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Ivan Sutherland

American computer scientist and Internet pioneer

PersonAge 88humanQ62866

Also known as Ivan Edward Sutherland · Ivan E. Sutherland

Born: May 16, 1938
1
Sources
1.Stated in SNACRetrieved 2017-10-09
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Birthplace: Hastings
Citizenship: United States
Occupation: computer scientist
1
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2026-04-20
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, inventor
, programmer
+3 more
Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, California Institute of Technology
, Carnegie Mellon University
+1 more
Employer: Harvard University
, University of Utah
, California Institute of Technology
+1 more

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Ivan Edward Sutherland is an American computer scientist, widely regarded as a pioneer of computer graphics. His early work in computer graphics, as well as his teaching with David C. Evans in that subject at the University of Utah in the 1970s, was pioneering in the field. Sutherland, Evans, and their students from that era developed several foundations of modern computer graphics. He received the 1988 ACM Turing Award for the invention of the Sketchpad, an early predecessor to the sort of graphical user interface that has become ubiquitous in personal computers, and his contributions to computer graphics. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, as well as the National Academy of Sciences among many other major awards. In 2012, he was awarded the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology for "pioneering achievements in the development of computer graphics and interactive interfaces".

Overview

Life at a glance

Positions, education, employers and awards over time

Spans and dates from Wikidata qualifiers (start/end/point in time). Hover for details; click to open.

Created

1 linked to Ivan Sutherland in Wikidata

Sketchpad1962 · 1963 computer program written by Ivan Sutherland

Discovered

8 linked to Ivan Sutherland in Wikidata

Named after them

1 linked to Ivan Sutherland in Wikidata

CCohen–Sutherland algorithmcomputer graphics algorithm

Founded

1 linked to Ivan Sutherland in Wikidata

EEvans & Sutherland1968 · company based in Salt Lake City

All data

79 statements · 32% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Sex or gender: male
Doctoral advisor: Claude Shannon
Awards: Washington Award(2018)
1
Sources
1.washingtonaward.com/directory/2010s/
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National Inventors Hall of Fame(2016)
1
Sources
1.Stated in National Inventors Hall of Fame
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Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology(2012)
1
Sources
1.kyotoprize.org/en/laureates/
View statement on Wikidata ↗
IEEE John von Neumann Medal(1998)
1
Sources
1.ieee.org/content/dam/ieee-org/ieee/web/org/about/awards/von_neumann_rl.pdf
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EFF Award(1994)
1
Sources
1.“EFF Awards: Past Winners”eff.org/awards/past-winnersRetrieved 2025-06-08
View statement on Wikidata ↗
ACM Fellow(1994)
1
Sources
1.awards.acm.org/award_winners/sutherland_3467412#158
View statement on Wikidata ↗
ACM Software System Award(1993)
1
Sources
1.awards.acm.org/award_winners/sutherland_3467412#149
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Turing Award(1988) for work: Sketchpad
2
Sources
1.amturing.acm.org/award_winners/sutherland_3467412.cfm
2.awards.acm.org/award_winners/sutherland_3467412#140
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Show 3 moreShow less
IEEE Emanuel R. Piore Award(1986)
1
Sources
1.ieee.org/content/dam/ieee-org/ieee/web/org/about/awards/piore_rl.pdf
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Computer History Museum Fellow
Computer Pioneer Award(1985)
Given name: Ivan
Member of: National Academy of Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Association for Computing Machinery(since 1994) subject has role: ACM Fellow
1
Sources
1.awards.acm.org/fellows/award-recipientsRetrieved 2024-06-23
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Erdős number: 6
Field of work: computer graphics
Family name: Sutherland
Doctoral student: James H. Clark
Danny Cohen
1
Sources
1.Stated in Mathematics Genealogy Project
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Robert Preece Burton
1
Sources
1.Stated in Mathematics Genealogy Project
View statement on Wikidata ↗
John Warnock

On other databases

36 identifiers linking Ivan Sutherland across the web's reference databases

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statements

32%

externally sourced

Source last edited August 13, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Ivan Sutherland (Q62866). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/ivan-sutherland-Q62866