John Canny is a prominent computer scientist known for his contributions to the fields of computer vision and robotics. He is best recognized for developing the Canny edge detector, an algorithm that helps identify edges in images, which is widely used in image processing applications. Canny has also made significant advancements in machine learning and human-computer interaction. He has held academic positions at various institutions, including the University of California, Berkeley, where he has influenced many students and researchers in the field of computer science.