Leading Change: Perspectives from Outside of Medicine "Conversation Series 2021-2022" presents Alvy Ray Smith

Description

Alvy Ray Smith, computer scientist and visionary, will present a lecture titled "A Biography of the Pixel" as part of the Leading Change: Perspectives from Outside of Medicine "Conversation Series 2021-2022." A Q&A session will follow the lecture.

Please attend the event by using the Zoom link (Passcode: 841157).

Speaker Bio

Alvy Ray Smith received his PhD in computer science from Stanford University. He is nothing short of a legend in the world of computer graphics and beyond. Alvy cofounded Pixar and Altamira Software (bought by Microsoft). He was the first director of computer graphics at Lucasfilm and the first graphics fellow at Microsoft. He received two technical Academy Awards for his contribution to digital moviemaking technology. Some highlights of his amazing career include that his portrait was part of a group of 200 photographs of major contributors to the computer industry, published in the book Wizards and Their Wonders: Portraits in Computing. He was inducted into the CRN Industry Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Computer Museum in Mountain View, California. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for "fundamental changes in the graphic arts and motion picture industries" and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science "for distinguished contributions and leadership in computer science and engineering, particularly for advances in computer graphics, including critical and foundational technical achievements in computer animation." He directed the first use of full computer graphics in a successful major motion picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the "Genesis Demo," while at Lucasfilm. He was a regent for four years for the National Library of Medicine, where he was instrumental in inaugurating the Visible Human Project. Alvy recently published a book A Biography of the Pixel and will share with us his vision of the world of computing past, present, and future.

About the Series

The goal of Leading Change: Perspectives from Outside of Medicine "Conversation Series 2021" is to help attendees think about ways to improve "the patient experience" at Johns Hopkins by learning from experts in other fields and disciplines. The lectures are open to all members of the Johns Hopkins community. In order to allow for an open exchange between the speaker and the audience we will not record or broadcast the lecture.