The computational geometry impact task force report: An executive summary

Abstract

In June of 1994, I invited a group of researchers to join in an effort to assess the impact (past, present, and future) of computational geometry in the practice of geometric computing. With rapid advances in computer hardware and visualization systems, geometric computing is creeping into virtually every corner of science and engineering, from design and manufacturing to astrophysics to molecular biology to fluid dynamics. Can computational geometry meet the algorithmic needs of practitioners? Should it look to applied areas for new sources of problems? Can CG live up to its potential and become a key player in the vast and diverse world of geometric computing? These are some of the questions addressed in the Computational Geometry Impact Task Force Report. The document was prepared by a group of computer scientists, engineers, and mathematicians with extensive experience in geometric computing. The report was intended as a wake-up call rather than an agenda setter, meant to engage a community-wide discussion on the future of computational geometry. What follows is a brief executive summary of the report. The full report is accessible at the URL, http://www.cs.princeton.edu/∼chazelle/taskforce/CGreport.ps.Z. It is also available as Technical Report TR-521-96, Princeton University, April 1996.