color Differences,” published in the March 2017 issue of the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal. The article, also written with Robin Atkins, highlighted part of the trio’s research at Dolby Laboratories.

Ricardo Figueroa, associate professor and undergraduate program director of Motion Picture Science, along with two alumni — Trevor Canham and Meininger — each had papers accepted for the full conference program. The acknowledgement was particularly notable for Canham and Meininger because there is no student category for papers, meaning their thesis work merited recognition in a peer-reviewed competition with current industry professionals.

“These awards are yet further affirmation that RIT’s Motion Picture Science (MPS) program prepares our students with one of the broadest and strongest curriculum choices in the country,” said David Long, director of MAGIC Spell Studios and associate professor of MPS.