Last Wednesday, San Diego State hosted the Kyoto Prize Symposium: Celebrating Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in the Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center. Students, faculty, alumni and guests attended to honor Ivan Sutherland, Kyoto Prize laureate.

The Kyoto Prize is awarded to recognize accomplishments made in art, philosophy, technology and science. This award has been given annually since 1985.

For the past 12 years, San Diego has hosted the symposium.

Sutherland, commonly regarded as the “father of computer graphics,” created many models, such as computer program, Sketchpad, in 1963. It was this creation that paved the way for human-computer interaction, which ultimately established the development of computer graphics.

Born in Hastings, Neb. in 1938 Sutherland thanks his parents for his upbringing and success.  Sutherland said as a child, his parents played mental arithmetic games in the car with him and his brother, and by grade school, he was learning algebra.

Sutherland mentioned his favorite childhood toys were children’s TinkerToys—construction sets.

“Long before I could read English, I could read plans to build Tinke Toys,” Sutherland said.

Sutherland attended three different universities: Carnegie Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sutherland invented Sketchpad while working on his thesis to earn his doctoral degree from MIT. This invention created opportunities in engineering, animation, entertainment and designing for the computer graphics industries.

Sutherland said the best advice he ever received was from his son, Dean: “Dad, you’re no good at things you don’t think are fun.”

Sutherland is now focusing on developing asynchronous technology, which is the transmission of data intermittently versus in a steady stream.

“Dr. Sutherland is truly an inspiration,” SDSU civil engineering junior Alex Johnson said.  “I hope one day I can have half as many achievements as he has and continues to do.”

Sutherland said he always enjoys his work and embodies the fun aspect of learning.