Gary Gordon | |
Birth Date: | November 16, 1939Portland, Oregon |
Education: | U.C. Berkeley BSEEStanford MSEE |
Spouse: | Nicola Whitney Gordon |
Gary Gordon is a retired engineer, naval officer, associate professor at San Jose State University, Agilent Technologies Fellow, and co-founder of Cambotics, a company pioneering robotic studio camera dollies.
He is a named inventor on over 100 patents including the modern optical computer mouse,[1] and his works have been featured on over 20 journal and magazine covers. At Hewlett Packard he pioneered instrumentation for testing computer circuits including the first Logic Probe,[2] [3] Logic Clip,[4] [5] Logic Pulser,[6] [7] [8] and HP's first Logic Analyzer.[9] Subsequently he led a number of significant projects including HP's distance-measuring laser interferometer,[10] the ORCA Robot,[11] and various instruments used in analytical chemistry and bioscience. His research also included computer input devices, and in 1999 he was awarded HP's first annual Prize for Innovation for co-inventing the modern optical computer mouse which measures travel by correlating successive images of the work surface.
His philanthropic interests include writing eye tracking software for controlling a screen cursor with one's gaze and the SoftSwitch[12] input device, both for paralyzed computer users, teaching radio technology at Handiham radio camps, and creating a short video showcasing their work.[13]
In 2017 the Computer History Museum produced a 45 minute video and transcript chronicling Gordon's career and his contributions to the development of digital computers.