| Jim Blinn | |
|---|---|
| Fields | Computer science |
| Institutions | NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Microsoft Research |
| Alma mater | University of Utah University of Michigan |
| Notable awards | Macarthur fellowship NASA Exceptional Service Medal |
James F. Blinn is a computer scientist who first became widely known for his work as a computer graphics expert at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), particularly his work on the pre-encounter animations for the Voyager project,[1] his work on the Carl Sagan Cosmos documentary series and the research of the Blinn–Phong shading model.
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In 1970, he received his bachelor's degree in physics and communications science, and later a master's degree in engineering from the University of Michigan. In 1978 he received a Ph.D. in computer science from the College of Engineering at the University of Utah.
Blinn devised new methods to represent how objects and light interact in a three dimensional virtual world, like environment mapping and bump mapping. He is well known for creating animation for three television series: Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage; Project MATHEMATICS!; and the pioneering instructional graphics in The Mechanical Universe. His simulations of the Voyager spacecraft visiting Jupiter and Saturn have been seen widely. He is now a graphics fellow at Microsoft Research. Blinn also worked for a time a the New York Institute of Technology.
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