Clarence Ellis (computer scientist) facts for kids

Clarence "Skip" Ellis (May 11, 1943 – May 17, 2014) was an important American computer scientist. He was a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Ellis is known for being the first Black person to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1969. He was also the first Black person to become a Fellow of the ACM in 1997. Ellis was a pioneer in how people work together using computers. This field is called Computer Supported Cooperative Work or Groupware. He helped create systems like OfficeTalk, which allowed groups to work on projects together. He also developed operational transformation, a method for many people to edit documents at the same time.

An Early Start in Computing

When Skip Ellis was 15 years old in 1958, he got a job at a company called Dover. He worked the night shift as a computer operator. His main duty was to watch over the company's new, very large computer. This computer used vacuum tubes and punch cards to process information.

Ellis spent his free time reading all the computer manuals that came with the machine. He taught himself as much as he could about the computer without touching it. One night, the company faced a big problem. They had run out of new punch cards and needed to process payroll by morning. Ellis was the only one who knew how to reuse the old punch cards. He carefully adjusted the computer to make it work.

After this event, the company often asked Ellis for help with computer problems. They even asked him to operate and program the computer for them. Ellis said this experience truly sparked his passion for computing.

Education and Achievements

Throughout high school, Ellis's teachers encouraged him to attend summer programs at local universities in Chicago. This was his first experience with college-level studies and university life. Despite his family's financial struggles, Ellis was able to attend Beloit College in 1960. He received a scholarship from his church.

In his junior year, Beloit College received an IBM 1620 computer as a donation. Ellis and his chemistry professor were asked to set it up. This marked the beginning of the Beloit College computer lab, and Ellis became its director. In 1964, Ellis earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Beloit, majoring in both math and physics.

After graduating from Beloit, Ellis attended graduate school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There, he worked on hardware, software, and applications for the ILLIAC IV supercomputer. In 1969, Clarence Ellis earned his Ph.D. in computer science from UIUC. He became the first African-American to achieve this milestone.

A Career of Innovation

After earning his Ph.D., Ellis worked at Bell Labs from 1969 to 1972. He then became an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. Three years later, he accepted a position at MIT.

Ellis later worked at Xerox PARC and Stanford University for almost ten years. At Xerox PARC, he was part of a team that developed many groundbreaking computer ideas. These included the first personal computer (PC), graphical interfaces that used icons, and object-oriented programming languages. He also led the Office Research Group, which created early Groupware systems. These systems allowed people to collaborate on projects from different locations. One famous system was called OfficeTalk.

In the mid-1980s, Ellis led the Groupware Research Group at the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC). While there, he pioneered the field of Operational transformation. This is a set of techniques that allows many people to edit documents together in real-time, like in online word processors today.

In 1992, Ellis returned to the University of Colorado Boulder as a full professor. He continued his work on systems that help people collaborate. He also worked to encourage students from all backgrounds to explore science and engineering. He helped establish the Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training (SMART) program at the university. In 2013, he received a Fulbright Scholarship to teach and research at Ashesi University in Ghana.

Later Life and Legacy

Clarence "Skip" Ellis passed away unexpectedly on May 17, 2014, at the age of 71. He was returning from Ghana, where he had been teaching and researching at Ashesi University. His pioneering work greatly influenced how we use computers to work together and collaborate today.