Edwin Catmull

By annastump

  • Birth of Edwin Catmull

    Birth of Edwin Catmull
    Edwin Earl Catmull is born in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

  • Edwin fulfills Mormon duty

    Edwin fulfills Mormon duty
    Edwin leaves Utah to serve his mission in New York City.

  • Family moves to Utah

    Family moves to Utah
    Catmull's family moves to Utah, where his father served as principal of Granite High School, and then Taylorsville High School. Edwin's childhood heroes were Walt Disney and Albert Einstein, and he was often caught doodling in class.

  • Edwin earns his degree

    Edwin earns his degree
    Edwin graduates with a B.S. in Physics and Computer Science at the University of Utah.

  • Edwin furthers his education

    Edwin furthers his education
    Edwin returns to Utah for graduate school in fall of 1970, where he earns his Ph.D. in Computer Science.

  • Edwin creates the first 3D animation

    Edwin creates the first 3D animation
    Catmull made an animated version of his left hand, which was the world's first computer-generated 3D animation. The film produced at the U was eventually picked up by a Hollywood producer and incorporated in the 1976 movie Futureworld. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdedV81UQ5k

  • Edwin works for Lucasfilm

    Edwin works for Lucasfilm
    Catmull became the Vice President of the Industrial Light & Magic computer graphics division at Lucasfilm. Edwin's position brought computer graphics, video editing, and digital audio into the entertainment field for the first time in history.

  • Steve Jobs purchases Lucasfilm

    Steve Jobs purchases Lucasfilm
    Steve Jobs purchases Lucasfilm and founded Pixar, where Catmull earned his title as the Chief Technical Officer. At Pixar, he was a key developer of the RenderMan rendering system used in films such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo.

  • Edwin wins Academy Award

    Edwin wins Academy Award
    Catmull is awarded with his first Academy Scientific and Technical Award for developing PhotoRealistic RenderMan software which produces images used in motion pictures.

  • Edwin gives commencement speech at the U

    Edwin gives commencement speech at the U
    Edwin has stayed involved with the University of Utah, and gave the University’s commencement address. During the speech he said, “We are so accustomed to assigning patterns, and we attribute our success to our genius rather than to randomness,” he told the graduates. “We should plan for the unforeseen, not prevent it. Rather than being scary, this is where the fun stuff happens.”