Jeff Westbrook
Encyclopedia
Jeff Westbrook is a TV writer
best known for his work on The Simpsons
and Futurama
, for which he is a two-time winner of the WGA Award.
Prior to becoming a TV writer, Westbrook was a successful algorithms researcher. After majoring in physics
and history of science
at Harvard University
, he studied computer science
with Robert Tarjan
at Princeton University
, receiving his Ph.D.
in 1989 with a thesis entitled Algorithms and Data Structures for Dynamic Graph Algorithms. He then took a faculty position at Yale University
, later becoming a researcher for AT&T Laboratories
before leaving research for Hollywood. Westbrook's Erdős number
is three due to his research collaborations with Tarjan and others. Of unclear significance, his Bacon number is also three, due to his appearance as an extra in the movie Master and Commander
, giving a combined Erdős-Bacon number
number of six.
Screenwriting
Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is a freelance profession....
best known for his work on The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
, for which he is a two-time winner of the WGA Award.
Prior to becoming a TV writer, Westbrook was a successful algorithms researcher. After majoring in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and history of science
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, he studied computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
with Robert Tarjan
Robert Tarjan
Robert Endre Tarjan is a renowned American computer scientist. He is the discoverer of several important graph algorithms, including Tarjan's off-line least common ancestors algorithm, and co-inventor of both splay trees and Fibonacci heaps. Tarjan is currently the James S...
at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, receiving his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1989 with a thesis entitled Algorithms and Data Structures for Dynamic Graph Algorithms. He then took a faculty position at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, later becoming a researcher for AT&T Laboratories
AT&T Laboratories
AT&T Laboratories, Inc. was the research & development division of AT&T Corporation. It was founded in 1925 as Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., following the merger of the research & development divisions of American Telephone & Telegraph and Western Electric.-History:In 1996, most of Bell Labs...
before leaving research for Hollywood. Westbrook's Erdős number
Erdos number
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers.The same principle has been proposed for other eminent persons in other fields.- Overview :...
is three due to his research collaborations with Tarjan and others. Of unclear significance, his Bacon number is also three, due to his appearance as an extra in the movie Master and Commander
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
, giving a combined Erdős-Bacon number
Erdos-Bacon number
A person's Erdős–Bacon number is the sum of one's Erdős number—which measures the "collaborative distance" in authoring mathematical papers between that person and Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős—and one's Bacon number—which represents the number of links, through roles in...
number of six.
Futurama episodes
- "Teenage Mutant Leela's HurdlesTeenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles"Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" is the ninth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. It first aired on March 30, 2003 as the seventh episode of the fifth broadcast season. The episode was directed by Bret Haaland and written by Jeff Westbrook.-Plot:Professor Farnsworth is chasing...
" - "The 30% Iron Chef"
- "The Day the Earth Stood StupidThe Day the Earth Stood Stupid"The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" is the seventh episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 18, 2001...
"
The Simpsons episodes
- "On a Clear Day I Can't See My SisterOn a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister"On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season, which originally aired on March 6, 2005.-Plot:...
" - "The Wettest Stories Ever ToldThe Wettest Stories Ever ToldThe Wettest Stories Ever Told is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons’ seventeenth season.-Plot:When the Simpsons' plans for a nice family outing at the Frying Dutchman turns into a dining disaster , the family try to salvage the night by turning the episode into yet another Simpsons anthology...
" - "Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2" - Won 2007 WGA Award in the Animation category.
- "Apocalypse CowApocalypse Cow"Apocalypse Cow" is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons nineteenth season. It was broadcast on April 27, 2008. After joining 4-H, Bart saves a cow named Lou and gives it to a girl named Mary , a farm girl. Her father, Cletus, mistakenly believes it as a token for Mary's hand in marriage, and...
" - Won 2008 WGA Award in the Animation category. - "No Loan Again, NaturallyNo Loan Again, Naturally"No Loan Again, Naturally" is the twelfth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons. It premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States on March 8, 2009....
" - "Pranks and GreensPranks and Greens"Pranks and Greens" is the sixth episode of the twenty first season of The Simpsons. It aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 22, 2009. In this episode, Bart tracks down an immature, college-aged man named Andy Hamilton who was once hailed Springfield Elementary's best prankster...
" - "The Ned-Liest CatchThe Ned-Liest Catch"The Ned-Liest Catch" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the twenty-second season of The Simpsons. It aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 22, 2011. This is the second season finale to end on a cliffhanger, with the first being "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" from the sixth...
" - "The Man in the Blue Flannel PantsThe Man in the Blue Flannel Pants"The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" is the seventh episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on November 27, 2011 and is rated TV-14-DLSV.-Plot:...
"