Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar Animation and a U alumnus, will receive the 2006 IEEE John von Neumann Medal for his contributions to special effects in live-action and animated motion pictures.

In 1974, while studying physics and computer science at the U, his pioneering animation of a human hand was incorporated into the first movie to use 3-D computer graphics. His research led to four computer-graphics discoveries: Z-buffering, texture mapping, subdivision surface and rendering of bicubic patches.

The IEEE is a leading professional association for the advancement of technology. The medal will be presented to Catmull at a ceremony on June 24.