Connect with us

Technology

SIGGRAPH 2024 Cultivates the Minds of Tomorrow as the Educator’s Forum Welcomes a Global Community of Educators

Published

2 years ago

on

The Educator’s Forum aims to inspire those who teach, from K–12 through undergraduate and graduate programs, at the 51st annual conference

DENVER, July 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — SIGGRAPH 2024 will bring educators from across the world and all teaching levels together to explore innovative ideas to foster the future of computer graphics and interactive techniques from Sunday, 28 July, to Thursday, 1 August 2024 at the 51st annual conference held at the Colorado Convention Center. The Educator’s Forum will allow those who teach, from K–12 through undergraduate and graduate programs, to engage with a diverse, welcoming, and dedicated global community of educators on a mission to cultivate the minds of tomorrow.

“The idea of the Educator’s Forum was to recognize that education was an important factor in the SIGGRAPH universe and needed to have its own track,” William Joel, SIGGRAPH 2024 Education Chair, said. “The Educator’s Forum started more than five years ago and continues to provide an important avenue where educators and businesses can present material that is specifically relevant to other educators.”

The goal of the Educator’s Forum is to allow teaching professionals to connect with a diverse, welcoming, and dedicated global community of educators to elevate their professional development and discover innovative approaches to education in order to teach for tomorrow. Educators across all levels will be enlightened by imaginative outcomes while engaging in the exchange of new ideas.

This year, the Educator’s Forum requested submissions that serve a unique way of teaching complicated subjects or prove groundbreaking curriculums. Those interested in submitting were requested to submit Engaging Education Techniques and Assignments (EETA), peer-reviewed course assignments focusing on computer graphics and interactive techniques. Educators, researchers, and industry professionals were all welcome to submit entries, all of which are designed and tested for classes at any level. After the conference, the accepted submissions will be available for educators to easily search, download, and use in their own classrooms.

An example of panels and sessions in the Educator’s Forum this year includes:

“Inclusive Community: Accessibility and Neurodiversity in Classroom, Industry, and Academia” — Neurodiversity, accessibility, and inclusive classrooms and workplaces are essential for the success of the individuals affected by various challenges and the entire SIGGRAPH community. This panel will discuss the current state of the issue, different types of accommodations, and helpful ideas to make the learning and working environment more inclusive.“Student / Futures: Creative Careers in Animation, Computer Graphics, and Interactive Techniques” — Industry panelists share perspectives and insights for students, educators, and creative professionals who are considering careers in animation, computer graphics, creative technologies, and interactive techniques. Represented industry segments include animation and VFX, computer graphics and information systems, themed entertainment, and interactive educational technologies.“Empowering Creativity With Generative AI in Digital Art Education” — Given the significant impact of artificial intelligence on creative processes across various art disciplines, we are dedicated to exploring AI as a creative tool within educational environments. Beyond mere experimentation, our objective is to delve into the outcomes of this integration and its implications for both education and creativity.“CG Animation, Neurodiversity, and Autistic College Students” — With 40% of our Animation + VFX students registered with the Office of Disability and Accessibility Services, it is often challenging for students to meet the course requirements in the 3D animation courses. How can we as CG artists and educators do a better job of supporting this large population?

“Educators are not just interested in the latest bells and whistles of the software technology. They want to know, ‘How can I use it in the classroom? How can I work with students with these products? What can it do for me as an educator? What can it do for my students in the classroom? Not in their careers later on, but right now in the classroom,'” Joel noted.

This is where the Educator’s Day comes in. Introduced at SIGGRAPH two years ago, this is a day of sessions that serves as an opportunity for companies to present to educators and features talks geared specifically for educators, going beyond what attendees would find on the exhibit floor. This year, Educator’s Day will be held on Monday, 29 July and includes eight sessions featuring companies from Adobe, NVIDIA, Epic Games, Epic ArtStation, PixelLightEffects, Foundry, SideFX, and Electronic Arts. Click here to see the session schedule.

This year will also feature an Educator’s Day Q&A on Tuesday, 30 July at 2 pm MDT, where companies will sit with the educators and answer any questions about the industry. This will serve as a deep-dive session where topics in the sessions can be explored in further detail. After four days of education focused presentations, attendees are invited to join an invigorating, open discussion on such hot topics as generative AI and neurodiversity in an Educator’s Forum Town Hall on Thursday, 1 August at 2 pm MDT.

“Educators get to meet other educators worldwide who are doing the things they’re doing or, better yet, doing what they would like to do in their courses. Educators come and really get immersed in the world of SIGGRAPH as a whole. I say the world of SIGGRAPH because, for me, people would say the industry. SIGGRAPH is way beyond the industry because there’s a huge portion of what SIGGRAPH does that’s all about education and undergraduate-level research. The world is much larger than just industry, but it opens up the eyes for educators to see what is possible,” Joel added.

Learn more about how SIGGRAPH 2024 is cultivating the minds of tomorrow here and view the full Educator’s Forum program here. ACM SIGGRAPH’s In Good Company series features speakers from various organizations having conversations or giving presentations with and specifically for educators.

About ACM, ACM SIGGRAPH, and SIGGRAPH 2024
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field’s challenges. ACM SIGGRAPH is a special interest group within ACM that serves as an interdisciplinary community for members in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The SIGGRAPH conference is the world’s leading annual interdisciplinary educational experience showcasing the latest in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH 2024, the 51st annual conference hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH, will take place live 28 July–1 August at the Colorado Convention Center, along with a Virtual Access option.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/siggraph-2024-cultivates-the-minds-of-tomorrow-as-the-educators-forum-welcomes-a-global-community-of-educators-302199872.html

SOURCE SIGGRAPH

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Technology

Portland General Electric declares dividend

Published

2 hours ago

on

July 25, 2026

By

PORTLAND, Ore., July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The board of directors of Portland General Electric Company (NYSE: POR) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.55125 per share.

The company’s dividend is evaluated based on capital requirements and financial performance. PGE targets a dividend payout ratio of 60 to 70% over the long term.

The quarterly dividend is payable on or before October 15, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 25, 2026.

About Portland General Electric Company
Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) is an integrated energy company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to nearly 960,000 customers serving an area of approximately 2 million Oregonians. Since 1889, Portland General Electric (PGE) has been powering economies, delivering safe, affordable and reliable electricity while working to transform energy systems to meet evolving customer needs. PGE continues to make progress towards emissions reduction targets, and customers have set the standard for prioritizing clean energy with the No. 1 voluntary renewable energy program in the country. PGE is ranked a top ten utility in the 2025 Forrester U.S. Customer Experience Index. In 2025, PGE employees and retirees volunteered over 18,300 hours to more than 400 nonprofits organizations. Through the PGE Foundation, along with corporate contributions and the employee matching gift program, more than $5 million was directed to charitable organizations supporting economic growth and community resilience across our service area. For information: portlandgeneral.com/news.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions about the future, involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements include statements, other than statements of historical or current fact, regarding the Company’s amount and timing of dividends payable as well as other statements containing words such as “committed to,” “targets,” or similar expressions.

There can be no assurance that future dividends will be declared. The declaration of future dividends is subject to approval of our board of directors and various risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: our cash flow and cash needs; the timing or amount of dividends paid; the timing or outcome of various legal and regulatory actions; changes in the Company’s business strategy; increases in capital expenditures; changes in capital and credit market conditions, including volatility of equity markets as well as changes in PGE’s credit ratings and outlook on such credit ratings restrictions on the payment of dividends under existing or future financing arrangements; changes in tax laws relating to corporate dividends; deterioration in our financial condition or results, and those risks, uncertainties, and other factors identified from time-to-time in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov and on the Company’s website, investors.portlandgeneral.com. Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other factors.

Media Contact:
Drew Hanson
Corporate Communications
Phone: 503-464-2067

Investor Contact:
Erin Schwartz
Investor Relations
Phone: 503-464-7751

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/portland-general-electric-declares-dividend-302834503.html

SOURCE Portland General Company

Continue Reading

Technology

Care Career Announces Acquisition of MAS Medical Staffing, Completing Its First Acquisition Phase and Expanding Annual Revenue Beyond $150 Million, with a Path to Exceed a Quarter Billion by the End of 2026 Through Additional Acquisitions and Organic Growth

Published

4 hours ago

on

July 24, 2026

By

WOODBRIDGE, N.J., July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Care Career, a rapidly growing healthcare workforce technology organization, today announced the acquisition of MAS Medical Staffing, one of the Northeast’s leading healthcare workforce organizations. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition represents Care Career’s seventh strategic acquisition in the past 24 months, further strengthening the company’s position as one of the largest healthcare workforce organizations in the United States while accelerating its strategy to redefine the future of healthcare workforce management through artificial intelligence, enterprise technology, and workforce innovation.

MAS Medical Staffing has built an outstanding reputation for delivering high-quality workforce solutions through strong client relationships, exceptional clinician engagement, and deep regional expertise throughout the Northeastern United States. The acquisition significantly expands Care Career’s geographic footprint while broadening its access to healthcare professionals, client relationships, workforce data, and regional market intelligence.

Care Career is building a technology-enabled workforce ecosystem powered by its AI-powered workforce platform, where every acquisition contributes not only additional market presence, but also expanded data, enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities, digital innovation, and operational scale that continuously improve the experience for clients and clinicians alike. As the platform grows, every clinician engagement, client interaction, credential, placement, and workforce trend strengthens the intelligence of Career’s technology, creating a continuously improving ecosystem designed to deliver faster, smarter, and more effective workforce solutions.

The acquisition also brings MAS Medical Staffing’s MAESTRA® engagement technology, along with its client relationships and clinician network, directly onto Career’s AI-powered workforce platform. MAESTRA’s scheduling, credentialing, and communication capabilities will be integrated into Care Career’s existing technology stack, further enhancing clinician engagement across onboarding, scheduling, and career management while providing healthcare organizations with greater workforce visibility and operational efficiency.

“Our vision is to build the AI-powered infrastructure that modernizes healthcare workforce management,” said Siva Konatham, Group President and Chief Executive Officer of Care Career. “Under my leadership, Care Career is focused on transforming a fragmented, labor-intensive industry into a data-driven, technology-enabled ecosystem that improves speed, efficiency, and workforce visibility for healthcare providers. Each acquisition strengthens our platform intelligence, expands our scale, and enhances our margin potential. By integrating advanced analytics, AI automation, and digital engagement tools, we are not just growing revenue—we are building a smarter, more scalable model positioned to lead the next era of healthcare workforce solutions.”

The combined organization will leverage expanded recruiting resources, centralized credentialing, advanced workforce analytics, AI-enabled automation, and digital engagement technologies—all powered by Care Career’s AI-powered workforce platform—to deliver broader recruiting capabilities, faster response times, enhanced workforce insights, and expanded national coverage. Clinicians will benefit from a seamless digital experience that simplifies every stage of their careers—from job discovery and credentialing to onboarding, scheduling, communication, and long-term career development.

With seven strategic acquisitions completed in less than two years, representing the first round of acquisitions now totaling more than $150 million in annual revenue, Care Career has rapidly expanded its national presence while executing a disciplined growth strategy focused on technology integration, operational excellence, and workforce innovation. The company has also signed additional Letters of Intent with other entities with expected close dates in the third quarter of 2026. Upon completion of these transactions, coupled with organic growth, Care Career expects consolidated annual revenue to exceed a quarter of a billion dollars by the end of 2026.

The addition of MAS Medical Staffing further strengthens the organization’s ability to serve healthcare systems, hospitals, long-term care providers, outpatient facilities, and other healthcare organizations across an increasingly diverse geographic footprint.

“The healthcare workforce industry is entering a new era where technology, artificial intelligence, and data-driven decision-making will define the market leaders,” Konatham added. “Every acquisition we complete expands the intelligence of our AI-powered workforce platform, enhances the value we deliver to our clients, and creates more opportunities for clinicians. We believe the combination of exceptional people, innovative technology, and strategic scale positions Care Career to lead the next generation of healthcare workforce solutions.”

About Care Career

Care Career is a technology-enabled healthcare workforce solutions company dedicated to transforming how healthcare organizations recruit, engage, credential, deploy, and retain clinical talent. Powered by its proprietary AI-powered workforce platform and supported by advanced artificial intelligence, enterprise technology, and workforce analytics, Care Career is building an intelligent healthcare workforce ecosystem that connects providers and clinicians more efficiently while improving workforce performance, operational effectiveness, and patient care. Following seven strategic acquisitions over the past 24 months the first round of acquisitions totaling more than $150 million in annual revenue and with additional signed LOIs under contract expected to complete shortly, positioning the company to surpass a quarter of a billion dollars in consolidated annual revenue by the end of 2026, Care Career has become one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing healthcare workforce organizations, serving healthcare providers and clinicians across the United States.

About MAS Medical Staffing

MAS Medical Staffing is a premier healthcare workforce organization recognized for exceptional service, strong client partnerships, and a commitment to connecting healthcare professionals with rewarding career opportunities. With an established presence throughout the Northeastern United States, MAS Medical Staffing has earned a reputation for quality, responsiveness, and delivering workforce solutions that help healthcare providers meet their evolving workforce needs while supporting clinicians throughout every stage of their careers.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/care-career-announces-acquisition-of-mas-medical-staffing-completing-its-first-acquisition-phase-and-expanding-annual-revenue-beyond-150-million-with-a-path-to-exceed-a-quarter-billion-by-the-end-of-2026-through-additional-acqu-302834472.html

SOURCE Care Career

Continue Reading

Technology

PointsKash Demonstrates How Businesses Can Build on Bitcoin Without Burdening the Blockchain

Published

4 hours ago

on

July 24, 2026

By

As industry debate surrounding Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP-110) intensifies, PointsKash unveils an architecture designed to work regardless of the proposal’s outcome.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As the global Bitcoin community debates Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110 (BIP-110) and the future of data stored on the Bitcoin blockchain, PointsKash, Inc. today announced that its next-generation kiosk infrastructure was intentionally designed to operate efficiently under any outcome of the proposal.

Rather than storing operational data directly on the Bitcoin blockchain, PointsKash utilizes a layered architecture that combines Bitcoin‘s unmatched security with modern decentralized communications technology. Every transaction, machine event, system update, and operational record generated across the PointsKash network is cryptographically verified, securely maintained off-chain, and anchored to the Bitcoin blockchain through a single immutable cryptographic proof.

This approach allows thousands of operational events to be permanently verified while utilizing only a minimal amount of blockchain data.

As discussion surrounding BIP-110 has intensified across the digital asset industry, PointsKash believes the debate does not require choosing between innovation and responsible blockchain stewardship.

“The industry has been debating whether businesses can build meaningful applications on Bitcoin without unnecessarily consuming blockchain space,” said Michael Herron, Chief Executive Officer of PointsKash. “We believe we’ve demonstrated that the answer is yes. Bitcoin provides the world’s most trusted immutable timestamp and security layer, while higher-volume operational data belongs on technologies specifically designed to manage it. By combining both, we’ve built an architecture that is scalable, transparent, and future-ready regardless of how the BIP-110 discussion ultimately evolves.”

The company’s infrastructure assigns every kiosk its own unique cryptographic identity, allowing each machine to securely authenticate every transaction and operational event. Those records are then independently verifiable through cryptographic proofs while remaining resistant to alteration or manipulation—even by PointsKash itself.

According to the company, this architecture delivers several significant advantages:

Mathematically verifiable transaction records for regulators, banking partners, auditors, and enterprise customers.Improved network reliability, allowing kiosks to continue operating during temporary connectivity interruptions without losing transaction history.Enhanced cybersecurity, with every machine maintaining its own authenticated identity and secure communications.A scalable blockchain architecture that minimizes on-chain data while preserving complete auditability.

“Bitcoin was created to provide trust, security, and permanence—not to become a storage system for every piece of application data,” Herron added. “Our philosophy has always been simple: use Bitcoin for what it does better than anyone else—creating immutable proof that records have never been altered—and leverage modern decentralized technologies for everything else. We believe that’s the future of enterprise blockchain infrastructure.”

PointsKash believes this architecture positions the company among a new generation of fintech innovators utilizing Bitcoin as a secure trust layer while developing scalable financial applications for enterprise deployment.

The technology also establishes the foundation for future blockchain-based financial products currently under development, including enhanced digital audit capabilities, verifiable financial records, enterprise licensing opportunities, and next-generation digital asset infrastructure.

As the Bitcoin ecosystem continues to mature, PointsKash believes its technology demonstrates that responsible innovation and blockchain scalability can successfully coexist—providing enterprise organizations with the confidence to build on Bitcoin without contributing unnecessary data to the network.

About PointsKash, Inc.

PointsKash, Inc. is a financial technology company developing an integrated ecosystem of AI-enabled self-service financial centers, digital banking, digital payment solutions, cryptocurrency services, loyalty rewards, enterprise merchant technologies, and mobile financial applications. Through proprietary software, Artificial Intelligence, and strategic partnerships, PointsKash is building innovative financial solutions designed to empower consumers, merchants, and enterprise organizations throughout North America.

For more information, visit www.pointskash.com.

Media Contact

PointsKash, Inc.
Investor Relations
info@pointskash.com
www.pointskash.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding anticipated technology integrations, Artificial Intelligence initiatives, product development, future commercialization plans, expected operational efficiencies, business strategy, and future growth. These statements are based on current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Factors that could affect actual results include, but are not limited to, technology development timelines, integration efforts, financing, regulatory developments, market conditions, and other risks facing the Company. PointsKash undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pointskash-demonstrates-how-businesses-can-build-on-bitcoin-without-burdening-the-blockchain-302834473.html

SOURCE PointsKash Inc.

Continue Reading

Trending