Jack Elton Bresenham (born October 11, 1937, Clovis, New Mexico, US) is a former professor of computer science.

Biography

Bresenham retired from 27 years of service at IBM as a Senior Technical Staff Member in 1987. He taught for 16 years at Winthrop University and has nine patents. He has four children.

Bresenham's line algorithm, developed in 1962, is his most well-known innovation. It determines which points on a 2-dimensional raster should be plotted in order to form a straight line between two given points, and is commonly used to draw lines on a computer screen. It is one of the earliest algorithms discovered in the field of computer graphics. The midpoint circle algorithm shares some similarities to his line algorithm and is known as Bresenham's circle algorithm.

  • Ph.D., Stanford University, 1964
  • MSIE, Stanford University, 1960
  • BSEE, University of New Mexico, 1959

See also

  • List of computer scientists
  • Bresenham's line algorithm

References

<!--From Marquis Who’s Who in America

Sixty-Eighth Edition ●2014

Dr. Jack E. Bresenham

Bresenham, Jack Elton. Computer scientist, educator; b. Clovis, N. Mex., 11 October 1937, s. Floyd Gordon and Mary Jane (Horne) Bresenham; m. Barbara June Hunt, June 1957 (dec. Sept.1963); children Janet Lyn, Craig Elton (dec. Sept. 1963); m. Nancy Jo Bull, Sept 1966; children Linda Jo (dec. Aug. 2008), David Floyd. BS Electrical Engineering, U. N.Mex., 1959; MS Industrial Engineering, Stanford U. 1960; PhD Industrial Engineering Data Processing, 1964. Sr. Technical Staff Member IBM (U.S., U.K., Italy), 1960-87; Professor of Computer Science Winthrop U., Rock Hill, SC. 1987-2003. Mem. Editorial board IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications, 1990-1998. Inventor Line drawing algorithm, 1962; Bi directional circular arcs display, 1983; holder 9 patents. Recipient Distinguished Citizen award, National Alumni Assn. Wofford College, 1993; Engineering Distinguished Alumni award, U. N.Mex., 2003; Hall of Honor award, Clovis Municipal School Foundation, 2012. Mem: IEEE (life; sr.), Sigma Xi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Tau, Kappa Mu Epsilon, Pi Kappa Phi, Democrat, Methodist. Achievements include invention of computer graphics line drawing algorithm, patents in field. Avocations: vegetable gardening, student UNM-West. Home: 303 Palo Alto Dr. NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124-4562. -->

  • DADS entry on Bresenham's algorithm