Mary Pickford
Nikola Tesla
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In Recognition of Visionary Achievements
in Filmmaking Technology
"The opinion of the world does not affect me. I have placed as the real values in my life what follows when I am dead." – Nikola Tesla
Current Tesla Recipient: Dennis Muren
 Eight-time Oscar® winner Dennis Muren, ASC, a pioneer in visual effects, received the IPA’s prestigious Nikola Tesla Award In Recognition of Visionary Achievements in Filmmaking Technology presented at the 12th Annual Satellite™ Awards at 6 pm on December 16, 2007 at the InterContinental Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
Dennis Muren is the first visual effects artist to have a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His work in films reflects a series of milestones that mark the history of visual effects achievements in the movies.
Media Advisory (adobe pdf)
Past Recipients:
11th (2006) Annual Satellite Awards
Tesla Honoree
 Richard Donner
In 1976 he directed the classic suspense thriller, THE OMEN, followed two years later by the definitive version of SUPERMAN, starring Christopher Reeve. With SUPERMAN, Donner raised the bar on the genre by insisting that the comic book superhero should be treated with authenticity and respect for the source material rather than as camp. SUPERMAN also had the distinction of creating astonishing special effects that not only pre-dated contemporary computer-generated images, but often equaled or surpassed them. Media Advisory (adobe pdf)
10th Annual Satellite Awards: Stan Winston
The special effects master who has created the monstrous extraterrestrials of Aliens, the fanciful character of Edward Scissorhands, the astounding dinosaurs of Jurassic Park and the frightening Terminator, has been named the 2005 Tesla Award winner in Recognition of Visionary Achievements in the field of filmmaking and the cinema arts by the International Press Academy (IPA). Media Advisory (adobe pdf)
9th Annual Satellite Awards: Jerry Lewis
Comedian/Actor/Writer/Director and Humanitarian Jerry Lewis to Receive IPA’s 2005 TESLA™ Award “In Recognition of Visionary Achievements” as a pioneering innovator in the field of visual technology for the filmmaking industry.
Media Advisory
8th Annual Satellite Awards: James Cameron
James Cameron to Receive IPA’s 2004 TESLA™ Award ‘In Recognition of Visionary
Achievements in the World of Digital Technology and Sound.’ International Press Academy honor to be bestowed during Satellite™ Awards Presentation February 21st at St. Regis Hotel, Century City, California.
Media Advisory
7th Annual Satellite Awards: George Lucas was the first recipient of the Tesla Award, which was established in 2003 at the 7th Annual Satelllite Awards.
Profile:
Nikola Tesla (July 10, 1856 – c. January 7, 1943; Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Тесла) was an inventor, physicist, mechanical and electrical engineer, who is credited with more than 700 inventions and 100 patents in the US and Europe. When Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field in 1882 during his research years in Budapest, Hungary, a whole new era in modern scientific research and medical technology was born. All Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines are calibrated in “Tesla” units, which are the international standard unit of magnetic flux density adopted in 1956. The invention of MRI machines are only part of Nikola Tesla’s legend and legacy.
As a revolutionary thinker, Tesla is recognized among the most innovative engineers of the late 19th century and early 20th century. His patents and theoretical work form the basis of modern alternating current electric power (AC) systems, including the polyphase power distribution system and AC motor.
Son of a Serbian Orthodox clergyman, Nikola Tesla was born into an Smiljan Lika, a territory of the former Yugoslavia then occupied by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Much of his schooling took place in Graz, Austria, and the University of Prague. While conducting his research work in the United States of America, Tesla became a naturalized American citizen in 1891.
In America, Tesla's name became a byword for futuristic innovation coupled with practical achievement. The public and the media deemed him a "magician" who conjured up spectacular technical feats. After his demonstration of wireless communication in the late 1800’s and after being declared the victor in the "War of Currents", Tesla was widely respected as America's greatest electrical engineer. In 1893, under the sponsorship of George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla lit up the World Columbia Expo in Chicago with a glittering light and electrical energy display, validating Tesla’s status as the originator of technologies which helped usher in the Second Industrial Revolution.
Tesla's legacy can be seen across modern civilization wherever electricity is used. He considered the exploration of various philosophical questions raised by science as ultimately a means to improve the human condition with the principles of science and industrial progress in service to a way of life compatible with nature. However, many of his achievements have been misunderstood, often inappropriately linked to various pseudo sciences, including UFO theories based on his pioneering work with communications via the earth’s ionosphere. Tesla envisioned the earth’s ionosphere as a rarified environment for communication and has been validated by the wireless industry.
IPA's recipient for the Tesla Award mirrors the ingenuity and boldness that Nikola Tesla has proven to the world. Not only does The Tesla Award embody technical excellence in one’s chosen field but also acknowledges continuing innovation. “The Tesla Award for Visionary Achievement in Filmmaking Technology” honors Tesla’s legacy as a pioneer who made the world a better place to live in.
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