<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span id="docs-internal-guid-0aaeef58-7fff-7441-a7a7-0302f4084f84" style="font-family: -webkit-standard;" class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Dear VGTC community,</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The Visualization and Computer Graphics Technical Committee (VGTC) is electing a new chair and you are invited to cast your vote. The VGTC Chair's term will run for two years, starting shortly after the election closes.</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">This email contains information about the candidates, instructions for becoming eligible to vote (and checking eligibility), and the role of the VGTC and the VGTC Chair.</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The election will take place later this fall -- we will announce exact dates in a follow-up email once they are confirmed, and include them on the VGTC election page: </span><a href="http://vgtc.org/election2018" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">http://vgtc.org/election2018</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">. </span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Once the voting opens we will include a link to the election on the VGTC election page (see link above). Eligible voters will also receive an email directly from IEEE.</span></div><br class=""><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">CANDIDATES</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">As per the VGTC charter (</span><a href="http://vgtc.org/content/charter" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">http://vgtc.org/content/charter</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">) the Directors and current VGTC Chair nominated two candidates. The Directors solicited names and encouraged people to apply, sometimes by directly approaching potential candidates at workshops. The Directors then went through the list of candidates, prioritized it, and had one-on-one conversations with the top candidates.</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The candidates nominated by the VGTC Directors are:</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">James Ahrens: </span><a href="http://vgtc.org/election2018/james-ahrens-statement" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">http://vgtc.org/election2018/james-ahrens-statement </span></a></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Doug Bowman: </span><a href="http://vgtc.org/election2018/doug-bowman-statement" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">http://vgtc.org/election2018/doug-bowman-statement</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""> </span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Additionally, the voting ballot will offer an opportunity to write-in a candidate.</span></div><br class=""><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">HOW TO VOTE.</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">To vote you must be a member of both the IEEE Computer Society and the VGTC. To receive a voting ballot you must have opted-in to receiving communications from IEEE. The details below cover the steps to ensure that you meet both these criteria. Specifically: 1) how to become eligible to vote; 2) how to check your voter eligibility; 3) how to opt into IEEE communications to receive your ballot; and 4) how to cast your vote.</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">1. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">BECOME ELIGIBLE TO VOTE</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Go to IEEE and create a new account, or log into an existing account: </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><a href="https://www.ieee.org/" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">https://www.ieee.org</span></a></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">While you are logged in, join IEEE Computer Society and the VGTC:</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><a href="https://bit.ly/2qlT4yc" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">https://bit.ly/2qlT4yc</span></a></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><a href="https://bit.ly/2xq9xXY" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">https://bit.ly/2xq9xXY</span></a></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Membership in the IEEE Computer Society requires a yearly fee, while VGTC membership is free.</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">2.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""> CHECK YOUR VOTER ELIGIBILITY</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">To check if you are eligible to vote log into your IEEE account. On your “My Account” page click the link in the left settings-navigation bar that says “Membership and Subscription History”. To be eligible to vote you must have an active IEEE Computer Society membership and an active VGTC membership listed here.</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">3. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">OPT INTO IEEE COMMUNICATIONS</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">To receive a voting ballot you must be opted into receiving communications from IEEE. Log into your IEEE account. On your “My Account” page click the link in the left settings-navigation bar that says “Communication Preferences”. Click </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Yes</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""> for both “IEEE Survey requests” and “Local IEEE communications” (the top two radio buttons). </span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">4. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">VOTE</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Later this year instructions for casting your ballot will be sent to all eligible voters with opt-in communication preferences. A link to the ballot will also be posted to the VGTC election page: </span><a href="http://vgtc.org/election2018" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">http://vgtc.org/election2018</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">. To cast your vote, you will need your IEEE CS member number. To obtain a misplaced number, please visit:</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><a href="https://bit.ly/2pchkET" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">https://bit.ly/2pchkET</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">.</span></div><br class=""><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">WHAT IS THE VGTC AND THE ROLE OF THE VGTC CHAIR?</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The VGTC is the Visualization and Graphics Technical Committee, the governance body that oversees and sponsors all IEEE visualization and virtual reality conferences including VIS, VR, ISMAR, 3DUI, Pacific Vis, and EuroVis (as a co-sponsor). The VGTC is the main interface for these research communities with the IEEE Computer Society, and also maintains close ties with the publications TVCG (Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics) and CG&A (Computer Graphics and Applications). </span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The VGTC fulfills many important roles including: approval and oversight of conferences, symposia, and workshops; oversight of publications through interactions with the IEEE CS Publications Board; getting involved in policy and budget decisions at the IEEE CS-level that affect the research community; and awarding the IEEE VGTC Career and Technical Achievement Awards.</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The VGTC Chair directs the VGTC and oversees the VGTC budget while also advocating to the upper levels of IEEE on policy decisions. </span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">The VGTC Chair is the only elected position within VGTC that is determined directly by the membership.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class=""> The Chair has the authority to directly appoint many positions including most of the voting members of the VGTC Executive Committee, some members of the VIS Executive Committee, and one member of the VR and ISMAR steering committees. After the Chair term ends, the Chair joins other previous Chairs on the VGTC Executive Committee as a VGTC Director. </span></div><br class=""><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: 700; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">TO FIND OUT MORE</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">A more detailed description of the role and function of technical committees can be found at the IEEE CS website: </span><a href="https://bit.ly/2pflrAk" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">https://bit.ly/2pflrAk</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">. </span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">To find out more about the VGTC, you can visit the VGTC website and review the VGTC charter:</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><a href="http://vgtc.org/" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">http://vgtc.org</span></a></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><a href="http://vgtc.org/content/charter" style="text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">http://vgtc.org/content/charter</span></a></div><br class=""><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Best regards,</span></div><br class=""><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Miriah Meyer</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" class=""><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" class="">Vice-chair of the VGTC Executive Committee</span></div><br class=""><br class=""></span></body></html>