Curtis Priem
Encyclopedia
Curtis R. Priem is an American computer scientist.
He received a B.S. degree in electrical engineering
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
in 1982. He designed the first graphics processor for the PC, the IBM
Professional Graphics Adapter.
From 1986 to 1993, he was a senior staff engineer at Sun Microsystems
, where he developed the GX graphics chip.
He cofounded NVIDIA
with Jen-Hsun Huang
and Chris Malachowsky
and was its Chief Technical Officer
from 1993 to 2003. He retired from NVIDIA in 2003.
In 2000, RPI named him Entrepreneur of the Year. From 2003 to 2007 he was a trustee of Rensselaer. In 2004 he announced that he would donate an unrestricted gift of $40 million to the Institute. Rensselaer subsequently created the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, named in his honor and usually referred to as "EMPAC" for short.
He is also president of the Priem Family Foundation, which he established with his wife Veronica in September, 1999. The foundation is non-operating (has no office or staff, and therefore, no overhead) and exists only to give money to other foundations or charities.
He received a B.S. degree in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
in 1982. He designed the first graphics processor for the PC, the IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Professional Graphics Adapter.
From 1986 to 1993, he was a senior staff engineer at Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
, where he developed the GX graphics chip.
He cofounded NVIDIA
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
with Jen-Hsun Huang
Jen-Hsun Huang
Jen-Hsun "Jensen" Huang is a Taiwanese American entrepreneur and businessman. A native of Taiwan, he grew up in Oregon, graduating from Oregon State University before moving to California where he graduated from Stanford University. He co-founded the graphics-processor company Nvidia and serves...
and Chris Malachowsky
Chris Malachowsky
Chris Malachowsky is an American electrical engineer, one of the founders of computer graphics company Nvidia.He received a B.S. degree in 1983 in electrical engineering from the University of Florida and an M.S. degree in 1986 from Santa Clara University...
and was its Chief Technical Officer
Chief technical officer
A chief technology officer is an executive-level position in a company or other entity whose occupant is focused on scientific and technological issues within an organization....
from 1993 to 2003. He retired from NVIDIA in 2003.
In 2000, RPI named him Entrepreneur of the Year. From 2003 to 2007 he was a trustee of Rensselaer. In 2004 he announced that he would donate an unrestricted gift of $40 million to the Institute. Rensselaer subsequently created the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, named in his honor and usually referred to as "EMPAC" for short.
He is also president of the Priem Family Foundation, which he established with his wife Veronica in September, 1999. The foundation is non-operating (has no office or staff, and therefore, no overhead) and exists only to give money to other foundations or charities.