Douglas Ross

Name: Douglas (Doug) Taylor Ross

Born: December 21, 1929

Death: January 21, 2007 (Age: 78)

Computer-related contributions

• American computer scientist pioneer, and Chairman of SofTech, Inc. a software/consulting company and early supplier of compilers for Pascal.
• Best known for originating the term CAD (computer-aided design).
• Recognized as the father of APT (Automatically Programmed Tools), a language to drive numerically controlled manufacturing.
• Inventor of SADT, Structured Analysis and Design Technique and an early developer of structured analysis methods.

Significant publications

• Computer-aided design (1961).
• A generalized technique for symbol manipulation and numerical calculation (1961).
• Investigations in computer-aided design for numerically controlled production (1968).
• Automatic generation of efficient lexical processors using finite state techniques (1968).
• Software engineering: process, principles, and goals (1975).
• Structured Analysis for Requirements Definition (1976).
• Toward Foundations for the Understanding of type (1976).
• Structured Analysis for Requirements Definition (1977).
• Structured Analysis (SA): A Language for Communicating Ideas (1977).
• Origins of the APT Language for Automatically Programmed Tools (1978).
• Removing the limitations of natural language (with the principles behind the RSA language) (1980).
• Applications and Extensions of SADT (1985).
• SADT Structured Analysis and Design Technique (1988).
• The NATO Conferences form the Perspective of an Active Software Engineer (1989).

Honors and awards

• Joseph Marie Jacquard Memorial Award from the Numerical Control Society (1975).
• Distinguished Contributions Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (1980).
• Honorary Engineer of the Year Award from the San Fernando Valley Engineer's Council (1981).