{{short description|American computer programmer}} {{for|the jazz saxophonist Lemuel A. Davis|Lem Davis}} '''Lemuel Lanier Davis''' (born 1953 in Mississippi) is a software engineer and former professor at Palomar College.
==Education== Lemuel (Lem) Davis earned his master's degree in electrical engineering (M.S.E.E.) from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering (B.S.E.E.) from the University of South Alabama.
==Career== Davis's career contributions are primarily in the field of computer animation systems. His career highlights include winning an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scientific and Engineering Award in 1991 for his work at Walt Disney Studios with the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) team.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/Search/GetResults?query=%7B%22NomineeId%22:3532,%22IsHyperlinkQuery%22:true,%22Sort%22:%221-Nominee-Alpha%22,%22Search%22:%22Basic%22%7D|title=Lem Davis|last=|first=|date=|website=Oscars Awards Databases|access-date=2018-03-08}}</ref> CAPS was a significant advancement in the field of animation, as it was the first digital ink and paint system used in animated feature films. Michael Eisner later wrote, "This new technology, Lem argued, had the potential to revolutionize animated movies, both by creating efficiencies and by giving artists a new range of creative capacities that were the equivalent of moving from writing by hand to using a personal computer."<ref name="eisner">{{cite book|last1=Eisner|first1=Michael D.|last2=Schwartz|first2=Tony|title=Work in progress|date=1997|publisher=Random House|location=New York|isbn=0-375-50071-5|edition=1st|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/workinprogress00eisn}}</ref>{{rp|179–180}} As a lead architect of the CAPS team, Davis worked as a technical director on Disney's first fully computer-animated short film, ''Oilspot and Lipstick''. Davis is credited with the concept of the experimental film, in which two junkyard dogs fall in love and are menaced by a monster made of junk.<ref name="sito">{{cite book|last1=Sito|first1=Tom|title=Moving innovation : a history of computer animation|date=2013|publisher=MIT Press|location=Cambridge, Mass|isbn=9780262019095}}</ref>{{rp|228–229}} It debuted at the 1987 SIGGRAPH Conference and was shown again in 1988 at the NCGA Video Showcase.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Amidi|first1=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi|title=30 Years Ago: Disney Released Its First Fully-CG Animated Short, 'Oilspot and Lipstick'|url=http://www.cartoonbrew.com/classic/30-years-ago-disney-released-first-fully-cg-animated-short-oilspot-lipstick-152616.html|website=Cartoon Brew|accessdate=20 September 2017|date=28 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Solomon|first1=Charles|title=Review: Computer Graphics Winners Fall Far Short of Wide Appeal|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-03-23-ca-1765-story.html|access-date=20 September 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=23 March 1988}}</ref> As part of the CAPS team, Davis worked on ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989) and ''The Rescuers Down Under'' (1990).<ref name="eisner" />{{rp|195}}<ref name="sito" />{{rp|231–232}} The CAPS system was in use until 2003.<ref name="sito" />{{rp|287}}
In 2000, Davis won the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers Journal Award along with Arjun Ramamurthy and Franz Herbert for their article, "Achieving Color Match Between Scanner, Monitor, and Film: A Color Management Implementation for Feature Animation."<ref>{{cite web|title=The SMPTE Journal Award Recipients|url=https://www.smpte.org/about/awards-programs/journal-winners|publisher=Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers|accessdate=15 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ramamurthy|first=A.|author2=Davis, L. |author3=Herbert, F. |title=Achieving Color Match between Scanner, Monitor, and Film: A Color Management Implementation for Feature Animation|journal=SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal|date=1 June 1999|volume=108|issue=6|pages=363–373|doi=10.5594/J08367|url=http://journal.smpte.org/content/108/6/363.refs|accessdate=15 February 2013|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
During Davis's time at Disney, he contributed to the animated films ''The Black Cauldron'' (1985) and ''The Rescuers Down Under'' (1990) as Digital Production System Developer. At Warner Bros. Studios, Davis contributed to the animated films ''Balto'' (1995) as Director of Technology, ''Quest for Camelot'' (1998), ''The Iron Giant'' (1999) as Technology Supervisor, and ''Osmosis Jones'' (2001) as Technology Manager.<ref>{{cite web|title=IMDb profile of Lem Davis|website=IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0205021/|accessdate=15 February 2013}}</ref> He later worked for Laika, Inc. as they produced ''Coraline'' (2009).
Davis currently lives in San Diego, California. He was an adjunct professor at Palomar College, teaching CSCI 212, an assembly language course.<ref>{{cite web|title=Palomar college staff directory|url=http://www2.palomar.edu/pages/directory/?s=Lemuel|publisher=Palomar CSCI|accessdate=9 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Palomar College Spring 2017 course bulletin|url=http://www2.palomar.edu/pages/schedule/files/2016/10/S17PalomarCollegeScheduleALL.pdf#page=8|accessdate=2 January 2018}}</ref>
==CG Production System Development== *''The Black Cauldron'' (1985) CGI animator *''Oilspot and Lipstick'' (1987) original concept/technical director *''The Little Mermaid'' (1989) CG production system developer *''The Rescuers Down Under'' (1990) digital production system developer *''Balto'' (1995) director of technology *''Quest for Camelot'' (1998) technology team *''The Iron Giant'' (1999) technology supervisor *''Osmosis Jones'' (2001) technology manager
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0205021|name=Lem Davis}} * [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790016400.pdf Master's Thesis] * [https://drive.google.com/open?id=11EXBlQxtWhCV1nor99zLpQ59YYpA9qfo CAPS Proposal]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Lemuel}} Category:1953 births Category:Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners Category:American computer programmers Category:Living people Category:Grainger College of Engineering alumni Category:University of South Alabama alumni