Robert Ellis retired in 1993 as Sun Microsystems' representative on the Technology Policy Committee of the Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP) and co-manager of Sun's university research program. Previously, he held computer graphics software development and management positions with Sun, GE-Calma, Atari, Boeing, and Washington University (St. Louis). He received BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Washington University (St. Louis). Ellis currently serves as the Chair of the Public Policy Program of ACM's Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH) and is a member of ACM's U.S. Technology Policy Committee, USACM. Previously he was Co-Chair of SIGGRAPH 80 and a member of the SIGGRAPH Executive Committee from 1977-1983.

Ellis has held adjunct faculty positions at Washington University (St. Louis) and Seattle University where he taught computer architecture and computer graphics courses to computer science, electrical engineering and architecture students. During his tenure on the CSPP Technology Policy Committee, he was instrumental in creating white papers on the future of the Internet and federal support for computing research. He was also Co-Program Chair of a special research support conference that was held to familiarize the computing industry with research being conducted at the National Labs.