John Clyne (USA), BS and MS in Computer Science from the University of Colorado, Boulder is a member of the Visualization Group in the Scientific Computing Division of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Clyne's professional interests include volume visualization of large geo-science datasets, and applications of Virtual Reality to scientific visualization.

In 1991, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) funded a project to develop a digital database of volumetric data representing a complete adult male and female. This scientific effort was named the "Visible Human (TM) Project". A primary objective of the project was to provide the radiologic and photographic definition of a complete, human male cadaver at a resolution af 1 mm in all three dimensions. The female cadaver would be done at a later time. This involved developing new volume-visualization techniques appropriate for the unique characteristics of the enormous data-set. The culmination of these collaborative efforts was the production of an HDTV movie which showcased these exploratory visualization efforts.

The movie's goals were to further medical education, stimulate the idea of virtual surgery for medical students, and to foster a stronger awareness of the complexities of human anatomy by the general public. It was also hoped that the movie would challenge people's imaginations about what the future might hold in the areas of medical science education and technology advancement.