A. P. Jensen Visual Materials

Alton Peter Jensen (1925-2005), known as "Pete," was a student and professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is recognized for his contributions in the computing world and for his work in establishing and growing Tech’s computer system and its College of Computing.

Jensen was born on July 25, 1925 in East Point, Georgia, to Peter Roosevelt Jensen and Emma Brown Jensen. He had three brothers: Edward Norman Jensen, Joseph John Jensen, and James Russell Jensen. Pete Jensen enlisted in the army during World War II and served as a Private First Class in companies I and L of the 94th Infantry Division.

Jensen graduated from the Southern Technical Institute in 1952 with an A.S. in Industrial Technology and an A.S. in Mechanical Technology. He then went on to study at the Georgia Institute of Technology, graduating with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1956. He pursued graduate work in Mechanical Engineering at Tech after finishing his undergraduate degree.

Jensen joined Tech’s research faculty in about 1954. Ten years later, in 1964, the School of Information Science was formed at Tech, the first of its kind in the world. Jensen founded Tech’s first computer laboratory and installed the university’s first email system in 1965. He formally joined the Information Science faculty in 1968. Two years later the School changed its name to the School of Information and Computer Science (ICS). In 1972, ICS began offering an undergraduate degree.

Jensen was granted tenure and promoted to professor in the School of Information and Computer Science in 1981. He was actively involved throughout his career in the development of the computer industry, especially in the areas of computers and education, instruction delivery systems, and the paperless classroom. He retired in 1984, but he remained active in teaching and research until he returned in 1987 to serve as Director of the ICS School. In 1990, under Pat Crecine's Presidency, the academic programs at Tech underwent a restructuring. One result was the formation of the College of Computing in 1990. Jensen worked to define Tech’s role in computer science by serving as chairman of the restructuring committee, he oversaw the transition, and he served as the College’s first Associate Dean.

Jensen’s first wife was Jackie Epperson Jensen. His second wife (and wife of 28 years) was Judith Bourgeois Jensen. He had a son, Allen P. Jensen, and a daughter, Jean Jensen Terrell. He died in Atlanta of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on February 9, 2005, at age 79. He is buried in Milledgeville, Georgia.

Source: Georgia Tech Archives Personality Files - Jensen, Alton P.