Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 25, 2026

Perry Kivolowitz

Perry Kivolowitz is an American computer scientist and special effect designer.

Last revised
Jul 25, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
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338 w
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Wikipedia ↗
Perry Kivolowitz
Born1961 (age 64–65)
Known for
  • Recoverable RAM drive
  • Shape-driven warping and morphing
  • Elastic Reality software
  • SilhouetteFX
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
  • Computer science
  • Computer graphics
  • Digital imaging
Institutions
  • Advanced Systems Design Group / Elastic Reality, Inc.
  • Avid Technology
  • SilhouetteFX
  • Carthage College
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison

Perry Kivolowitz (born 1961) is an American computer scientist and special effect designer.

Kivolowitz was born in New York City.1 He is a professor of Computer Science at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He has also taught at UW-Madison.2

In 1992, he won an Emmy certificate for his work on Babylon 5.3

In 1997, he received an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement for the invention of shape-driven warping and morphing as exemplified in the Avid Elastic Reality.4 This software was used in Forrest Gump (1994), Titanic (1997) and "every film nominated for best special effects since 1993," Kivolotitz said in 2000.5

He is also the creator of rotoscoping software SilhouetteFX that has been used in editing feature films including Christopher Robin, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Avengers: Infinity War and received a Technical Achievement Certificate from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2018.67

In 2019, SilhouetteFX won an Engineering Emmy Award.8

References

References

  1. Richgels, Jeff (1997-06-20). "The movie-morphing man". The Capital Times. p. 23. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  2. "150 Ways University of Madison has touched the world" (PDF). pages.cs.wisc.edu. University of Wisconsin. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-10-06.
  3. Times, For The Journal (2019-10-15). "Carthage College computer science professor wins Emmy". Journal Times. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  4. "Lucky 13 get March 1 salute for inventions". Variety. 1997-01-06. Archived from the original on 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
  5. Newman, Judy (2000-03-26). "Shunning the glitter for Wisconsin venture". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 43. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  6. Hess, Corri (2019-02-23). "Wisconsin Professor's Software Wins Academy Award". WPR. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  7. "9 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS TO BE HONORED WITH ACADEMY AWARDS". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2018-12-12. Archived from the original on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  8. "Computer science professor wins Emmy Award®". www.carthage.edu. Carthage College. 2019-10-02. Retrieved 2026-02-08.
External links