Donald Bitzer, most notably inventor of the Plasma display and largely regarded as the "father of PLATO", has made a career of improving classroom productivity by using computer and telecommunications technologies.
The creation of PLATO, the first system to combine graphics and touch-sensitive screens, is the hallmark of his efforts.
Bitzer co-invented the flat Plasma display panel in 1964. Originally invented as an educational aid to help students working in front of computers for long periods of time, plasma screens do not flicker and are a significant advance in television technology. In 1973 the National Academy of Engineering presented Bitzer with the Vladimir K. Zworykin Award, which honors the inventor of the iconoscope. The invention won the Industrial Research 100 Award in 1966.
Bitzer holds patents for inventions including the plasma-display panel, a high-quality modem and new satellite communications techniques. Bitzer received his bachelor's in 1955, his master's in 1956 and his doctorate in 1960, all in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois. He is currently a Distinguished University Research Professor in the Department of Computer Science at North Carolina State University.
Bitzer was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 1934, the first baby born in the area that year, and grew up in nearby Collinsville.
Bitzer continued to work on plasma display technology as well as on the PLATO project until he retired from the University of Illinois in 1989 to become a Distinguished University Research Professor at North Carolina State University, where he continues to teach and do research.
In 2002, Bitzer became a National Associate of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council, and, along with Slottow and Willson, was awarded an Emmy by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his efforts in advancing television technology.
DonaldBitzer, most notably inventor of the Plasma display and largely regarded as the "father of PLATO", has made a career of improving classroom productivity by using computer and telecommunications technologies.
In October of 2002, Dr. Bitzer was awarded an Emmy by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his efforts in advancing television technology.
Bitzer received his bachelor's in 1955, his master's in 1956 and his doctorate in 1960, all in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois.
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