Markus Gross is a globally recognized leader and pioneer in visual computing, holding prominent positions simultaneously in academia and industry. He serves as Professor of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, where he founded and heads the Computer Graphics Laboratory, and also holds the roles of Chief Scientist of The Walt Disney Studios and Director of Disney Research Studios. His influential career is marked by fundamental contributions across computer graphics, animation, physically based simulation, immersive reality, video technology, digital human creation, and AI-driven applications, leaving a significant mark on science, the entertainment industry, education, and medical technology.
Professor Gross began his academic journey at Saarland University, Germany, earning a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 1986, followed by a Ph.D. in Computer Graphics and Image Analysis in 1989. After a period at the Technical University of Darmstadt, where he established the Visual Computing Group and received his Habilitation in 1995, he joined ETH Zurich in 1994. There, he established the Computer Graphics Laboratory as a world-leading center for visual computing research, achieving the rank of Full Professor in 1997 and later serving as Director of the Institute of Computational Sciences from 2004 to 2008.
At ETH Zurich, Professor Gross's research has consistently pushed the boundaries of the field, resulting in over 700 scientific papers, an h-index of 118, more than 85 ACM SIGGRAPH publications and more than 100 patents. His diverse research portfolio includes pioneering work on point-based graphics, which challenged traditional methods and laid groundwork for modern techniques like Gaussian splatting, culminating in the seminal book "Point-Based Graphics" and the PointShop3D tool. He made significant contributions to physics-based simulation, from early work on facial surgery simulation and soft tissue modeling to developing the core technolog behind NVIDIA's PhysX engine via the startup Novodex. His Wavelet Turbulence method, which revolutionized the simulation of fluids like smoke and explosions, earned him and his team a "Tech Oscar" - Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2012. Furthermore, his lab produced groundbreaking advancements in creating realistic digital humans, notably developing Disney's Medusa Performance Capture system, which garnered a second Technical Achievement Award in 2019. The Digital Human Technology has not only transformed Hollywood storytelling but also enabled new frontiers in facial surgery simulation, specifically for children with a Cleft syndrome. His visionary work also extended to telepresence with the Blue-C project, an early immersive 3D video system, and into AI-driven rendering techniques that enhance major studio production pipelines, as well as educational technology like the Dybuster platform, an AI-powered multimodal learning system aiding over 100,000 children with dyslexia and dyscalculia in Swiss schools. Complementing his research, he led the establishment of the Game Technology Center and the Media Technology Center at ETH and has graduated over 75 Ph.D. students, many of whom now lead in academia and industry.
Parallel to his academic achievements, Professor Gross has played a pivotal role at The Walt Disney Studios since 2008. Recruited by Ed Catmull, he established and leads Disney Research Studios in Zurich, progressing to VP of Research in 2018 and Chief Scientist in 2022. He directs Disney's global research efforts in areas crucial to modern filmmaking, such as capture technology, rendering, simulation, digital humans, and the integration of AI and machine learning across Disney's studios. His leadership has embedded cutting-edge technology into over 150 Disney productions and significantly bolstered Zurich's standing as a global tech hub.
Professor Gross's entrepreneurial spirit is evident in the numerous technology startups he has co-founded, translating research directly into real-world applications. Notable examples include Cyfex (medical visualization), Novodex (physics simulation, acquired by Nvidia via Ageia), LiberoVision (3D sports visualization, acquired by Vizrt), Dybuster (educational software), Kapanu (AR for dentistry, acquired by Ivoclar Vivadent), Animatico (AI characters, acquired by Nvidia), and Arbrea Labs (AR for surgery), among others such as Gimalon, Perceptiko, Propulsion Academy, Nanocorp, Percim, and Morgen.
His extensive service to the scientific community includes participation in numerous program committees for leading conferences like ACM SIGGRAPH, IEEE Visualization, and Eurographics, including serving as the first European Papers Chair for ACM SIGGRAPH in 2005. His profound impact and leadership have been widely recognized through prestigious honors. He is a Fellow of both the ACM and the Eurographics Association. He holds memberships in several esteemed academies, including the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW), the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW), acatech - German Academy of Science and Engineering, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). His major accolades include the ACM SIGGRAPH Steven Anson Coons Award (2021), the Eurographics Gold Medal (2024), Germany's highest computer science honor, the Konrad Zuse Medal (2013), the Karl Heinz Beckurts Prize (2013), the IEEE Visualization Career Award (2015), the Eurographics Distinguished Career Award (2018), and two Technical Achievement Awards ("Tech Oscars") from AMPAS (2013, 2019), alongside the Eurographics Outstanding Technical Contribution Award (2010), the Swiss ICT Award (2011) and the ETH Dandelion Entrepreneurship Award (2021). Professor Gross's career exemplifies the powerful synergy between fundamental research, industrial innovation, and societal benefit, continually shaping the future of visual storytelling, communication, education, and healthcare.