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Ed Catmull, prexy of Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios, will receive the Visual Effects Society's highest honor, the George Melies Award.

The Melies kudo honors individuals for "pioneering a significant and lasting contribution to the art/and or science of the visual effects industry."

Before joining Pixar Catmull was a pioneering computer graphics scientist, then VP of the computer division at Lucasfilm. In that post he spearheaded the creation of many of today's digital post tools.

He received an Academy Award of Merit Oscar earlier this year.

Catmull's colleague at Disney/Pixar, John Lasseter, is a previous Melies Award winner.

Kudo will be presented at the VES Awards banquet on Feb. 18 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.