Carnegie Mellon U Big Brain Joe Marks Joins Weta Digital As Chief Technology Officer
Marks has over 35 years in as a technology executive with background in graphics, computer science and research and development. Marks will oversee the company’s technology initiatives that span visual effects as well as the newly announced Weta Animated division, and will report to Akkaraju, who said the company was grateful to “have attracted technology leadership of Joe Marks’s caliber to Weta Digital. A pivotal part of the future of VFX and animation rests in artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud computing. Joe’s deep experience in these areas makes for a perfect fit at Weta as we continue to push the boundaries of our industry.”
Marks joins Weta Digital from Carnegie Mellon University, where he served as Executive Director of the Center for Machine Learning & Health, working at the forefront of innovation in digital healthcare. Marks is best-known for his prior roles at Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs (MERL) and Disney Research where he orchestrated and led the premier R&D organization in the media and entertainment industry with labs in Pittsburgh, Zurich, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Marks’s research interests span CG, video processing, media distribution, robotics, HCI, mobile computing, computer vision, AI, sensors, embedded systems and behavioral economics.
“While working with The Walt Disney Company and the ACM SIGGRAPH community, I admired Weta for many years,” Marks said. “It’s an absolute thrill to be joining the company as it embarks on a new adventure in animated storytelling, while continuing their unparalleled tradition of excellence in VFX for live-action movies.
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