This reality isn’t virtual. The Visual Effects Society said Wednesday that VR and immersive technology pioneer DR. Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie will receive its 2025 Georges Méliès Award at the VES Awards in February.
Spanning four decades, Morie’s work redefined the possibilities of immersive media, infusing them with profound emotional and educational resonance, the group said. Her visionary leadership has shaped pivotal projects across health, space exploration, art and education, underscoring her as a transformative innovator and thought leader.
The award will be presented during the 23rd VES Awards on February 11 at The Beverly Hilton.
“Dr. Jacki Morie … has been at the edge of technological advances since the 1980s and remains dedicated to mentoring the next generation of VR innovators while forging ahead with new paradigms in immersive media,” said VES Chair Kim Davidson said. “For her contributions to the computer animation and visual effects industries and role as a defining voice of immersive technology, we are honored to award Jacki with the prestigious VES Georges Méliès Award.”
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Bestowed by the VES Board of Directors, the Méliès Award recognizes an individual for pioneering significant and lasting contributions to the art and science of the visual effects industry by way of artistry, invention and groundbreaking work.
Morie helped establish USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies that launched in 1999 and was a senior scientist there for 14 years, working on groundbreaking projects in virtual reality, virtual worlds, mobile applications and intelligent virtual humans. Prior to that, she initiated comprehensive training programs for the computer animation and special effects industries, including work for Walt Disney Feature Animation and Rhythm and Hues Studios.
She also designed animation, computer graphics and immersive media curricula for several academic programs such as Ringling College of Art and Design, the University of Central Florida, Otis College of Art and Design and UCLA Extension.
After forming her own company, All These Worlds, LLC in 2011, she produced a pivotal study for NASA called ANSIBLE, designed to mitigate social isolation and sensory deprivation future astronauts would encounter on long duration space missions. She served as Senior Technical Advisor on the XPRIZE ANA Avatar Competition for 2018-2022, advocating for the use of two-way haptics in robot avatars to bring enhanced sensory impact to the operators of such robots.
In 2020, Morie co-edited with Kate McCallum The Global Impacts and Roles of Immersive Media, a definitive work illuminating the transformative influence of immersive technologies of all forms. Her forthcoming two-volume history of virtual reality chronicles the trailblazers who propelled this technological frontier into new realms
“I am honored to receive this recognition, though I did not contribute to this field alone,” Morie said. “I am indebted to every person who went before me, who inspired me, who mentored me, encouraged my crazy ideas and challenged me to forge new paths. I will be forever grateful to them and hope to continue to make them proud. And I hope this honor will serve to inspire many more to follow their dreams towards inventing a better future.”
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