George Mallen
{{short description|British businessman and pioneer of creative computer systems}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = George L. Mallen
| honorific_suffix = FBCS FRSA
| image = Dr George Mallen, born 1939.jpg
| image_upright =
| landscape =
| alt = Photograph of George Mallen
| caption = Portrait photograph of George Mallen
| birth_date = 1939
| birth_place = Melrose, Scotland
| baptised =
| nationality = British
| citizenship =
| education =
| alma_mater = University of Brighton
| occupation = Company chair
| years_active = 1962 onwards
| era =
| employer = System Research
System Simulation
Royal College of Art
Bournemouth University
| organization = Computer Arts Society (1968 onwards)
| known_for = Event One (1969)
Creative computing
Computer graphics
Computer arts
| notable_works = Ecogame (1970)
| spouse = Sarah Mallen
| awards =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
George L. Mallen FBCS FRSA (born 1939) is a British businessman who has been a pioneer of creative computer systems since 1962.Mason (2024), p. vii. He co-founded the Computer Arts Society (CAS) with Alan Sutcliffe and John Lansdown in 1968. In 1970, he led CAS members in creating Ecogame, the "first digitally driven, multi-player, interactive gaming system in the UK".{{cite web| url=https://www.bcs.org/articles-opinion-and-research/george-mallen-and-the-ecogame/ | first=Catherine | last=Mason | title=George Mallen and the Ecogame | publisher=BCS | date=1 July 2024 | access-date=23 July 2024 }} Also in 1970, he founded the company System Simulation Ltd, one of the longest established
Early life
George Mallen was born in Melrose, Scottish Borders.Mason (2024), p. 45. He studied Physics at the University of Brighton, England, receiving his degree in 1962.Mason (2024), p. 46.
Career
Mallen's first involvement with computer simulation was at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, working on air traffic control during 1962–3.{{cite web| url=https://constructivist.info/authors/george-mallen | title=Author: George Mallen | publisher=Constructivist Community | access-date=23 July 2024 }} Initially, he worked with the cybernetician and polymath Gordon Pask (1928–1996) at his company System Research Ltd, where he became a director, before himself founding the company System Simulation Ltd (SSL) in 1970. In parallel, Mallen held academic positions at the Royal College of Art in London (1971–1981), introducing computer graphics into teaching, and at Bournemouth University, where he was the founding head of the Department of Communication and Media, also introducing computer graphics there too.{{cite web| url=https://www.instagram.com/p/C8yzYDroqkF/ | first=Catherine | last=Mason | title=Who is George Mallen? | website=Instagram | date=28 June 2024 | access-date=23 July 2024 }}{{Primary source inline|date=June 2025}}
In 1968, Mallen assisted with aspects of Pask's contributions to the early computer art exhibition Cybernetic Serendipity at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, curated by Jasia Reichardt.{{cite web| url=https://computer-arts-society.com/casarchive/cas/about.html | title=About – History | publisher=Computer Arts Society | access-date=23 July 2024 }}
In 1976, Mallen and SSL were involved with computer-generated sequences for the 1979 Hollywood film Alien, directed by Ridley Scott.{{cite web| url=https://www.brianwyvill.com/blog/blog-post-title-one-gz6yh | first=Brian | last=Wyvill | title=My work on the film Alien: System Simulation and the Royal College of Art | website=brianwyvill.com | access-date=23 July 2024 }}
Mallen was co-founder (in 1968), President, and later President Emeritus (from 2019) of the Computer Arts Society (CAS).{{cite web| url=https://computer-arts-society.com/casarchive/cas/blog/2019/12/george-mallen-president-emeritus-of-cas.html | title=George Mallen – President Emeritus of CAS | publisher=Computer Arts Society | date=18 December 2019 | access-date=23 July 2024 }} In 1969, CAS organised the Event One digital art exhibition at the Royal College of Art (RCA). This was celebrated 50 years later at the RCA with Event Two, which Mallen also attended. Mallen was central to preserving the archives of the Computer Arts Society. These were originally stored at the System Simulation offices in Covent Garden, London, and these became the core of the CACHe ("Computer Art Context History Etc") Project at Birkbeck, University of London during 2002–05.{{cite web| url=https://www.bbk.ac.uk/hosted/cache/history.htm | title=Historical Background | work=The CACHe Project Archive | publisher=Birkbeck, University of London | location=UK | access-date=23 July 2024 }} This archive became an important part of the national collection of computer art at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Mallen was a member and later honorary member of the EVA London Electronic Visualisation and the Arts conference organising committee under James Hemsley.{{cite web| url=http://www.eva-london.org/about/organising-committee/ | title=Organising Committee | publisher=EVA London | access-date=23 July 2024 }} He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and the Royal Society of Arts.
In 2024, a book on Mallen's lifetime contributions to computer arts was published.{{cite book| url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-50620-8 | title=Creative Simulations: George Mallen and the Early Computer Arts Society | editor-first=Catherine | editor-last=Mason | editor-link=Catherine Mason | publisher=Springer Nature | series=Springer Series on Cultural Computing | doi=10.1007/978-3-031-50620-8 | isbn=978-3-031-50619-2 | date=2024 }}{{cite journal| title=Creative Simulations: George Mallen and the Early Computer Arts Society edited by Catherine Mason. 2024, Springer Series on Cultural Computing. ISBN 978-3-031-50619-2; ISBN 978-3-031-50620-8 (eBook) | first=Brian Reffin | last=Smith | author-link=Brian Reffin Smith | journal=Leonardo |year=2024 | volume=57 | number=6 | pages=702–704 | doi=10.1162/leon_r_02601 | url=https://leonardo.info/review/2024/09/creative-simulations-george-mallen-and-the-early-computer-arts-society | url-access=subscription }} The EVA London 2024 conference proceedings were dedicated to Mallen.{{cite book| first=Nick | last=Lambert | chapter=Ecomium Tribute to George Mallen | title=EVA London 2024: Electronic Visualisation and the Arts | publisher=BCS | series=Electronic Workshops in Computing | page=vii | doi=10.14236/ewic/EVA2024.0 | isbn=978-1-78017-692-5 | date=2024 | url=http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/46650/7/46650_GINGRICH_Shape_theory_in_animation_pedagogy_and_practice.pdf }}
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book| url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-50620-8 | title=Creative Simulations: George Mallen and the Early Computer Arts Society | editor-first=Catherine | editor-last=Mason | editor-link=Catherine Mason | publisher=Springer Nature | series=Springer Series on Cultural Computing | doi=10.1007/978-3-031-50620-8 | isbn=978-3-031-50619-2 | date=2024 }}
External links
{{commonscat}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fUC4hMFuu0 Creative Simulations: George Mallen and the Early Computer Arts Society] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr_u1WMsRqg Ecogame] talks by Catherine Mason at EVA London 2024
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Category:People from Melrose, Scottish Borders
Category:Alumni of the University of Brighton
Category:20th-century English businesspeople
Category:21st-century English businesspeople
Category:Businesspeople from London
Category:British company founders
Category:British computer scientists
Category:Academics of the Royal College of Art
Category:Academics of Bournemouth University
Category:Computer graphics professionals
Category:Fellows of the British Computer Society
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