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Brief Bio - John Henry Thompson - Invent Your Future
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Brief Bio
Bio For 2020’s:
Returning to NYU-ITP as Visiting Scholar to learn, create and teach.
Bio For Present Century - 2010’s:
I am developing DICE:
a platform for exploring art, learning, and computer science.
I write iPhone apps for EP Visual Design.
I teach computer science and creative learning:
• Youth Workshop: D.I.Y. Photoshop at Scribe Video Feb 2017.
• Play to Learn Workshop at Scribe Video in 2014.
• Play to Learn Workshop at Scribe Video in July 2013.
• Mobile application workshop in Jamaica 2012.
A video interview about the workshop.
My vision statement for the workshop.
Awards:
• Patent 8,700,804: Methods and apparatus for managing mobile content.
• The Institute of Jamaica 2012 Musgrave award for Science.
Bio For Past Century - 1990’s:
My most significant contribution to the computer industry to date is the invention of the Macromedia Director Lingo scripting language
I’ve also helped nurture a generation of multimedia professionals as a graduate level college professor at New York University, and author of the “Macromedia Director Lingo Workshop” book.
I studied studio art at the New York Student Art League and the Boston Museum School. I earned my degree in Computer Science and Visual Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1983. After graduating, I continued at MIT as a technical instructor and developed an early color pre-press design system for the Visible Language Workshop, now part of the MIT Media Lab. Following this I was a project lead at Lucas Films on the EditDroid project, an early nonlinear editing system.
I have created art using 3D graphics, video disc, and real-time video processing. Some of my interactive art installations have been exhibited internationally.
My interest in both art and technology lead me to Macromedia (formerly MacroMind). From 1987, at Macromedia I developed a number of products, including: The VideoWorks Accelerator, VideoWorks II, MediaMaker, Action, and Macromedia Director. I created a number of core technologies including the Lingo Scripting engine. Until I left the company in 2001, I held the position of Chief Scientist, the highest engineering position at Macromedia.
While creating multimedia tools, I was also a professor at New York University’s graduate Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). From 1988 to 1997 I developed and taught five different courses covering various aspects of interactive design and programming. Drawing upon experience teaching my Lingo scripting language, I wrote and published the book “Macromedia Director Lingo Workshop.” The book is a popular guide to the Lingo programing language, it was published in two editions and translated to Japanese, German, and Italian.
