The Academy Awards will be presented this week and two Clemson professors have reason to cling to the remotes just a little tighter when the winners are called. Jerry Tessendorf, director of Clemson’s Master of Fine Arts in Digital Productions Arts program, and Robert Geist, program co-founder and professor in the School of Computing, both developed software used for visual effects in Academy Award-nominated films. Tessendorf’s water simulation software was used in “Life of Pi,” and Geist was credited in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” Both films are nominated for the 2013 Academy Award for “Best Visual Effects.” The Academy Awards ceremony will be broadcast Sunday on ABC.
