alain fournier, 1943-2000: an appreciation  alain fournier, 1943-2000  an appreciation  there are thinkers of great repute and intellect who would suggest thatany objective measure of humankind is in fact a mismeasure. while i amnot of a mood to argue the general point either way, it certainly appliesto alain fournier. i write this appreciation of him so that those who donot know him may be inspired to discover him, and so that those who doknow him are able to reflect further on his remarkable life. i beg thereader to indulge me in a rather personal reverie, for it is not possibleto have known alain without having a deep personal response to him.  allow me to recount very briefly alain's accomplishments. his earlytraining was in chemistry. after emigrating from france to canada in the1970's, he co- wrote a textbook on the topic, and he taught pre-collegechemistry in quebec. his career in computer graphics spanned only about20 years. he received a ph.d. in computer science at the university of texas at dallas, and reported the results of his ph.d. work on stochasticmodelling in a seminal paper in 1980 with don fussell and loren carpenter.he then went on to an outstanding academic career first at the universityof toronto and subsequently at the university of british columbia.>from the outset he played on the international stage, especially ineurope and in north america. he has contributed to acm-tog as an author,as co-guest editor of a special issue (1987), and he was an associateeditor from 1990-1992.  alain's early contributions to computer graphics on the modellingof natural phenomena were brilliant in themselves, but perhaps moreimportantly they advocated a methodology that required validationagainst real visual phenomena. this set the bar at the right levelscientifically. his approach, which he once called "impressionisticgraphics" both revolutionised the field and drove it forward. perhapsthe best example of this work is his beautiful paper on the depiction ofocean waves with bill reeves. his subsequent work on illumination models,light transport, rendering, and sampling and filtering is remarkable forits far-sightedness and depth. his theoretical work in computer graphicsand computational geometry made us think about the limits of both fields.  alain's approach to solving problems was at once courageous and rational.were he to ask himself (as i'm sure he did) for a response to t.s. eliot'smusing,  i'm sure his answer would be his inimitable "piece of cake! ok kiddos,here's what we'll do." and he would rush forward, leaving us to lingerhappily in his slipstream. endlessly resourceful and tirelesslyinnovative, he would mould ideas of amazing insight into work that alsoinspired others, often much later, to take up the challenge.  if c.p. snow were ever in need of a prototypical person to bridge the"two cultures" of science and art, alain would be it. he was blessedwith an irrepressible enthusiasm to communicate his understanding andhis curiosity about the universe, and he did so in whatever languagewas most appropriate. he wrote wonderful mathematics, algorithms,prose and poetry. his vocabulary in english and in french was gentlyintimidating, for even in intimidation he was benevolent. it seemedthat his intellect was able to synthesise everything he ever learned.he would routinely interject a latin "bon mot" into the papers we werewriting or practise writing kanji on the napkins on which we were doingresearch. we rarely did research in an office. how i miss those days.  his art served him as innately and intuitively as did his science.he wrote exquisite poetry that was both challenging and tender. one day ihope that his work will be more available to the general public. i alsohope that alain's accomplishments will in time be formally recognisedby the wider computer graphics community.  alain's wit, his innate "jeu d'esprit", was legend. his fondness forgood jokes, especially groucho marx gags, allowed some but not all ofus to overlook his weakness for jerry lewis.  there are few on this earth who have been blessed with a wider array oftalents, and fewer still who had more to say and more to contribute thanalain. and yet, alain had a sensibility that is common to scientistsand artists who have done many great things in their lives: apart from alovely retrospective paper he wrote for graphics interface in 1994, hedid not look back sympathetically on his work to derive satisfactionfrom his accomplishments. he was rooted in the present, and he sufferedfrom the belief that he was only as good as his last project. in the endhe may well have believed in eliot's sentiment:  i have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.i do not think that they will sing to me.  oh, but they have always sung to you, alain. it was just that the melodywas lost amid the clamour of disease.  alain did not separate the personal and professional. his were passionsthat required no qualifying adjective. he loved those close to himwith an abandon and devotion that that was disarming and humbling.anyone who knew him knew that he was extraordinarily close to his wife andhis daughter. they were his greatest joys, his most provocative muses.they were the foundation upon which he built his life.  leonard cohen, among others, said that you can't let the facts get in theway of the truth. the facts are that alain fournier, a great innovator in our field, died of lymphoma in the early hours of 14 august, 2000,and is survived by his daughter ariel, his wife adrienne, and a legionof admirers. the truth is that the sun seems to shine less brightly nowthat he is not among us. the truth is that he has broadened the mindsand moved the hearts of many people around the world. to those who havenever known alain, i express particular sympathy, for there are few peoplewe encounter in life with the ability to make us better than we thoughtwe could be. such, in truth and in fact, is the measure of this man.  it was difficult not to love alain. with such a beguiling package ofbrilliance and benevolent eccentricity, it was simply a matter of timeand a question of degree. a unique and wonderful person has left us.  requiescat in pace, my friend.  \\--eugene fiume, november 2000.  (the quotations from t.s. eliot are taken from his poem, "the love songof j. alfred prufrock".)  eugene fiume