The Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers has selected Roderick Snell, founder and research director at Snell & Wilcox to receive the 2006 SMPTE Progress Medal Award. Snell will receive the award from SMPTE President Edward P. Hobson at the society's Honors and Awards Ceremony and Reception during its annual conference and exhibition this weekend in Hollywood.
The SMPTE Progress Medal Award honors an individual who has made outstanding technical contributions to the progress of engineering phases of the motion picture and/or television industries. Snell was recognized by for his more than 40 years in the broadcast industry as an inventor, pioneer, teacher, author, engineer, international consultant, and manufacturer.
Snell co-founded Snell & Wilcox in 1973 as a consultancy and began, in the early 1980s, developing cost-effective television standards-conversion for the emerging world broadcast market. Since founding the company, it has grown to become a leading specialist in the art of processing moving images. Snell also co-founded Snelflight, a company that designs and manufactures the tiny "Hoverfly" indoor model helicopter whose unique technology mimics that of larger outdoor models.
Snell is a visiting professor at the Business School of the University of Kingston in Surrey, England; a fellow of the Royal Television Society; a governor of SMPTE; and a participant in a number of U.K. and European industry initiatives.
