Bob Sproull
Robert Sproull | |
|---|---|
| Born | circa 1945 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard College (B.A. Physics, 1967), Stanford University (M.S. 1970, Ph.D. 1977) |
| Occupation(s) | Computer scientist, adjunct professor |
| Known for | Head of Oracle Labs, co-author of Principles of Interactive Computer Graphics |
Robert Fletcher "Bob" Sproull (born circa 1945) is a notable American computer scientist and the former head of Oracle Labs located in Burlington, Massachusetts. He currently holds the position of adjunct professor at the College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Biography
During his undergraduate studies in physics at Harvard College, completed in 1967, Sproull worked alongside Ivan Sutherland on developing head-mounted display technology, contributing to the early advancements in 3D virtual reality systems.
He earned both his master's degree (1970) and Ph.D. (1977) in computer science from Stanford University. Between 1973 and 1977, Sproull conducted research at Xerox PARC, where he played a role in the development of the Alto personal computer, pioneering laser printers, page description languages, and essential operating systems for personal computers.
In 1973, together with William M. Newman, Sproull authored Principles of Interactive Computer Graphics, recognized as the first comprehensive textbook in the computer graphics discipline, serving as the primary reference until it was eventually replaced by Foley and van Dam's Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice.
Sproull held an associate professorship in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. In 1980, he co-established Sutherland, Sproull and Associates with Ivan Sutherland. This company was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1990 due to its intellectual property and expertise, laying the groundwork for Sun Microsystems Laboratories. At Sun Labs, Sproull concentrated on designing asynchronous processors and was appointed director in 2006. After Sun Microsystems was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2010, the laboratory was renamed Oracle Labs.
He is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, has chaired the United States National Research Council's Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB), and served on the US Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. Sproull has co-authored other publications such as Logical Effort and holds several patents.
Publications
- Newman, W., Sproull, R. (1979), Principles of Interactive Computer Graphics, Mcgraw-Hill College, ISBN 0-07-046338-7.
- Molnar, C., Sproull, R., Sutherland, I. (1994), Counterflow Pipeline Processor Architecture, Sun Microsystems, Technical Report TR-94-25.