Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award
The Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award is awarded to a member of the alumni community who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the College of Engineering and Bucknell University, exemplary professional achievement, or noteworthy contributions to society.
2025-26 Recipient Bill Westenhofer '90
Bill Westenhofer, Bucknell Class of 1990, has been named the 2025–26 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award (DEAA) recipient by the Bucknell Engineering Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Westenhofer is a two-time Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor. He captured his first Oscar for "The Golden Compass" (2008), after being nominated for both the Oscar and BAFTA awards for Achievement in Visual Arts for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (2006). Westenhofer won the Oscar again four years later for his work as overall VFX supervisor for "Life of Pi" (2012).
His first BAFTA nomination came in 1998 for "Babe: Pig in the City" (1998). Over his 30-year career, Westenhofer has supervised teams of artists on many films, including "Captain America: Brave New World" (2024), "Black Adam" (2022), "Gemini Man" (2019), "Wonder Woman" (2017), "Warcraft" (2015), "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" (2013), "The A-Team" (2010), "Land of the Lost" (2008), "Cats & Dogs" (2001) and "Stuart Little" (1999), working with top visual effects facilities including ILM, Weta and Rhythm & Hues. His current focus is on Disney's live-action remake of "Moana," scheduled for release in summer 2026.
Westenhofer combined a lifelong love of art with an interest in computers starting in high school. He majored in computer science & engineering at Bucknell before earning a master's degree in computer science from George Washington University in 1995.
Westenhofer's visual effects career began as a technical director at Rhythm & Hues Studios in Los Angeles. He spent nearly 20 years there, progressing to a visual effects supervisor. He has since gone out on his own and has been a freelance VFX supervisor for more than a decade.
More than 35 years after his graduation, Westenhofer has remained connected to Bucknell. He has been a featured speaker on campus, participated in the College of Engineering's 125 Years of Engineering at Bucknell celebration, and has supported the Center for Career Advancement Career Education Program.
Westenhofer lives in Los Angeles with his wife Gabrielle. He has two daughters, Alexandra and Samantha, and two sons, Christopher and Thomas.