14 Facts About Russell Kirsch

Russell A Kirsch was an American engineer at the National Bureau of Standards.

Russell Kirsch's parents were Jewish emigrants from Russia and Hungary.

Russell Kirsch attended the Bronx High School of Science, graduating in 1946.

Russell Kirsch continued his education at New York University in 1950, Harvard University in 1952, and later the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1951 Kirsch joined the National Bureau of Standards as part of the team that ran SEAC.

In 1957, Russell Kirsch's group developed a digital image scanner, to "trace variations of intensity over the surfaces of photographs", and made the first digital scans.

Russell Kirsch proposed the Kirsch operator for edge detection in images.

Later in life, Russell Kirsch became the director of research of the Sturvil Corporation and an advisory editor for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Russell Kirsch was the advisory editor of the journal Languages of Design.

Russell Kirsch was married to Joan Russell Kirsch for 65 years until his death.

Russell Kirsch spent most of his professional life in Washington, DC, where he was affiliated with the National Bureau of Standards for nearly 50 years.

Russell Kirsch moved to Portland, Oregon, in 2001 after his retirement.

Russell Kirsch died on August 11,2020, at his home in Portland at age 91.

In 2003 Russell Kirsch's scanned picture of his son was named by Life magazine one of the "100 Photographs That Changed the World" due to its importance in the development of digital photography.