Pierre Bézier

He earned a second degree in electrical engineering in 1931 at the École supérieure d'électricité, and a doctorate in 1977 in mathematics from the Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University where he contributed to the study of parametric polynomial curves and their vector coefficients.

He wrote four books and numerous papers, and received several distinctions including the Steven Anson Coons Award from the Association for Computing Machinery and an honorary doctorate from Technische Universität Berlin.

Bézier developed the notation, consisting of nodes with attached control handles, with which the curves are represented in computer software.

While imprisoned during WWII, Bézier developed and improved on the "automatic machine principle" introduced before the war by General Motors.

[4] Bézier began researching CAD/CAM in 1960 while at Renault,[4] focusing on the UNISURF system he developed for use with drawing machines, computer control, interactive free-form curves, surface design and 3D milling for manufacturing clay models and masters.

[4] In 1985 he was recognized by ACM SIGGRAPH with a Steven A. Coons Award for his lifetime contribution to computer graphics and interactive techniques.