Ellis, Clarence 'Skip'
1943-2014 · Contribution: 1970s-1990s
First African American to earn a PhD in computer science (1969); pioneer of groupware and computer-supported cooperative work -- at Xerox PARC created OfficeTalk and pioneered operational transformation, the foundation of modern real-time collaborative editing (e.g., Google Docs); first Black Fellow of the ACM (1997)
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Became the first African-American to earn a PhD in computer science and pioneered software for collaborative, real-time computing (groupware).
Life & background
A computer scientist who became the first African-American to earn a doctorate in the field, Ellis was a pioneering inventor in the area of groupware, technology that allows multiple users to collaborate on documents and tasks in real time.
Sources
- University of Illinois (Siebel School / CS @ Illinois); MIT Black History (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
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