SAN DIEGO -- A University of California, San Diego computer science professor will receive a technical achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, UCSD announced today.

Henrik Wann Jensen will receive the award at a Feb. 14 ceremony in Pasadena.

Jensen and two former colleagues, Pat Hanrahan of Stanford University and Stephen Marschner of Cornell University, will be honored for creating a model on how light is scattered below translucent surfaces, such as skin or marble.

Before their breakthrough, computer graphics produced images of human faces that appeared too hard.

"That is why the early successes in digital animation, such as `Jurassic Park' and `Toy Story,' featured primarily non-human characters," Jensen said.

Recent movies, such as "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and "Terminator 3" have been able to use digital images with Jensen's technology to create realistic-looking skin.

The technology will also be used in games when the next generation of gaming consoles are released in 2006, Jensen said.