# Alvy Ray Smith

> American filmmaker and cartoonist co-founder of Pixar (born 1943)

**Wikidata**: [Q2761378](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2761378)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvy_Ray_Smith)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/alvy-ray-smith

## Summary
Alvy Ray Smith is an American computer scientist, engineer, filmmaker, and screenwriter best known as a co‑founder of Pixar. He is a researcher and practitioner in computer graphics and computer animation with a career spanning academia, industrial research, and creative film work.

## Biography
- Born: 1943-09-08; Mineral Wells
- Nationality: United States
- Education: New Mexico State University; Stanford University
- Known for: Co‑founder of Pixar; work in computer graphics and computer animation
- Employer(s): New York University; Pixar; Microsoft Research
- Field(s): Computer graphics; Computer animation

## Contributions
Alvy Ray Smith co‑founded Pixar and worked across academia and industry in computer graphics and computer animation. His career includes faculty and research roles (New York University; Microsoft Research) and creative work as a film director and screenwriter (IMDb identifier nm0807286). His scholarly and technical output is documented across multiple author databases (dblp, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library) indicating a sustained publication record in computer graphics and related fields. Smith’s professional materials and papers are archived at the Computer History Museum (collection catalog entry referenced). He has been recognized with professional honors, including Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists (2010), the Washington Award (2010), and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2013). His doctoral research was supervised by Michael A. Arbib, Edward J. McCluskey, and Bernard Widrow, placing him in a lineage of academic work in computing and engineering. Public and authority identifiers (ISNI, VIAF, GND, Library of Congress) further document his authorship and creative roles.

## FAQs
### Q: Is Alvy Ray Smith a founder of Pixar?
A: Yes. The source identifies Alvy Ray Smith as a co‑founder of Pixar.

### Q: What is Alvy Ray Smith's field of expertise?
A: He works in computer graphics and computer animation as a computer scientist and engineer.

### Q: Where was Alvy Ray Smith educated?
A: He studied at New Mexico State University and at Stanford University.

### Q: Has he received notable honors?
A: Yes. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists (2010), received the Washington Award (2010), and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2013).

## Why They Matter
Alvy Ray Smith’s career bridges research, education, and creative production in computer graphics and animation. As a co‑founder of Pixar, he is associated with the founding institutional framework that combined advanced computer graphics research with film production. His academic lineage (doctoral advisors Michael A. Arbib, Edward J. McCluskey, Bernard Widrow) and presence in major bibliographic and technical author databases reflect a substantive scholarly contribution to computing. Professional recognition—fellowships and awards—document peer recognition of his impact. The preservation of his papers and materials at the Computer History Museum underscores their historical and technical value. Without Smith’s combined roles in research, industry, and creative work, one line of continuity between academic computer graphics research and its application in animated filmmaking would be altered; his documented roles and honors indicate influence on practitioners and researchers in computer graphics and animation.

## Notable For
- Co‑founder of Pixar (credited in source description)
- Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists (2010)
- Washington Award recipient (2010)
- Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2013)
- Professional archive held at the Computer History Museum

## Body

### Early life and education
- Born 1943-09-08 in Mineral Wells.
- Educated at New Mexico State University.
- Further educated at Stanford University.
- Completed doctoral work under Michael A. Arbib, Edward J. McCluskey, and Bernard Widrow.

### Academic and research career
- Field of work: computer graphics and computer animation.
- Identified as a computer scientist and engineer.
- Author identifiers include dblp, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Scopus, zbMATH, indicating a record of publications in technical venues.

### Industry and creative work
- Co‑founder of Pixar (source description identifies him as such).
- Employer history includes Pixar, Microsoft Research, and New York University.
- Credited as a film director and screenwriter (IMDb: nm0807286).
- Category listings indicate films directed by Alvy Ray Smith exist (structured category present in source).

### Honors, archives, and recognition
- Fellow, American Society of Genealogists (2010).
- Washington Award (2010).
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2013).
- Personal and professional papers archived at the Computer History Museum (collection catalog referenced).
- Holds authority identifiers: ISNI 0000000036667254; VIAF 68320460; GND 1240421214; Library of Congress n2004042753.

### Personal and identifiers
- Citizenship: United States.
- Spouse: Alison Gopnik (per source).
- Website: http://alvyray.com/
- Twitter: @alvyray (account metadata present in source).
- Wikimedia Commons category and image available (portrait dated 2007-02-08).

## Schema Markup
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  "birthDate": "1943-09-08",
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## References

1. Czech National Authority Database
2. IMDb
3. [All Fellows. American Society of Genealogists](https://fasg.org/fellows/all-fellows/)
4. [Source](https://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-council-elects-388-new-aaas-fellows)
5. [Source](https://www.washingtonaward.com/directory/2010s/)
6. Mathematics Genealogy Project
7. [Source](https://viaf.org/viaf/data/viaf-20230206-links.txt.gz)
8. MusicBrainz
9. [Source](http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102702296)
10. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
11. Quora
12. The Movie Database
13. National Library of Israel Names and Subjects Authority File