Rate My Professor Donald Bitzer

Donald L. Bitzer served as Distinguished University Research Professor of Computer Science at North Carolina State University from 1989 until his death on December 10, 2024. He earned his B.S. in 1955, M.S. in 1956, and Ph.D. in 1960, all in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After completing his doctorate, Bitzer joined the UIUC faculty as a professor of electrical and computer engineering. There, he directed the Computer-based Education Research Laboratory and developed groundbreaking technologies in educational computing. In 1989, he transitioned to North Carolina State University, where he contributed to the Department of Computer Science for over three decades, focusing his research on advanced learning technologies, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing.

Bitzer is best known for creating PLATO, the Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations, the world's first time-shared, computer-based education system launched in 1960 on the ILLIAC I computer at UIUC. PLATO introduced innovative features such as networked interactive learning, online chat rooms, multiplayer games, and e-newsletters, extending educational opportunities to remote and inner-city students. To support PLATO, he co-invented the flat-panel plasma display in 1964 with Gene Slottow and Robert Willson, which enabled cost-effective image distribution to multiple terminals and became a forerunner to modern flat-panel televisions. His pioneering work has profoundly influenced computer science, engineering, and education technology, impacting billions through plasma display advancements in consumer electronics. Bitzer's illustrious career was honored with numerous prestigious awards, including membership in the National Academy of Engineering in 1974, IEEE Life Fellow status in 1982, an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 2002 for the plasma screen development—the only such award for an NC State Computer Science faculty member—induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2013, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2017, and Computer History Museum Fellow in 2022. He was recognized as a lifelong learner and dedicated mentor to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students.