SMPTE Will Honor The Following Individuals for their Industry Contributions and Achievements at the Honors and Awards Ceremony, 25 October 2012.
Honorary Membership and the Honor Roll
It is the purpose of Honorary Membership in the Society to honor individuals who have performed eminent service in the advancement of engineering in motion pictures, television, or in the allied arts and sciences. Such contributions shall represent substantially a lifetime's work inasmuch as Honorary Membership shall be the supreme accolade of the Society.
Charles E. Anderson
In recognition of his many decades of pioneering engineering work in the television industry, including his key contributions to the invention of the first practical broadcast grade videotape recorder.
SMPTE Progress Medal Award
Honors an individual by recognizing outstanding technical contributions to the progress of engineering phases of the motion picture and/or television industries.
David Wood
In recognition of his career as a scientific and innovative leader in the broadcasting industry, dedicating his life to educating all constituents and proactively seeking a fair consensus for all.
Technicolor-Herbert T. Kalmus Medal Award
Honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the development of color films, processing, techniques or equipment useful in making color motion pictures for theater or television use.
Thomas O. Maier
Samuel L. Warner Memorial Medal Award
Honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the design and development of new and improved methods and/or apparatus for sound-on-film motion pictures, including any step in the process.
Douglas Greenfield
David Sarnoff Medal Award
Honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions in the development of new techniques or equipment, which have contributed to the improvement of the engineering phases of television, including theater television.
Kodak Educational Medal Award
Honors an individual by recognizing outstanding contributions in new or unique educational programs utilizing the technologies of film in motion picture, television, high-speed and instrumentation photography, or other photographic sciences. The award shall recognize an individual who advances the educational process at any level through innovative and inspirational methods.
William McDonald
In recognition of his dedication to student filmmakers striving to take advantage of the best of film and digital technologies. During his tenure at UCLA, McDonald has advocated for affordable access to the best production and post-production resources for film students, negotiating services with Technicolor, Deluxe and FotoKem among others. And he was instrumental in bringing the largest fiber-connected Final Cut Pro platform at the time to UCLA to modernize post-production teaching. McDonald has also innovated collaborative education with industry professionals through the UCLA Cinematography Residence Program where students learn directly from award winning professional cinematographers from the ASC.
SMPTE Workflow Systems Medal Award
Honors an individual by recognizing significant technical achievements related to the development of digital processing of content for motion picture, television, games or other related media.
Brad Gilmer
In recognition of his leadership in file based workflow topics. Gilmer’s early work on file based workflow while at Turner Entertainment became a model for many broadcasters to follow. Mr. Gilmer’s leadership of the AMWA has moved MXF implementation to the forefront of modern facilities, and begun a process that will complete the important work necessary to implement SOA in widespread use through the joint work AMWA has begun with the EBU on FIMS.
SMPTE Digital Processing Medal Award
Honors an individual by recognizing significant technical achievements related to the development of digital processing of content for motion picture, television, games or other related media.
Gary Demos
In recognition of his pioneering work in creating computer-generated digital special effects. For over 30 years, he contributed to the development of high-speed film scanners and recorders, created computer generated images, and created concepts to enable high quality image compression, and image processing and formats for high definition and beyond.
SMPTE Camera Origination and Imaging Medal Award
Honors an individual by recognizing significant technical achievements related to invention or advances in imaging technology including sensors, imaging processing electronics and the overall embodiment and application of image capture devices.
Bryce Bayer
In recognition of his invention of the color filter array that bears his name (the Bayer Filter), a core technology incorporated into nearly every digital camera and camera phone on the market today (U.S. Patent No. 3,971,065). The advent of progressive capture and file based workflows has allowed the Bayer Filter to thrive in current digital cameras for motion pictures and television.
SMPTE Archival Technology Medal Award
Honors an individual by recognizing significant technical advancements or contributions related to the invention or development of technology, techniques, workflows, or infrastructure for the long-term storage, archive or preservation of media content essence.
Library of Congress, Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation
In recognition of their significant contributions to the advancement of technology, techniques, workflow and infrastructure for the long term storage, archive and preservation of media content.
SMPTE Journal Award
One Journal Award shall be presented to the author(s) of the most outstanding paper originally published in the Journal of the Society during the preceding calendar year.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
SMPTE Journal Certificates of Merit
![]() |
![]() |
Dan Eakins and Mihailo Stojancic
![]() |
![]() |
Dr. Wa James Tam and Carlos Vázquez, PhD
The Citation of Outstanding Service to the Society
Recognizes individuals for dedicated service to the Society over a sustained period of time. Particular emphasis is to be placed on service performed at the Section level, including, but not limited to, services performed at Section meetings, special Section meetings and national conferences.
This year, five SMPTE Members will be honored:
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
The Excellence in Standards Award
Recognizes individuals or companies who have been actively involved in advancing Society standards activities and processes.
Bob Edge
In recognition of his continuous and proactive commitment to the development and improvement to SMPTE’s engineering standards and practices. Bob Edge has made major contributions to SMPTE engineering activities for many years. As a committee chair and active participant, he has been a leader in the development of standards for file formats and file-based workflows.
Lou Wolf Memorial Scholarship
The Lou Wolf Memorial Scholarship is designed to help students further their undergraduate or graduate studies in motion pictures and television, with an emphasis on technology.