1 A Friendly Revolution ByJohnLXinn A primary goal of Dr. Z A James D. Foley, JL J L director of the Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center in the College of Computing, is making a computer as in-
dispensable, and every bit as friendly, as a telephone. But Foley is not talking about making computers more friendly just for computer buffs or for an office environment. He's talking about making computers friendly for everyone.
The Foley File Born—July 20, 1942, in Palmerton, Pa, Education—BS, electrical engineering, Lehigh University, 1964; MS, electrical engineering, 1965; PhD, computer, Information and control engineering, University of Michigan, 1969. Outlook—"Georgia lech is an institution . . . . poised for success. It has very exciting opportunities to move into the new Information age and the new age of electronically based information. It is an exciting, dynamic environment." Professional Interests—Research includes interactive computer graphics, human factors of usercomputer interface, user-interface software tools, scientific data visualization and multimedia interlaces. For five years, he has focused his efforts on building the User-Interface Design Environment. Achievements—IFFF Fellow, for contributions to computer graphics; National Computer Graphics Association 1991 Academic Award; editor-in-chief, ACM Transactions on Graphics, 1991-present; coauthor. Introduction to Computer Graphics t 199.5), Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice, (1990) and Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics (1982). Leisure Interests—Skiing', sailing, and "puttering" in the garden, Participates in Tech's fitness program. Persons Most Admired—Professor John Karakash. head of electrical engineering at Lehigh and later clean of engineering, who is still active in his 80s as a mentor of students and researcher. President Jimmy Carter for his post-presidential Involvement in significant causes.
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"We technologists cannot assume that everyone is going to be as computersophisticated as we are," he emphasizes. "If we make that assumption, we are going to limit what can be done with computers. "The whole history of technology is that we don't keep doing business as usual. We evolutionize, and every now and then, we revolutionize. I'm talking about a revolution." Foley is tall and relaxed, with an affable manner that is, well, friendly. He is seated in his office and on the bookshelf behind him are photographs of his family—his wife, Marylou, president of a travel company in Washington, D.C., and his two daughters: Heather, who works with her mother, plans to pursue a master's degree in business administration; and Jennifer, a sophomore at Vanderbilt University, who is taking a leave from her studies next year to participate in a wilderness expedition with the National Outdoor Leadership School. Behind his wireframed glasses, Foley's eyes are sincere. The revolution is real. Nonetheless, just how friendly can a computer be?
F
l oley would like them to be on speaking terms, literally; to shoulder a lot more of the
work; and to be a great deal more accommodating in providing information. And, while they're at it, how about a little showmanship? If a student is researching President Dwight Eisenhower's cabinet, for example, Foley says the student should be able verbally to ask the c< miputer to "tell me about Eisenhower's cabinet." And when that happens, it should be show time. From data bases around the country, the computer retrieves and organizes information about President Eisenhower and his cabinet. Using expert system techniques derived from artificial intelligence and principles of graphic design, the computer arranges the information for an aesthetically pleasing presentation. On the same basis, Foley says, a businessman might tell the computer to show the relationship between sales for the past four quarters, corporate productivity for the past four quarters and the firm's inventory levels. "The computer goes into the corporate data base, pulls out the information and visually, graphically portrays the information. Bang! There's the graph. "This is user-friendliness taken to the next level—I