Turner Whitted is best known for coining the term "global illumination" and implementing it using recursive ray tracing. His research has spanned signal processing, rendering, procedural geometry, graphics hardware, and displays. His research career includes terms at Bell Laboratories, Microsoft Research, and NVIDIA. In addition he co-founded Numerical Design Limited, consulted for numerous organizations, and served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University. He is a fellow of IEEE and ACM, recipient of SIGGRAPH's Steven A. Coons Award, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.