In 1998, Iwerks co-founder Don Iwerks stepped up to the podium at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to receive the prestigious Gordon E. Sawyer Award, given in recognition of his lifetime of exceptional contributions to the science and technology of motion pictures. In his nearly half-century career, Don has been associated with many accomplishments, including the 360° CircleVision camera and projection systems that he worked on with his father, animation pioneer Ub Iwerks. Don also played a role in Ub Iwerks' development of the Sodium Travelling Matte process, which made it possible to combine images photographed separately. In his career with the Walt Disney Company, Don Iwerks' department designed and manufactured hundreds of unique film projection systems for Disney theme parks, including Disneyland, Walt Disney World, EPCOT Center and Tokyo Disneyland. His team also worked on developing the projection systems for Disney's Star Tours simulator. Co-founding Iwerks with Stan Kinsey, Don pursued the vision of bringing motion picture technology to a growing range of special venues around the world. His application of 8/70 projection technology to large format filmmaking opened that marketplace to a growing number of filmmakers and institutions, and his co-development of Iwerks Quatro projection permits theaters to run four simulation films sequentially without rewinding. In 2002 Iwerks Entertainment merged with SimEx, the Toronto-based company that originated the Tour of the UniverseTM, a space shuttle simulation ride that opened in 1986 at the CN Tower.  Gordon E. Sawyer Award 1997 1 Honorary Award