James D. Foley

For other people named James Foley, see James Foley (disambiguation).
James David Foley
Born July 20, 1942
Pennsylvania, USA
Residence Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Citizenship United States
Nationality American
Fields Computer graphics,
Human-computer interaction
Institutions Georgia Tech,
GVU Center
Alma mater University of Michigan,
Lehigh University
Known for Computer graphics
Notable awards IEEE Fellow, ACM Fellow, NAE Member, ACM SIGGRAPH Steven A. Coons Award, ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Award

James David Foley (born July 20, 1942) is a Professor and the Stephen Fleming Chair in Telecommunications in the School of Interactive Computing, and former Dean of the College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) from 2008-2010.[1][2] He is perhaps best known as the co-author of several widely used textbooks in the field of computer graphics, of which over 400,000 copies are in print and translated in ten languages.[3][4] Foley presently conducts research with instructional technologies and distance education.

Biography

Born in Pennsylvania, Foley attended Lehigh University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1964. Foley was also initiated into the Phi Beta Kappa Society during this time. He received his Ph.D. in computer, information, and control engineering from the University of Michigan in 1969.[5]

After completing his graduate studies, Foley was first employed by the University of North Carolina. In 1977, he accepted a faculty position at George Washington University, where he became chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Foley joined the Georgia Tech faculty in 1991.[3]

Shortly after moving to Georgia Tech, Foley founded the GVU Center, which in 1996 was ranked first by U.S. News & World Report for graduate computer science work in graphics and user interaction. That same year, he was appointed director of the Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Foley also served as editor-in-chief of ACM Transactions on Graphics from 1991 to 1995.[3]

In 1997, Foley was recognized by ACM SIGGRAPH with the prestigious Steven A. Coons Award. The receipt of this biannual award places Foley among the company of computer graphics pioneers such as Jim Blinn, Edwin Catmull and Ivan Sutherland.[3][6]

Foley accepted the position of chairman and CEO of Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology Center America (MEITCA) in 1998, directing corporate R&D at four labs in North America. He returned to Georgia as Executive Director and then CEO of Yamacraw, Georgia's economic development initiative in the design of broadband systems, devices and chips.[3]

Foley became chairman of the Computing Research Association (CRA) in 2001. He stepped down from this position in 2003 but remains on the CRA's board of directors.

Following the resignation of Richard DeMillo as dean of the Georgia Tech College of Computing, Foley was appointed interim dean, effective July 1, 2008.[4] Foley stepped down when Zvi Galil was appointed the new dean on July 1, 2010.[7]

Foley Scholars Endowment

The Foley Scholars Endowment was established in honor of James Foley as part of the GVU Center's 15th anniversary celebration. The endowment funds two $5,000 scholarships awarded annually to GVU-affiliated students who demonstrate "overall brilliance and potential impact."[8] The first two Foley Scholars were named in 2008.[9]

Notable awards

Selected publications

References

  1. "James Foley Named Stephen Fleming Chair in Telecommunications" (Press release). Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing. 2001. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  2. "Faculty Director: James Foley". Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "1997 Stephen A. Coons Award". ACM SIGGRAPH. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Foley Named Interim Dean of the College of Computing" (Press release). Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
  5. "James D. Foley: Education". James D. Foley. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  6. "The Steven A. Coons Award: Recipients". ACM SIGGRAPH. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  7. "INSTITUTE NAMES NEXT COLLEGE OF COMPUTING DEAN" (Press release). Georgia Institute of Technology. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  8. "Foley Scholars Endowment". GVU Center. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  9. "First Foley Scholars Named" (Press release). Georgia Tech College of Computing. 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  10. "IEEE Fellow Class of 1986". IEEE. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  11. "ACM Fellows Award: James D. Foley". ACM. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  12. "SIGCHI 2007 Awards". ACM SIGCHI. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  13. "Jim Foley Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from SIGCHI" (Press release). Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing. 2007-03-28. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
  14. "National Academy of Engineering Elects 65 Members and Nine Foreign Associates" (Press release). National Academy of Engineering. 2008-02-08. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  15. "Distinguished Scientist, Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Man". Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing. Retrieved 2008-02-03.

External links