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David C. Evans

 

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David C. Evans



 
 
David C. Evans (1924–1998) was the founder of the computer science
Computer science

Computer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems....
 department at University of Utah
University of Utah

The University of Utah is a public university research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. One of ten institutions that make up the Utah System of Higher Education and Utah's premier research school currently enrolls 21,526 undergraduate and 6,684 graduate student students and has 1,419 regular Faculty members....
 and co-founder (with Ivan Sutherland
Ivan Sutherland

Ivan Edward Sutherland is an United States computer scientist and Internet pioneer. He received the Turing Award in 1988 for the invention of Sketchpad, an early predecessor to the sort of graphical user interface that has become ubiquitous in personal computers....
) of Evans & Sutherland
Evans & Sutherland

Evans & Sutherland is a computer firm involved in the computer graphics field. Their products are used primarily by the United States military and large industrial firms for training and simulation, and in digital projection environments like planetariums....
, a computer firm which is known as a pioneer in the domain of Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, Television commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media....
.

Evans attended the University of Utah and studied electrical engineering; he earned his doctorate degree in physics. Evans first worked at the Bendix
Bendix Corporation

The Bendix Corporation was an United States manufacturing and engineering company which during various times in its 60 year existence made brake systems, aeronautical hydraulics, avionics, radios, televisions and computers, and which licensed its name for use on home washing machines....
 aviation electronics company, where he acted as project manager in 1955 to develop what some describe as an early personal computer
Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose original sales price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator....
 that ran on an interpretive operating system.






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David C. Evans (1924–1998) was the founder of the computer science
Computer science

Computer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems....
 department at University of Utah
University of Utah

The University of Utah is a public university research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. One of ten institutions that make up the Utah System of Higher Education and Utah's premier research school currently enrolls 21,526 undergraduate and 6,684 graduate student students and has 1,419 regular Faculty members....
 and co-founder (with Ivan Sutherland
Ivan Sutherland

Ivan Edward Sutherland is an United States computer scientist and Internet pioneer. He received the Turing Award in 1988 for the invention of Sketchpad, an early predecessor to the sort of graphical user interface that has become ubiquitous in personal computers....
) of Evans & Sutherland
Evans & Sutherland

Evans & Sutherland is a computer firm involved in the computer graphics field. Their products are used primarily by the United States military and large industrial firms for training and simulation, and in digital projection environments like planetariums....
, a computer firm which is known as a pioneer in the domain of Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, Television commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media....
.

Evans attended the University of Utah and studied electrical engineering; he earned his doctorate degree in physics. Evans first worked at the Bendix
Bendix Corporation

The Bendix Corporation was an United States manufacturing and engineering company which during various times in its 60 year existence made brake systems, aeronautical hydraulics, avionics, radios, televisions and computers, and which licensed its name for use on home washing machines....
 aviation electronics company, where he acted as project manager in 1955 to develop what some describe as an early personal computer
Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose original sales price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator....
 that ran on an interpretive operating system. The Bendix G-15
Bendix G-15

The Bendix G-15 computer was introduced in 1956 by the Bendix Corporation, Computer Division, Los Angeles, California. It was about 5 by 3 by 3 ft and weighed about 950 pound ....
 was a bulky unit about the size of a two door refrigerator. He stayed with the company just long enough to manage the G-16 project.

Evans subsequently worked on the GENIE multi-user timesharing system while at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley is a public university research university located in Berkeley, California, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines....
. Evans was appointed a member of UC Berkeley's faculty. In addition, through his work at the Pentagon's Advanced Research Project Agency, he made key developments in the field of virtual memory
Virtual memory

Virtual memory is a computer system technique which gives an application program the impression that it has contiguous working memory , while in fact it may be physically fragmented and may even overflow on to disk storage....
. His first important works with graphics also dates from that period, when he did several experiments on an IDIOM
Idiom

An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be determined by the literal definition of the phrase itself, but refers instead to a figurative language meaning that is known only through common use....
 display hooked up to a DEC
Digital Equipment Corporation

Digital Equipment Corporation was a pioneering United States company in the computer industry. It is often referred to within the computing industry as DEC ....
 PDP
Programmed Data Processor

Programmed Data Processor was the name of a series of minicomputers made by Digital Equipment Corporation. The name 'PDP' intentionally avoided the use of the term 'computer' because at the time of the first PDPs, computers had a reputation of being large, complicated, and expensive machines, and the venture capitalists behind Digital would...
-5.

When he was building up the University of Utah department in 1968 he managed to convince Ivan Sutherland
Ivan Sutherland

Ivan Edward Sutherland is an United States computer scientist and Internet pioneer. He received the Turing Award in 1988 for the invention of Sketchpad, an early predecessor to the sort of graphical user interface that has become ubiquitous in personal computers....
 to come to Utah
Utah

The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
, accepting the condition that they start a computer graphics company together. Evans retired from the company in 1994.

Evans was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served as a branch president
Branch President

A branch president is a leader of a "Branch " Wiktionary:congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of Bishop , except that instead of presiding over a ward, the branch president presides over a Branch ....
, a counselor in bishoprics and stake presidencies, and as a scout master
Scouting

Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in society....
 for a total of 27 years.

Evans married Joy Frewin
Joy F. Evans

Joy Frewin Evans was a leader in the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . From 1984 to 1990, she was the first counselor to Barbara W....
. They had ten children, only seven of which lived to adulthood. One of these is David F. Evans
David F. Evans

David Frewin Evans has been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since April 2005. In 2008, he was serving as president of the church's Asia North Area ....
, who became a general authority
General authority

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church....
 in the LDS Church. From 1984 to 1990, Joy Evans was a counselor in the general presidency of the Relief Society
Relief Society

The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization and an official auxiliary organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
 to Barbara W. Winder
Barbara W. Winder

Barbara Ann Woodhead Winder was the eleventh general president of the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1984 to 1990....
.

In 1996, Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University , located in Provo, Utah, United States, is a Private education, coeducational research university owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
 established the David C. Evans Chair of Computer Engineering and Graphics. Evans was at the ceremony where the founding of a chair in his honor was announced, but due to his suffering from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease , also called Alzheimer disease, Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of dementia....
, did not make any remarks at the ceremony.

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