(Santa Clara, California--January 23, 2014) Fire, smoke, dust and explosions are staples of motion picture visual effects. A modern effects film like “Star Trek: Into Darkness” or “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” contains thousands of these elements. Each requires fluid dynamics simulation and volumetric rendering. It’s computationally intensive stuff, and takes a lot of artist time to get right. That’s why the team behind Industrial Light & Magic’s Plume software – Olivier Maury, Ian Sachs and Dan Piponi – will be picking up an Academy Award on Feb. 15 for scientific and technical achievement for their work.