The Computer Graphics Lab was a
computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
lab located at the
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) in the late 1970s and 1980s, founded by Dr.
Alexander Schure
Alexander Schure (August 3, 1920 – October 29, 2009) was an American academic and entrepreneur. Schure founded the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) in 1955. He also served as the Chancellor of Nova Southeastern University (NSU) from 1970 ...
. It was originally located at the "pink building" on the NYIT campus.
The lab was initially founded to produce a short high-quality feature film with the project name of ''
The Works''. The feature, which was never completed, was a 90-minute feature that was to be the first entirely computer-generated
CGI movie. Production mainly focused around
DEC PDP and
VAX
VAX (an acronym for Virtual Address eXtension) is a series of computers featuring a 32-bit instruction set architecture (ISA) and virtual memory that was developed and sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in the late 20th century. The V ...
machines.
Many of the original CGL team now form the elite of the CG and computer world with members going on to
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and sof ...
,
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
,
Cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
,
NVIDIA
Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
and others, including
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...
president, co-founder and
Turing laureate Ed Catmull
Edwin Earl "Ed" Catmull (born March 31, 1945) is an American computer scientist who is the co-founder of Pixar and was the President of Walt Disney Animation Studios. He has been honored for his contributions to 3D computer graphics (computer sci ...
, Pixar co-founder and Microsoft graphics fellow
Alvy Ray Smith, Pixar co-founder
Ralph Guggenheim
Ralph Guggenheim (born June 6, 1951) is an American video graphics designer and film producer. He won a Producers Guild of America Award in 1995 for his contributions to the film ''Toy Story''.
Biography
He was born in New Rochelle, New York to ...
,
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...
chief scientist
Lance Williams,
Netscape
Netscape Communications Corporation (originally Mosaic Communications Corporation) was an American independent computer services company with headquarters in Mountain View, California and then Dulles, Virginia. Its Netscape web browser was onc ...
and
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and sof ...
founder
Jim Clark,
Tableau
Tableau (French for 'little table' literally, also used to mean 'picture'; tableaux or, rarely, tableaus) may refer to:
Arts
* ''Tableau'', a series of four paintings by Piet Mondrian titled '' Tableau I'' through to ''Tableau IV''
* ''Tableau vi ...
co-founder and Turing laureate
Pat Hanrahan
Patrick M. Hanrahan (born 1954) is an American computer graphics researcher, the Canon USA Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in the Computer Graphics Laboratory at Stanford University.
His research focuses on rendering al ...
, Microsoft graphics fellow
Jim Blinn
James F. Blinn (born 1949) is an American computer scientist who first became widely known for his work as a computer graphics expert at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), particularly his work on the pre-encounter animations for the Vo ...
,
Thad Beier Thad is a masculine given name, often a short form ( hypocorism) of Thaddeus. It may refer to:
* Thad Allen (born 1949), United States Coast Guard admiral
* Thad Altman (born 1955), American politician
* Thad Balkman (born 1971), American politicia ...
,
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
and
Bafta nominee
Jacques Stroweis
Jacques Stroweis is a visual effects artist and computer scientist who began his career as a member of the New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Lab. He was nominated at the 67th Academy Awards in the category of Best Visual Effects ...
,
Andrew Glassner
Andrew S. Glassner (born 1960) is an American expert in computer graphics, well known in computer graphics community as the originator and editor of the ''Graphics Gems'' series, ''An Introduction to Ray Tracing,'' and ''Principles of Digital Image ...
, and
Tom Brigham
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
. Systems programmer
Bruce Perens
Bruce Perens (born around 1958) is an American computer programmer and advocate in the free software movement. He created The Open Source Definition and published the first formal announcement and manifesto of open source. He co-founded the Open ...
went on to co-found the
Open Source Initiative
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is the steward of the Open Source Definition, the set of rules that define open source software. It is a California public-benefit nonprofit corporation,_with_501(c)(3).html" ;"title="110. - 6910./ref> is a type o ...
.
Researchers at the New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Lab created the tools that made entirely 3D
CGI films possible. Among NYIT CG Lab's innovations was an eight-bit paint system to ease computer animation. NYIT CG Lab was regarded as the top computer animation research and development group in the world
during the late 70s and early 80s.
[Brief History of the New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Lab](_blank)
(retrieved 30 June 2012)[https://design.osu.edu/carlson/history/tree/nyit.html]
References
External links
NYIT Computer Graphics Lab, People Behind The Pixels
{{authority control
Computer graphics
Laboratories in the United States
New York Institute of Technology
Computer science institutes in the United States
History of computing
Research institutes in New York (state)