Scott Draves is the inventor of Fractal Flames and the leader of the distributed computing

Distributed computing

Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...

 project Electric Sheep

Electric Sheep

Electric Sheep is a distributed computing project for animating and evolving fractal flames, which are in turn distributed to the networked computers, which display them as a screensaver.-Process:...

. He also invented patch-based texture synthesis

Texture synthesis

Texture synthesis is the process of algorithmically constructing a large digital image from a small digital sample image by taking advantage of its structural content...

 and published the first implementation of this class of algorithms. He is also a video artist and accomplished VJ

VJ (video performance artist)

VJing is a broad designation for realtime visual performance. Characteristics of VJing are the creation or manipulation of imagery in realtime through technological mediation and for an audience, in synchronization to music. VJing often takes place at events such as concerts, nightclubs, music...

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In summer 2010, Draves' work was exhibited at Google's New York City office, including his video piece "Generation 243" which was generated by the collaborative influences of 350,000 people and computers worldwide. Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking

Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...

's 2010 book The Grand Design

The Grand Design (book)

The Grand Design is a popular-science book written by physicists Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow and published by Bantam Books in 2010. It argues that invoking God is not necessary to explain the origins of the universe, and that the Big Bang is a consequence of the laws of physics alone...

 used an image generated by Draves' "flame" algorithm on its cover. Known as "Spot," Draves currently resides in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

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Background

Draves earned a Bachelor's in mathematics at Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

 before continuing on to earn a PhD in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....

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External links

• Personal website