Jeff Rulifson
Encyclopedia
Johns Frederick Rulifson (born 1941) is an American
computer scientist
.
. His father was Erwin Charles Rulifson and mother was Virginia Helen Johns. He married Janet Irving on June 8, 1963 and had two children.
Rulifson graduated with a BS in mathematics from the University of Washington
in 1966.
Rulifson joined the Augmentation Research Center
, at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International
) in 1966.
He led the software team that implemented the oN-Line System
(NLS), a system that foreshadowed many future developments in modern computing and networking. Although Douglas Engelbart
was the founder and leader of ARC, Rulifson's innovative programming was essential to the realization of Engelbart's vision.
Rulifson was SRI's representative to the "network working group" in 1968, which led to the first connection on the ARPANET
. He described the Decode-Encode Language (DEL), which was designed to allow remote use of NLS over ARPANET. Although never used, the idea was small "programs" would be down-loaded to enhance user interaction. This concept was fully developed in Sun Microsystems
's Java programming language
almost 30 years later.
Rulifson earned a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University
in 1973.
Rulifson left SRI to join the System Sciences Laboratory (SSL) within Xerox PARC
in 1973. While at PARC, he worked on implementing distributed office systems. He worked for ROLM
in 1980 as an engineering manager. In 1985 he joined the company Syntelligence in Sunnyvale, California
.
He worked for Sun Microsystems Laboratories
, in Ivan Sutherland
's lab since 1987. Sun was purchased by Oracle Corporation
in 2010.
's Software System Award for implementing groundbreaking innovations such as hypertext
, outline processors, and video conferencing.
In 1994, he was inducted as a Fellow
of the Association for Computing Machinery.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
.
Biography
Johns Frederick Rulifson was born August 20, 1941 in Bellefontaine, OhioBellefontaine, Ohio
Bellefontaine is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,069 at the 2000 census. It is the center of the Bellefontaine Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau in 2003...
. His father was Erwin Charles Rulifson and mother was Virginia Helen Johns. He married Janet Irving on June 8, 1963 and had two children.
Rulifson graduated with a BS in mathematics from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in 1966.
Rulifson joined the Augmentation Research Center
Augmentation Research Center
Stanford Research Institute's Augmentation Research Center was founded in the 1960s by electrical engineer Douglas Engelbart to develop and experiment with new tools and techniques for collaboration and information processing. The main product to come out of ARC was the revolutionary oN-Line...
, at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International
SRI International
SRI International , founded as Stanford Research Institute, is one of the world's largest contract research institutes. Based in Menlo Park, California, the trustees of Stanford University established it in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic development in the region. It was later...
) in 1966.
He led the software team that implemented the oN-Line System
NLS (computer system)
NLS, or the "oN-Line System", was a revolutionary computer collaboration system designed by Douglas Engelbart and implemented by researchers at the Augmentation Research Center at the Stanford Research Institute during the 1960s...
(NLS), a system that foreshadowed many future developments in modern computing and networking. Although Douglas Engelbart
Douglas Engelbart
Douglas Carl Engelbart is an American inventor, and an early computer and internet pioneer. He is best known for his work on the challenges of human-computer interaction, resulting in the invention of the computer mouse, and the development of hypertext, networked computers, and precursors to GUIs...
was the founder and leader of ARC, Rulifson's innovative programming was essential to the realization of Engelbart's vision.
Rulifson was SRI's representative to the "network working group" in 1968, which led to the first connection on the ARPANET
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network , was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet...
. He described the Decode-Encode Language (DEL), which was designed to allow remote use of NLS over ARPANET. Although never used, the idea was small "programs" would be down-loaded to enhance user interaction. This concept was fully developed in Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
's Java programming language
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
almost 30 years later.
Rulifson earned a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1973.
Rulifson left SRI to join the System Sciences Laboratory (SSL) within Xerox PARC
Xerox PARC
PARC , formerly Xerox PARC, is a research and co-development company in Palo Alto, California, with a distinguished reputation for its contributions to information technology and hardware systems....
in 1973. While at PARC, he worked on implementing distributed office systems. He worked for ROLM
ROLM
-Products:The company first produced rugged mil-spec computers which used Data General software. The company divisionalized in 1978 becoming Rolm Mil-Spec Computers and Rolm Telecom...
in 1980 as an engineering manager. In 1985 he joined the company Syntelligence in Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
.
He worked for Sun Microsystems Laboratories
Sun Microsystems Laboratories
Sun Microsystems Laboratories, or Sun Labs was the research and development branch of Sun Microsystems. It was established in 1990 by Ivan Sutherland and Robert Sproull...
, in Ivan Sutherland
Ivan Sutherland
Ivan Edward Sutherland is an American computer scientist and Internet pioneer. He received the Turing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery in 1988 for the invention of Sketchpad, an early predecessor to the sort of graphical user interface that has become ubiquitous in personal...
's lab since 1987. Sun was purchased by Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
in 2010.
Awards
In 1990, Rulifson won the Association for Computing MachineryAssociation for Computing Machinery
The Association for Computing Machinery is a learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 as the world's first scientific and educational computing society. Its membership is more than 92,000 as of 2009...
's Software System Award for implementing groundbreaking innovations such as hypertext
Hypertext
Hypertext is text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references to other text that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or keypress sequence. Apart from running text, hypertext may contain tables, images and other presentational devices. Hypertext is the...
, outline processors, and video conferencing.
In 1994, he was inducted as a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Association for Computing Machinery.