After more than 25 years at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, the distinguished computer graphics researcher is retiring
Piotr Didyk, Tobias Ritschel, Karol Myszkowski and Rafal Mantiuk (left to right) while handing over the Festschrift. Photo: MPI-INF/Bertram Somieski
Prof. Karol Myszkowski is one of the most influential computer graphics researchers in Europe. He is a Eurographics Fellow, a recipient of that association's "Outstanding Technical Contribution Award," and a member of the ACM SIGGRAPH Academy. For more than 25 years, he has conducted research at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, where he leads the research group "HDR Imaging, Perception and Advanced Displays" in the Computer Graphics department. Now he is retiring. To celebrate his influential scientific career, on September 17th colleagues and alumni of his group organized a symposium and a Festschrift in his honor. As a special guest, early graphics and VR-pioneer Henry Fuchs gave a keynote at the symposium.
Karol Myszkowski listening to a talk. Photo: MPI-INF/Bertram Somieski
Karol Myszkowski’s research group at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge on image perception and the development of imaging algorithms with embedded computational models of the human visual system. He has made foundational contributions to Perceptual Rendering – methods for image generation that are guided by human visual perception – and to High Dynamic Range Imaging, a technique that enables particularly rich contrasts and detailed image representations. Among his most influential publications is the co-authored textbook "High Dynamic Range Imaging", now considered a standard reference in the field with over 2,700 citations.
Group Photo of the participants of the Symposium. Photo: MPI-INF/Bertram Somieski
He has published extensively, with more than 80 papers appearing in ACM SIGGRAPH/ACM SIGGRAPH Asia and Eurographics, the premier venues for computer graphics research. He has also contributed significantly to the research community, serving on numerous conference program committees and journal editorial boards, chairing the paper program for ACM SIGGRAPH Asia 2020 and co-chairing Eurographics 2023. During his time at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Karol Myszkowski has also supervised 20 doctoral students and welcomed 13 postdoctoral researchers into his group.
Director Hans-Peter Seidel during his welcome speech. Photo: MPI-INF/ Bertram Somieski
"Karol has been a cornerstone of the Computer Graphics department since the beginning of his time at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics. In addition to his scientific excellence, he has also distinguished himself as an outstanding teacher and mentor whose students and postdocs lead research institutions around the world. He has been a tremendous role model in being generous, helpful, and respectful to others, and he shines through his kindness and generosity," says Hans-Peter Seidel, Director of the Computer Graphics Department.
„I am infinitely grateful to Tobias Ritschel, Piotr Didyk, Rafał Mantiuk, and all the other colleagues who put so much effort into organizing this surprise celebration, traveling often long distances to attend, and keeping it secret from me until the very last moment. I was deeply moved to hear their perspectives on our past joint research, but also excited to learn about their current work and to catch up on their careers and future plans,“ says Karol Myszkowski.
Prof. Henry Fuchs during his keynote. Photo: MPI-INF/Bertram Somieski
Special thanks go to Prof. Henry Fuchs of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), a pioneer in 3D computer graphics and virtual and augmented reality, who delivered the keynote talk at the symposium, and who has collaborated with Karol Myszkowski on several AR-related works. In his engaging keynote, he took the younger attendees back to the roots of their field, skillfully connecting early research findings to today's cutting-edge technologies and offering inspiring ideas on how to incorporate them into their own work.
Karol Myszkowski has been conducting research at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics since 2000, where he leads the research group “HDR Imaging, Rendering and Advanced Displays” as a senior researcher in the department of Computer Graphics. Prior to that, he worked for many years in Japan, including as an associate professor at the University of Aizu. His academic career began at the Szczecin University of Technology. He received his PhD in 1991, followed by his habilitation in 2001, both in computer science at the Warsaw University of Technology. In 2011, he was awarded a lifetime professor title by the President of the Republic of Poland. He was named a Eurographics Fellow and elected to the ACM SIGGRAPH Academy, one of the highest international honors in computer graphics research. He also received the Eurographics Outstanding Technical Contributions Award, the highest technical distinction of the European computer graphics community.
A Festschrift commemorating the symposium has been published by Eurographics, edited by Piotr Didyk (Università della Svizzera italiana), Rafal Mantiuk (University of Cambridge), and Tobias Ritschel (University College London).
Festschrift:
P. Didyk, R. Mantiuk, and T. Ritschel, Eds., Festschrift in Honor of Karol Myszkowski. The Eurographics Association, 2026. doi: 10.2312/fkm.20261001.
https://diglib.eg.org/collections/dae99ec1-fac5-462a-ad66-846ab9baa970
Editor:
Philipp Zapf-Schramm
Joint Administration
Max Planck Institute for Informatics
Max Planck Institute for Software Systems Tel: +49 681 9325 4509
Email: pzs@mpi-klsb.mpg.de