Ivan Sutherland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ivan Sutherland
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Sutherland in 2008
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| Born |
Ivan Edward Sutherland
May 16, 1938 Hastings, Nebraska, U.S.
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| Education | |
| Known for | Father of computer graphics Direct linear transformation Interactive computing Sketchpad Zooming user interface Cohen–Sutherland algorithm Sutherland–Hodgman algorithm |
| Spouse(s) |
Marly Roncken
(m. 2006) |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science Internet Computer graphics |
| Institutions | Harvard University University of Utah Evans and Sutherland California Institute of Technology Carnegie Mellon University Sun Microsystems Portland State University Advanced Research Projects Agency (1964–1966) |
| Thesis | Sketchpad, a Man–Machine Graphical Communication System (1963) |
| Doctoral advisor | Claude Shannon |
| Doctoral students |
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Ivan Edward Sutherland, born on May 16, 1938, is a famous American computer scientist. Many people see him as a true pioneer in the world of computer graphics. His early work and teaching at the University of Utah in the 1970s helped create the foundations of modern computer graphics.
Sutherland and his students developed many important ideas in this field. In 1988, he won the Turing Award. This award is like the "Nobel Prize" for computer science. He received it for inventing Sketchpad. Sketchpad was an early version of the graphical user interface (GUI) we use on computers today. He has also received many other major awards. In 2012, he was given the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology. This was for his amazing work in computer graphics and interactive computer systems.
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Early Life and Education
Ivan Sutherland's father was from New Zealand, and his mother was from Scotland. His family moved several times for his father's job. Ivan's older brother, Bert Sutherland, also became a computer science researcher.
Ivan studied electrical engineering in college. He earned his bachelor's degree from the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He then got his master's degree from Caltech. Finally, he earned his PhD from MIT in 1963.
The Invention of Sketchpad
While at MIT, Ivan Sutherland invented Sketchpad in 1962. This was part of his PhD work. Claude Shannon, a very important figure in information theory, was his advisor.
Sketchpad was a groundbreaking computer program. It changed how people interacted with computers. Users could draw lines and shapes. They could also set rules for how these shapes behaved. For example, you could tell it to draw horizontal or vertical lines. You could also combine them into figures.
Sketchpad allowed users to copy, move, rotate, or resize drawings. The basic properties of the drawings would stay the same. It also had the first "window-drawing" program. This meant you could see different parts of your drawing. It also had a "clipping algorithm" that allowed you to zoom in and out. Sketchpad ran on a special computer called the Lincoln TX-2.
Career and Research
After getting his PhD, Sutherland served in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1965. He became a first lieutenant. He then took over as the head of the Advanced Research Project Agency's (ARPA) Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO). This is a very important government agency that funds new technologies.
From 1965 to 1968, Sutherland was a professor at Harvard University. While there, he worked with his student Danny Cohen. Together, they developed the Cohen–Sutherland line clipping algorithm. This is a method used in computer graphics.
In 1968, Sutherland and his students created the first virtual reality (VR) system. They built a special headset that showed images. These images changed as the person wearing the headset moved their head. This system used a device called The Sword of Damocles to track head movements.
Teaching and Company Founding
From 1968 to 1974, Sutherland was a professor at the University of Utah. Many of his students there became very famous in computer graphics and computer science. Some of them include:
- Alan Kay, who helped create the Smalltalk programming language.
- Henri Gouraud, who invented a shading technique called Gouraud shading.
- Frank Crow, who developed methods to make computer images look smoother.
- Jim Clark, who founded Silicon Graphics.
- Edwin Catmull, who co-founded Pixar Animation Studios.
In 1968, Sutherland also co-founded a company called Evans & Sutherland. He started it with his friend and colleague David C. Evans. This company did important work in creating hardware for real-time 3D computer graphics. Many future leaders in the tech world worked there. This includes the founders of Adobe and Silicon Graphics.
Later, from 1974 to 1978, he was a professor at California Institute of Technology. He helped start their computer science department. He then founded a consulting firm. This firm was later bought by Sun Microsystems. It became the start of their research division, Sun Labs.
Sutherland also worked as a fellow and vice president at Sun Microsystems. Since 2009, he and Marly Roncken have been doing research at Portland State University. They study Asynchronous Systems, which are ways computers can work more efficiently.
Awards and Honors
Ivan Sutherland has received many awards for his contributions to computer science:
- Turing Award (1988)
- Computer Pioneer Award (1985)
- IEEE John von Neumann Medal (1998)
- Kyoto Prize (2012)
- He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (1973).
- He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1978).
- He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (2016).
Famous Quotes
Ivan Sutherland is known for some insightful quotes about computers and technology:
- "A display connected to a digital computer gives us a chance to gain familiarity with concepts not realizable in the physical world. It is a looking glass into a mathematical wonderland."
- "The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in."
- When asked how he did so many amazing things in one year, he replied: "Well, I didn't know it was hard."
- "It’s not an idea until you write it down."
- "Without the fun, none of us would go on!"
Personal Life
On May 28, 2006, Ivan Sutherland married Marly Roncken. He has two children. His elder brother, Bert Sutherland, was also a computer science researcher.
Famous Quotes
Ivan Sutherland is known for some insightful quotes:
- "A display connected to a digital computer gives us a chance to gain familiarity with concepts not realizable in the physical world. It is a looking glass into a mathematical wonderland."
- "The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in."
- When asked how he did so many firsts in one year, he replied: "Well, I didn't know it was hard."
- "It’s not an idea until you write it down."
- "Without the fun, none of us would go on!"
See also
In Spanish: Ivan Sutherland para niños
