Academy-Award Winner Named Senior Algorithm Scientist
Pioneering motion picture technologist Gary Demos has joined Lowry Digital as senior algorithm scientist, reporting to Chief Technology Officer John Lowry.

Demos received the 2006 Gordon E. Sawyer Award for lifetime technical achievement from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. He was a leader in computer-generated images in the early 1970s, and began working on the processing and compression of high-resolution images by the late 1980s.

"Gary Demos has been exploring the frontiers of digital imaging for decades and his innovative technical solutions are widely recognized within our industry," says Mike Inchalik, chief operating officer for Lowry Digital. "He is a valuable addition to our research and development team which continues to push the boundaries of image processing as we pursue ever higher levels of picture quality."

Lowry Digital has developed and used its unique image processing technology for feature film restorations, enhancement of moving pictures for current productions, Blu-ray Disc preparation, and image recovery and repair. Most recently, the company provided custom image processing services for Journey to the Center of the Earth, the first full-length, live-action feature film shot in digital 3-D.

Lowry Digital works with such companies as Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures, MGM and 20th Century Fox, and entertainment leaders including George Lucas, James Cameron and David Fincher. It has restored more than 300 feature films with output to DVD, HD, 35mm film, digital cinema, and IMAX. Their body of work includes Casablanca, Singin' in the Rain, Sunset Boulevard, the Indiana Jones trilogy, the Star Wars trilogy, and 20 films from the James Bond library. In April 2008, Lowry Digital was acquired by Reliance Big Entertainment, the flagship entertainment company of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.

"I am looking forward to collaborating with John Lowry and his team," Demos says. "Lowry Digital is doing innovative work that is important to the future of digital imaging science, which has been my life's work. John is a true visionary. This is an exciting opportunity."

Demos is a graduate of the California Institute of Technology, where one of his mentors, John Whitney, Sr., was experimenting with creating abstract computer graphic films. Demos launched his career in 1972 when he created computer generated images (CGI) for a television program called Search. From 1974-1981, he was a scientist for Information International, Inc., where he contributed to the development of high-speed film scanners and recorders that were used during the production of Futureworld, Looker and Tron.

Demos and John Whitney, Jr., organized Digital Productions in 1981, where they pioneered the use of a Cray supercomputer for creating digital visual effects on such projects as The Last Starfighter and 2010. In 1988, Demos founded DemoGraFX and began working on high-resolution digital image compression for moving images, and image processing and formats for high definition and beyond.

Demos and his colleagues earned Technical Achievement Awards from the Academy in 1985 for breakthroughs in computer-generated imagery; in 1995 for pioneering work with digital film scanning; and in 1996 for advancements in digital film compositing systems. Demos has authored dozens of technical papers, and holds numerous patents for digital signal processing, image processing and moving image compression technologies. He has been working as an independent scientist on personal and government projects since 2004, developing new codec technology. He is also an active member in several industry technology groups.