Alvy Ray Smith

Dr Alvy Ray Smith: Cofounded two successful startups: Pixar and Altamira (sold to Microsoft). Was present at the beginnings of computer graphics, at Lucasfilm, New York Institute of Technology, and Xerox PARC. Received two technical Academy Awards, for the alpha channel concept and for digital paint systems. Was the first Graphics Fellow at Microsoft. Invented, directed, originated, or was otherwise instrumental in the following developments: first full-color paint program, HSV (aka HSB) color model, alpha channel and image sprites, Genesis Demo in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, first Academy-Award winning computer-generated short Tin Toy, first computer-generated film Toy Story, Academy-Award winning Disney animation production system CAPS, and the Visible Human Project of the National Library of Medicine, and of course Pixar itself. Was a star witness in a trial that successfully invalidated five patents that threatened Adobe Photoshop. Has a PhD from Stanford University and honorary doctorate from New Mexico State University. Is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Has published widely in theoretical computer science and computer graphics, and holds four patents. Retired in 2000 to devote time to the emerging artform of digital photography and to scholarly genealogy, to which he has contributed two award-winning books and half a dozen learned journal papers. He is Trustee Emeritus of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, and a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists. He is now compiling his many technical memos on image computing into a book of theory, called the sprite theory, and is writing an anecdotal history of computer graphics, with tutorials. He is proud of a recent graphic design he completed for Charles Mann's upcoming book, 1493, depicting the American imperial families of the 15th and 16th centuries, and also of a graphic image illustrating the child's mind vs the adult's, for Alison Gopnik, whom he recently married. They are presently sharing her sabbatical fellowship at All Souls in Oxford. He has spoken recently in Melbourne, Dundee, and Oxford. For more see alvyray.com.

Cellular Automata, computer graphics, animation, film making, Scholarly genealogy