Loren Carpenter
Encyclopedia
Loren C. Carpenter is a computer graphics
researcher and developer. He is co-founder and chief scientist of Pixar Animation Studios
. He is the co-inventor of the Reyes rendering
algorithm and is one of the authors of the PhotoRealistic RenderMan
software which implements Reyes and which renders all of Pixar's movies. Following Disney's
acquisition of Pixar, Carpenter became a Senior Research Scientist at Disney Research.
In around 1967 Carpenter began work at Boeing Computer Services (a part of aircraft maker Boeing
) in Seattle, Washington
. During his time there Carpenter studied for a B.S. in Mathematics (1974) and an M.S. in Computer Science (1976), both from the University of Washington
. Some of his work concerned using computer technology to improve Boeing's mechanical design processes, which were still entirely done by hand on paper.
In 1980 he gave a presentation at the SIGGRAPH
conference, in which he showed "Vol Libre", a 2 minute computer generated movie. This showcased his software for generating and rendering fractal
ly generated landscapes, and was met with a standing ovation, and (as Carpenter had hoped) he was immediately invited to work at Lucasfilm
's Computer Division (which would be come Pixar). There Carpenter worked on the "genesis effect" scene of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
, which featured an entire fractally-landscaped planet.
He and his wife Rachel founded Cinematrix, a company that researches computer-assisted interactive audience participation.
Carpenter invented the A-buffer hidden surface determination
algorithm.
The PXR24 compression scheme used in Industrial Light & Magic's Open EXR file format is based on Carpenter's work.
In 2006 made improvements to the popular Mersenne Twister random number generator.
Carpenter is a grandnephew of Charles Schmidt, the creator of Sgt. Pat of Radio Patrol
, a nationally syndicated police comic strip which ran in the '30s and '40s.
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
researcher and developer. He is co-founder and chief scientist of Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
. He is the co-inventor of the Reyes rendering
Reyes rendering
Reyes rendering is a computer software architecture used in 3D computer graphics to render photo-realistic images. It was developed in the mid-1980s by Loren Carpenter and Robert L. Cook at Lucasfilm's Computer Graphics Research Group, which is now Pixar. It was first used in 1982 to render images...
algorithm and is one of the authors of the PhotoRealistic RenderMan
PhotoRealistic RenderMan
PhotoRealistic RenderMan, or PRMan for short, is a proprietary photorealistic RenderMan-compliant renderer.It primarily uses the Reyes algorithm but is also fully capable of doing ray tracing and global illumination....
software which implements Reyes and which renders all of Pixar's movies. Following Disney's
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
acquisition of Pixar, Carpenter became a Senior Research Scientist at Disney Research.
In around 1967 Carpenter began work at Boeing Computer Services (a part of aircraft maker Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
) in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. During his time there Carpenter studied for a B.S. in Mathematics (1974) and an M.S. in Computer Science (1976), both from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
. Some of his work concerned using computer technology to improve Boeing's mechanical design processes, which were still entirely done by hand on paper.
In 1980 he gave a presentation at the SIGGRAPH
SIGGRAPH
SIGGRAPH is the name of the annual conference on computer graphics convened by the ACM SIGGRAPH organization. The first SIGGRAPH conference was in 1974. The conference is attended by tens of thousands of computer professionals...
conference, in which he showed "Vol Libre", a 2 minute computer generated movie. This showcased his software for generating and rendering fractal
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
ly generated landscapes, and was met with a standing ovation, and (as Carpenter had hoped) he was immediately invited to work at Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
's Computer Division (which would be come Pixar). There Carpenter worked on the "genesis effect" scene of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features James T...
, which featured an entire fractally-landscaped planet.
He and his wife Rachel founded Cinematrix, a company that researches computer-assisted interactive audience participation.
Carpenter invented the A-buffer hidden surface determination
Hidden surface determination
In 3D computer graphics, hidden surface determination is the process used to determine which surfaces and parts of surfaces are not visible from a certain viewpoint...
algorithm.
The PXR24 compression scheme used in Industrial Light & Magic's Open EXR file format is based on Carpenter's work.
In 2006 made improvements to the popular Mersenne Twister random number generator.
Carpenter is a grandnephew of Charles Schmidt, the creator of Sgt. Pat of Radio Patrol
Radio Patrol
Radio Patrol was a police comic strip carried in newspapers from 1933 to 1950 in the dailies, with a Sunday strip that ran from 1934 to 1946. It was created by artist Charles Schmidt and writer Eddie Sullivan, who both worked for the Boston American...
, a nationally syndicated police comic strip which ran in the '30s and '40s.
Awards
- 1985, ACM SIGGRAPHACM SIGGRAPHACM SIGGRAPH is the New York–based Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques. It was founded in 1969 by Andy van Dam ....
Achievement Award. - 1992, Scientific and Technical Academy Award (Plaque) for his contributions to the motion picture industry through the invention and development of the RenderMan software.
- 1994, Distinction by the Prix Ars Electronica jury for his entry Kinoetic Evolution in the category Interactive Art.
- 1995, Fellow of the Association for Computing MachineryAssociation for Computing MachineryThe Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
. - 2000, Academy Award of Merit (Statuette).
External links
- Cinematrix
- A chapter from Kevin Kelly's book Out of ControlOut of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic WorldOut of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World is a 1994 book by Kevin Kelly. Major themes in Out of Control are cybernetics, emergence, self-organization, complex systems and chaos theory and it can be seen as a work of...
about Carpenter's Vol Libre animation. - Vol Libre