Age, Biography and Wiki

Alvy Ray Smith (Alvy Ray Smith III) was born on 8 September, 1943 in Mineral Wells, Texas, U.S., is an American filmmaker, Pixar co-founder. Discover Alvy Ray Smith's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 80 years old?

Popular As Alvy Ray Smith III
Occupation N/A
Age 80 years old
Zodiac Sign Virgo
Born 8 September, 1943
Birthday 8 September
Birthplace Mineral Wells, Texas, U.S.
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 8 September. He is a member of famous filmmaker with the age 80 years old group.

Alvy Ray Smith Height, Weight & Measurements

At 80 years old, Alvy Ray Smith height not available right now. We will update Alvy Ray Smith's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

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Who Is Alvy Ray Smith's Wife?

His wife is Alison Gopnik (m. 2010)

Family
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Wife Alison Gopnik (m. 2010)
Sibling Not Available
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Alvy Ray Smith Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Alvy Ray Smith worth at the age of 80 years old? Alvy Ray Smith’s income source is mostly from being a successful filmmaker. He is from United States. We have estimated Alvy Ray Smith's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
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Source of Income filmmaker

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Timeline

1943

Alvy Ray Smith III (born September 8, 1943) is an American computer scientist who co-founded Lucasfilm's Computer Division and Pixar, participating in the 1980s and 1990s expansion of computer animation into feature film.

1965

In 1965, Alvy Smith received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University (NMSU).

He created his first computer graphic in 1965 at NMSU.

1969

From 1969 to 1973, he was an associate professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at New York University, under chairman Herbert Freeman, one of the earliest computer graphics researchers.

1970

In 1970, he received a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University, with a dissertation on cellular automata theory jointly supervised by Michael A. Arbib, Edward J. McCluskey, and Bernard Widrow.

His first art show was at the Stanford Coffeehouse.

1974

He taught briefly at the University of California, Berkeley in 1974.

While at Xerox PARC in 1974, Smith worked with Richard Shoup on SuperPaint, one of the first computer raster graphics editor, or 'paint', programs.

Smith's major contribution to this software was the creation of the HSV color space, also known as HSB.

He created his first computer animations on the SuperPaint system.

1975

In 1975, Smith joined the new Computer Graphics Laboratory at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), where he was given the job title "Information Quanta".

There, working alongside a traditional cel animation studio, he met Ed Catmull and several core personnel of Pixar.

Smith worked on a series of newer paint programs, including Paint3, the first true-color raster graphics editor.

As part of this work he co-invented the concept of the alpha channel.

He was also the programmer and collaborator on Ed Emshwiller's animation Sunstone, included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

1979

Smith worked at NYIT until 1979 and then briefly at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory with Jim Blinn on the Carl Sagan Cosmos: A Personal Voyage television series.

Smith was a founding member, with Ed Catmull, of the Lucasfilm Computer Division, which developed computer graphics software including early renderer technology.

As director of the Computer Graphics Project, Smith created and directed the "Genesis Demo" in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and conceived and directed the short animated film The Adventures of André & Wally B., animated by John Lasseter.

1980

At some point in the 1980s, a designer suggested naming a new digital compositing computer the "Picture Maker".

Smith thought that the laser-based device needed a catchier name and came up with "Pixer", which after a meeting was changed to "Pixar".

1986

Smith and Catmull co-founded Pixar in 1986 with financing from Steve Jobs.

After the spinout from Lucasfilm of Pixar, he served on the board of directors and was executive vice president.

1988

From 1988–1992, Smith was a member of the board of regents of the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was instrumental in inaugurating the Visible Human Project.

1990

In 1990, Smith and Richard Shoup received the ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award for their development of paint programs.

1991

According to Jeffrey Young and William Simon's Jobs biography, iCon, Alvy Ray quit Pixar in 1991 after a heated argument with Jobs over the use of a whiteboard.

Feeling bullied by Jobs, Smith decided to publicly break the unwritten rule that no one else could use Jobs's whiteboard; they ended up screaming at each-other.

Despite Smith's role as co-founder of Pixar, Young and Simon claim that the company has largely written him out of its corporate history: for example, there is no mention of Smith on the Pixar website.

After leaving Pixar in 1991, Smith cofounded Altamira Software with Eric Lyons and Nicholas Clay.

1994

Altamira was acquired by Microsoft in 1994, and Smith became the first Graphics Fellow at Microsoft.

1995

Pixar released Toy Story in 1995 and then went public, and Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997.

1996

With his collaborators, Smith has twice been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his scientific and engineering contributions to digital image compositing (1996 award) and digital paint systems (1998 award).

1997

Smith presented the Forsythe Lecture in 1997 at Stanford University, where he received his PhD in 1970.

1999

Smith retired from Microsoft in 1999 to spend his time giving talks, making digital photographs, doing scholarly genealogy, and researching technical history.

He lives in Seattle, Washington.

His undergraduate alma mater New Mexico State University awarded him an honorary doctorate in December 1999.

2004

He was inducted into the CRN Industry Hall of Fame at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA in 2004.

2006

In 2006, Smith was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

2010

In 2010, Smith married Alison Gopnik, author and Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

In 2010, Smith was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists and presented the Washington Award in Chicago for advancing "the welfare of humankind".

2011

In 2011, Smith was awarded the Special Award at Mundos Digitales in La Coruna, Spain, for lifetime achievement in computer graphics.