Photo
Share
Tom Calvert, P. Eng.

Tom Calvert, P. Eng.

April 12th, 1936 - September 28th, 2021

Biography


Dr. Thomas (Tom) William Gillies Calvert, P.Eng, FEC, FCAE


April 12, 1936 - September 28, 2021


With great sadness, the family of Tom Calvert announce that he passed away September 28, 2021, in the North Shore Hospice in North Vancouver, BC. 


Tom is survived by his wife Hiromi; children Rachel (Mike) and Jason (Yoko), stepchild Matsui,grandchild Aiilly; siblings Rosemary, William and Robert; and many more beloved family, friends and colleagues.


An innovator, leader and mentor, Tom’s career pioneered multi-disciplinary research in animation, user interfaces, educational and learning technologies, and tools for artistic composition and creation.  In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Red Cross or SFU’s Tom Calvert Graduate Scholarship fund are gratefully accepted. 

Read More 

Family

About

Name Tom Calvert, P. Eng.
Date of Birth April 12th, 1936
Date of Death September 28th, 2021
Other City North Vancouver, BC, CA 

Error

photo
Characters: 6000

Sign in to Keeper:

photo
Characters: 6000

Send as Guest:

Tributes



Flag Post

published a comment .

Read More 

Flag Post
N

Norman Jaffe published a tribute .

I only recently heard of Tom's passing, due to work-from-home isolation.
He was a great influence on my life and career, and inspired me to challenge myself.
I first met Tom as an undergraduate student in the early 70s, when the Computing Science department was just starting - I was among the first group of students that started in the department, as opposed to those that transferred from other departments.
I miss his quiet humour and calmness, as well as his deep insight into technical issues.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
W

Won Ho published a tribute .

I know his pass away just now. As a visiting professor to Tech BC, I was in Vancouver in 2000 under his guidance. He the best gentleman I know. Very kind also with admirable accomplishment. Always wanted to see him again but it fell through. Wish him to rest in peace.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
J

June Lester published a tribute .

I heard of Tom's passing only just before Christmas, though I knew he was very ill. I knew Tom in three contexts: I was a a minor cog in the Telelearning enterprise, an early days SIAT math lecturer, and then a SIAT graduate student. Asking Tom to be my PhD supervisor was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't respond well to explicit direction, and Tom never even attempted to direct. Instead, while always ready with support and encouragement, he let me develop my own ideas in my own way at my own pace. For that I will always remember him with gratitude.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
J

Jason Dowdeswell published a tribute .

Dr Calvert took a chance on me when I was just 17 years old. He let me meet his CompSci band of grads students and gave me the keys to the new SGI lab at SFU so I could animate. These times, this gift from such a wise, friendly and lovely man has launched many great careers and then the friendships & families that come with these rare chances of faith. He and my father were both engineers and I know my own father & mother thought fondly of Tom. I remember I used a research animation software called Lifeforms developed at his lab; part of a 3D walking gait tool. But we had chance to animate personalities. And Dr Calvert was always so gentle with him pose and how he held himself, his hands when listening in conversation and well... he made for a great reference in the art of animation. I always felt great no matter what was going on this world, as long as at least I knew Tom was still on his north shore hikes with family and friends. I will miss you Tom and you forever made me a better man. And I share my love and sorrow with Hiromi and the whole clan. Bless you. Jason

Read More 

 1 


Flag Post
H

Hiromi published a comment .

Thank you Jason.

Hiromi

Read More 

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
M

Mary Georgilas published a tribute .

I knew the Calvert family in the early 70's, when I lived lived a few houses down the road, in Gleneagles. I have many fun memories hanging out at their house or riding in the back of their station wagon with my brother, Rachel and Jason.
Tom was kind person and even though I was kid, we had many interesting conversations. I wish Rachel, Jason, and the Calvert family peace during this difficult time.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
M

Mike Bernard published a tribute .

I’ve known Jason and Rachel since we were kids and shared lots of great times with Tom. He was an incredibly bright and warm person - a restless mind in the best possible way - I always enjoyed catching up with him. There are many great ways to remember Tom as I can see here in these wonderful tributes. I’ll always remember him for being the guy who did d the ‘Whip It’ video for Devo and the guy who really introduced me to what the internet might be capable of. I feel sad that the world has lost him, yet grateful for having known him. Rachel and Jason - you have always had my love and always will, hope you find some form of peace today.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
S

Sang published a tribute .

As others have shared, there are so many different facets to Tom Calvert that have been sparkling inspiration and clear advisory over the years to many, including myself. I am fortunate to have witnessed some of Tom's many contributions: as teacher/supervisor (when I was in his gaggle of cross-disciplinary students); Tom as multidisciplinary researcher (when he offered me the role of managing the Graphics & Multimedia Research Lab); and Tom as an entrepreneurial-thinker (when I moved from the Lab to Credo Interactive, the company Tom founded). Tom was also part of other university spin-outs as well as inspiring a number of students to start their own companies.

As students, we were attracted to his work in computer graphics as we heard Tom spent a year in LA, in Hollywood, in visual effects for a movie which I believe was The Last Starfighter (I hope I got this right). I always loved the vibrancy of The Graphics Lab, due to Tom having this unique knack of bringing people from different disciplines together; the lab was often filled with dancers dancing and stretching while looking over a computer screen of a high-end Silicon Graphics machine, engineering students tinkering with biomechanical systems, suits and sensors for capturing full-body movement or gestures, computer scientists and mathematicians working on optimizing algorithms - Tom's research was one of the first to use Quaternions in human figure or character animation, software interface designers testing out different user interfaces and considering the "human in the loop" of computerized systems, as Tom always stressed the importance of first making software tools intuitive for people to use. (I think of this today.)

I recall the Graphics Lab was always a stop on any VIP tour or demo at SFU. Tom's, and that of his students', work in human figure animation and specification lead to the creation of LifeForms, now known as DanceForms(tm). We actually started "shipping product" in the graphics lab with students designing and printing labels and burning CDs to be sent to early adopters / users around the world from day one.

Early users of LifeForms included Merce Cunningham, the American Choreographer considered the Father of Modern Dance; Merce became LifeForms' master user and the work with LifeForms is considered one of Merce's 4 key lifetime discoveries. And more broadly Tom's work with the dance community, including with Rhonda Ryman, Ilene Fox at the Dance Notation Bureau in NY, Iris Garland at SFU with the Cyberdance course, was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dance and Technology community - one of a number of lifetime achievement awards Tom received. Some of his Lifeforms students would go on to help grow the local visual effects and game development industry, as well as down to Hollywood, LA and CA. His students would all say that without Tom generously inviting them into the lab or onto projects or companies, they would not know where they would be now. He made a huge impact on so many of our life and career experiences.

When Tom, "semi-" or "sort of-" retired, he assumed again the role of CEO of Credo Interactive in 2003. And I had further opportunity to work with Tom in the past few years, including on different research projects. Tom enjoyed the brainstorming of new ideas, his eyes would light up, and then he would turn to you and say "so how are you going to do this?". :-)

Finally, many have commented on Tom's quirky subtle sense of humor. I will end with a story being shared about how Tom would nod off in group meetings, his head would drop and his eyes close. And just when you are wondering how Tom could fall asleep in such an important meeting, he would perk up and speak out with the most insightful questions and guidance, with a bright gleam in his eyes. I personally think that he purposefully appeared to look like he was nodding off to see what we would do or say! And I think he is gleaming at us now.

---
Tom - We, including the Credo DanceForms community, will miss you. Happy sailing!

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
P

Pieter Botman published a tribute .

iI had the opportunity to serve on various committees and task forces at APEGBC (now EGBC) during the late 90's and 2000s with Dr. Calvert. These committees were focused on software engineering and the professional engineering aspects of that discipline.

All of us on the APEGBC committees were honoured and surprised at his presence considering his broad range of activities and responsibilities at SFU, TechBC and SIAT.

He certainly contributed a great deal on a professional level to APEGBC over the years, in various roles, but on the committees we especially appreciated his grace and diplomacy.

Thank you Dr. Calvert. We will miss you.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
M

Maria Lantin published a tribute .

Tom was the head of the graphics lab at SFU when I was completing my PhD. He was kind, and purposeful with a keen listening ear. And he was funny too. So much wisdom there. He offered me my first job as an academic at TechBC. He stands as an example of leadership with unwavering integrity. I will remember him as a beacon, an example to follow.

Read More 

 1 


Flag Post
R

Rhonda S Ryman-Kane published a comment .

Of all the university colleagues I have had the honour of knowing, Tom was by far the most honest, sincere and supportive. He was a man of honour and integrity as well as intelligence and insight. I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Tom and the Credo team. DanceForms has been an integral part of my research and has extended my work in dance notation and analysis immeasurably. May his memory be a blessing.

Read More 

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
A

Andrew Park published a tribute .

I worked at TechBC where Tom was one of the TechBC founding members. As you may know, TechBC was merged into SFU and I was one of those who lost jobs. I came back to SFU Surrey as a PhD student, and Tom became my PhD supervisor. He was a father-like figure to me. He was gentle, kind, and generous. He introduced me to Drs. Paul and Patricia Brantingham, and my PhD research study became an interdisciplinary study about studying criminology using computer technologies. I was unexperienced and didn’t know how to conduct research studies at that time. But Tom guided me step-by-step along the way. Hiromi told me that he proofread my PhD thesis draft spending a whole night. Without his guidance and support, I don’t think I was able to finish my PhD study. Even after my PhD study, Tom continued to support and helped me to find my first faculty position. Tom, Hiromi, and I had lunches together from time to time, and they always encouraged me and gave me helpful advices. I was fortunate that I could visit Tom before his passing. Although he was in a great pain, he remembered me and said kind words to me. I will miss him and remember him always as my true mentor and father-like figure. Thank you!

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
Z

Zella Wolofsky published a tribute .

I first met Tom when I was a grad student in the early 70s at SFU. He was so supportive and enthusiastic about the research I was proposing. What he did with research was truly outstanding. Tom's work helped create Lifeforms which was fundamental to helping one of the greatest American choreographers, Merce Cunningham, create his masterpieces until Merce was neatly 90. For us in modern dance, Tom's insight and creativity, his enthusiasm for new ideas, bore such richness for dance.

Read More 

 1 


Flag Post
J

John Blackwell published a comment .

Douglas College Computer Systems Advisory Committee
Tom was a valuable member of our CSIS 2 Year Diploma Program.
He helped plan our curriculum and set up transfer credit to SFU’s Computer Science Degree .
He was so Helpful!!

Read More 

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
V

Veronica Strong-Boag published a tribute .

I worked with Tom when I joined SFU's Women's Studies programme in 1981. I fondly remember his empathy, enthusiasm and integrity. If only all senior administrators were so gifted. I have never forgotten him even as my career took a different trajectory.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
P

Paul And Patricia Brantingham published a tribute .

We meet Tom when we first came to SFU in the end of the ‘70’s and Tom was Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies, a fascinating faculty. We have so many wonderful stories to pass on to others. They are far too long for this message. We best pass on a few short statements. Tom was a wonderful man with a kind heart. He excelled in all the incredibly varied things he did and always made others feel good. He will never be forgotten. He left his mark on so many of us at SFU.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
G

Gloria Gutman published a tribute .

I first met Tom in early 1980s when I went from UBC to SFU to establish the Gerontology program. He and Jack Blaney were very helpful in enabling me to make things happen. He had vision, humour, and was a true gentleman. I was lucky he was in senior administration back then. It was a privilege to have known him

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
R

Robin H Johnson published a tribute .

I first met Tom during the summer of 2001, shortly before I joined TechBC as an undergrad student. Two friends were working there, one of them was going to be leaving, and introduced me to Tom, by saying "This is Robin, he's a better programmer than me".

Tom invited me to the lunch he was throwing for the outgoing research assistants, and then offered me a job working as the first sysadmin for the TechBC Research Labs: running the SGI visualization system we called "Fakespace" & helping researchers get their work onto it.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
P

Paul Hibbitts published a tribute .

I was fortunate to first meet Tom at SFU through the Virtual-U project. Tom supported and encouraged me to then apply to teach CMPT-363 User Interface Design at SFU in 1997, which proved to be a cornerstone of my passion for lifelong learning. I will always remember Tom for being kind, gracious and thoughtful.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
P

Parveen Bawa published a tribute .

Tom's birthday celebrated on Zoom by colleagues and ex-students from Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, April 12, 2021.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
R

Rosemary Anderson published a tribute .

My dearest brother

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
H

Helen And Richard Ward published a tribute .

Tom not only was amazing as an academic, he always had a twinkle in his eye, had a quiet demeanor and was very encouraging to his fellow faculty and students at SFU. We are better for the impact he had on our lives.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
P

Parveen Bawa published a tribute .

I met Tom in March 1978 during my interview for a job to fill Tom’s teaching/research responsibilities in Kinesiology. He was low keyed during my interview but when I actually took the job, I realized how humongous the shoes were that I had to fill, both in teaching and research. He was loved by students. I did not have to worry much, he was super encouraging and supportive while I was feeling my way around. Even after we became friends i.e. when he was not my Dean, I have always considered him a mentor; his advice was always sincere and never selfish. Tom was way ahead of his time when it came to practising diversity whether it concerned his family or in hiring faculty and staff. I am awfully grateful to him and his family for their support and friendship for over four decades.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
M

Martin Gotfrit published a tribute .

I worked with Tom @ SFU for many years. There were so many projects that he inspired and found funding for. A true pioneer and innovator. May his memory be a blessing.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000
Flag Post
D

David Kauffman published a tribute .

I worked at vertigo where Tom’s innovations inspired many people on both sides of the technical and creative fields.

Read More 

  

photo
Characters: 6000
photo
Characters: 6000

Mementos

Tom Calvert's Celebration of Life

October 23rd, 2021 at 12:00pm
Event Details & RSVP

Keepers

Send a Tribute