Breakthroughs in computing are fueling a revolution in digital media—the integration of text, sound, video, and computer graphics animation. New companies are springing up to provide digital media content, tools, and technologies. An entirely new kind of industry is being created. On the creative side, the digital media industry includes new forms of movie production, (e.g., Toy Story and A Bug’s Life), new forms of interactive art, virtual reality consumer products, 3D computer-assisted design for engineering, and interactive educational and reference products, to name just a few. On the technical side, the digital media industry will spin off tools and technologies for creating, editing, and manipulating all forms of digital media content.

We already have strong industry players in many sectors of the new industry—content companies such as Starwave, Rainsound, Cyan, Nintendo, and Hyperbole and technology companies like Asymetrix, Equator, RealNetworks, and Microsoft.

The University of Washington has a core of outstanding people and programs in computer science, art, music, and other related programs—people with a proven record of excellence in education and research, and with a proven record of interdisciplinary interaction with one another and with industry.

The UW's two-quarter undergraduate course sequence on computer animation is nationally recognized for the unique way in which it brings together interdisciplinary teams of students from computer science, art, music, architecture, and other fields to create state-of-the-art short subjects. The course is co-taught by UW faculty and industry professionals from companies such as Pixar and Pacific Data Images. It was recently profiled in the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. In each of the past three years, the student production has been selected for screening at multiple prestigious animation festivals, including the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the Classical Festival of Animation, the London Effects & Animation Festival, and the Holland Animation Film Festival.

UW researchers are having a direct impact on the emerging industry. To name just one recent example, Pixar's recent short subject Geri's Game and feature-length animation A Bug's Life make extensive use of "subdivision surfaces" techniques pioneered by UW researcher Tony DeRose.

Our region's advantage is increased by a shift in the "platform of choice" for digital media applications from Silicon Graphics Unix-based systems toward the PC. There is a long record of companies in PC-oriented segments of the software industry locating near Microsoft. In addition, Microsoft has assembled one of the finest research groups in the world in computer graphics, and has established close ties with the University of Washington in this field.

The software industry is a major employer in Washington. Microsoft is obviously the best known software producer, but the industry embraces 2,500 firms in the state, employs 47,000 people, and generates $20 billion annually in worldwide revenue. This initiative not only contributes to new industry, but also addresses one of our most urgent workforce shortages. Over 7,000 of the jobs in Washington’s software industry are vacant today because of the lack a trained workforce. Most of these positions require a bachelor’s degree or higher. Filling them would generate almost $13 billion in revenue over the next three years, according to industry estimates.

Seizing the opportunity…

We seek a national leader to build upon our institutional and regional advantages. We have already identified a very select group of candidates who are currently industry leaders and who have expressed interest in becoming part of the UW digital media initiative. Hiring such a leader will magnify our existing faculty strengths and industry collaborations to make our region a national leader. Indeed, there is every reason to believe that Seattle, along with New York and Hollywood, can become one of the national centers for computer graphics, animation, and digital media. Other regions are catching up, but our advantages can be decisive if we seize the opportunities before us today.

"The University of Washington is a catalyst for the high technology industry in Washington State. A high percentage of the employees in this industry come from the UW. Many of the technologies our industry is based upon were pioneered and refined at the UW. Simply having the University in our community is attractive to the companies and individuals who fuel the growth of high technology in our state." - Jeremy Jaech, CEO, Visio Corporation.