The Visual Effects Society (VES) has named virtual reality/immersive technology pioneer Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie as the forthcoming recipient of the Georges Méliès Award in recognition of her valuable contributions to visual arts and technology. The award will be presented at the 23rd Annual VES Awards on February 11, 2025 at The Beverly Hilton hotel.
The VES Georges Méliès Award, bestowed by the VES Board of Directors, 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. The Society will honor Dr. Morie for her immense contributions to virtual reality. She redefined the possibilities of immersive media, infusing them with profound emotional and educational resonance. Dr. Morie’s visionary leadership has shaped pivotal projects across health, space exploration, art, and education, underscoring her as a transformative innovator and thought leader.
“Dr. Jacki Morie exemplifies enduring impact at the intersection of art, science, and technology, shaping the future of virtual experiences worldwide,” said VES chair Kim Davidson. “She 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. 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.”
Dr. Morie stated, “I am honored to receive this recognition, though I did not contribute to this field alone. 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.”
Dr. Morie stands as a luminary in the realm of VR, celebrated globally for her groundbreaking contributions for four decades.
Dr. Morie helped establish the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies that launched in 1999, and was a sr. 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, Dr. 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.
She has received several recognitions, including the prestigious AIXR Accenture Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 and induction into the inaugural AWE XR Hall of Fame in 2024. She was recognized by the Virtual World Society with the Legacy Nextant Award and honored by ACM SIGGRAPH’s Academy in 2024.
Previous recipients of the VES Georges Méliès Award include Bob Abel, John Lasseter, Joe Letteri, Phil Tippett, VES, Ed Catmull, VES and Douglas Trumbull, VES.
