Ralph J. Guggenheim (DC 1974, MCS 1979)

2009 Alumni Achievement (Merit) Award

Ralph J. Guggenheim (DC 1974, MCS 1979) began exploring the interplay between computer science and film-making as a Carnegie Mellon undergraduate, when he was one of the first students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences to create his own major.

Early in his career, Guggenheim worked at the New York Institute of Technology's Computer Graphics Lab. He then led work in digital film editing at LucasFilm, which eventually became Pixar Animation Studios. While at Pixar, he won numerous awards for co-producing "Toy Story," the first feature-length, computer-animated film. Guggenheim currently is chief executive officer of Alligator Planet, a San Francisco-based film production company, and is involved with Climate Cartoons, a project led by Al Gore.