Computer graphics pioneers

When Editor Gordon Cameron asked me if I thought a regular column in Computer Graphics authored by computer graphics "pioneers" would be a good idea, I responded with an enthusiastic "yes." Then he asked me if I wanted to write it, and I became somewhat less enthusiastic. However, I've been able to convince Sherry Keowen, Executive Director of the Computer Graphics Pioneers, a society comprised of long-time computer graphics professionals, to co-write the column with me. Between the two of us, we should be able to develop a regular feature.Of course, there is one question we might ask: "Is anyone really interested in a column about the Computer Graphics Pioneers?" At the August 1996 board meeting of the editorial board of IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications (CG&A), I suggested that CG&A do something in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of ACM SIGGRAPH conferences. One of our board members looked me in the eye and said, "Is anybody interested in that old stuff?" That's a valid question. However, since we attracted about 2,000 to the "Into The Fifth Decade Of Computer Graphics" panel on the last day of SIGGRAPH 96, I suppose I can respond with a tentative "yes."In any case, we plan to share with you some stories of the people and events that have shaped computer graphics; some quite significant, some modest recollections.