Donald Bitzer

Donald Lester Bitzer (January 1, 1934 – December 10, 2024) was an American electrical engineer and computer scientist. He was the co-inventor of the plasma display and was widely regarded as the "father of PLATO".

Donald Bitzer
Born	Donald Lester Bitzer (1934-01-01)January 1, 1934 East St. Louis, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 10, 2024(2024-12-10) (aged 90) Cary, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupations	Electrical engineer computer scientist
Spouse	Maryann Drost ​ ​ (m. 1955; died 2022)​
Children	1
Awards	See full list
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (B.S.) (M.S.) (Ph.D.)
Academic work
Sub-discipline	Computer science
Institutions	North Carolina State University
Notable works	PLATO, Plasma display

Life and career

Donald Lester Bitzer was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, on January 1, 1934.^[1][2][3] He grew up in Collinsville, Illinois.^[3] Bitzer received three degrees in electrical engineering (B.S., 1955; M.S., 1956; Ph.D., 1960) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.^[4]

Bitzer held several patents in numerous areas, while the PLATO computer system, the first system to combine graphics and touchscreens, is the most famous of his inventions.^[5]

Bitzer co-invented the flat plasma display panel in 1964.^[6]

In 1974, Bitzer was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering for "his leadership in the utilization and development of technology for improving the effectiveness of education".

From 1989, Bitzer was a Distinguished University Research Professor of Computer Science at North Carolina State University.^[7]

Bitzer was married to Maryann Drost, a nurse and educator, from 1955 until her death in 2022 and had a son, along with three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.^[8][3] He died of congestive heart failure at home in Cary, North Carolina, on December 10, 2024, at the age of 90.^[9][3]

Awards

In 1973, the National Academy of Engineering presented Bitzer with the Vladimir K. Zworykin Award, which honors the inventor of the iconoscope.^[10]

Bitzer was a designated National Associate, an honor which was granted to him by the National Academies in 2002. He was also a member of the American Society for Engineering Education.^[7]

• Member of the National Academy of Engineering (1974)^[11]
• Computer Society Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1982)^[12]
• Slottow Creativity Award (1989)^[13]
• Emmy Award (2002)^[14]
• Inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame (2013)^[15]
• Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2018)^[16]
• Holladay Medal (2019)^[17]
• Fellow of the Computer History Museum (2022)^[18]