[cross-posted at Austro-Athenian Empire]

Congratulations to my colleague Nels Madsen for his Academy Award for Technical Achievement. Nels, an Auburn professor of mechanical engineering who co-teaches an interdisciplinary science-and-humanities course with me, worked on the motion-capture system used in Lord of the Rings (particularly for Gollum) and Polar Express, as well as the upcoming King Kong and Chronicles of Narnia.