Jeff Westbrook is a TV writer best known for his work on ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' and ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

'', for which he is a three-time winner of the

WGA Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility The ...

Education and pre-TV

Prior to becoming a TV writer, Westbrook was a successful

algorithms In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for per ...

researcher. After majoring in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, he studied

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

with

Robert Tarjan Robert Endre Tarjan (born April 30, 1948) is an American computer scientist and mathematician. He is the discoverer of several graph theory algorithms, including his strongly connected components algorithm, and co-inventor of both splay trees a ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, receiving his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1989 with a thesis entitled ''Algorithms and Data Structures for Dynamic Graph Algorithms''. He then took a faculty position at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, later becoming a researcher for

AT&T Laboratories AT&T Labs, Inc. (formerly AT&T Laboratories, Inc.) is the research & development division of AT&T, the telecommunications company. It employs some 1,800 people in various locations, including: Bedminster, New Jersey; Middletown, New Jersey; Ma ...

before leaving research for Hollywood.

Erdős and Bacon numbers

Westbrook's

Erdős number The Erdős number () describes the "collaborative distance" between mathematician Paul Erdős and another person, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers. The same principle has been applied in other fields where a particular individual ...

is three due to his research collaborations with Tarjan and others. His

Bacon number Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon or Bacon's Law is a parlor game where players challenge each other to choose an actor whom they connect to another actor via a film in which both actors appeared: this is repeated to try to find the shortest path that ...

is also three, due to his appearance as an extra in the movie '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'', giving a combined

Erdős–Bacon number A person's Erdős–Bacon number is the sum of their Erdős number—which measures the "collaborative distance" in authoring academic papers between that person and Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős—and their Bacon number—which represents t ...

of six.

Writing credits

''Futurama'' episodes

The Day the Earth Stood Stupid ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

" (2001) *"

The 30% Iron Chef "The 30% Iron Chef" is the twenty second and final episode in the third season of the American animated television series ''Futurama'', and the 54th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on A ...

" (2002) *"

Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" is the ninth episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series ''Futurama'', and the 63rd episode of the series overall. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 30 ...

" (2003)

''The Simpsons'' episodes

On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister" is the eleventh episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 6, 2005. The episode was dir ...

" (2005) *"

The Wettest Stories Ever Told "The Wettest Stories Ever Told" is the eighteenth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 23, 2006. The episode was wri ...

" (2006) *"

Kill Gil, Volumes I & II "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II" is the ninth episode of the eighteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 2006. The episode was written by J ...

" (2006) – Won 2007

in the Animation category *"

Apocalypse Cow "Apocalypse Cow" is the seventeenth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 27, 2008. After joining 4-H, Bart saves a c ...

" (2008) – Won 2008

in the Animation category *"

No Loan Again, Naturally "No Loan Again, Naturally" is the twelfth episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 8, 2009. "No Loan Again, Naturally" was written by J ...

" (2009) *"

Pranks and Greens "Pranks and Greens" is the sixth episode of the twenty-first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 22, 2009. The episode was written by Jeff We ...

" (2009) *"

The Ned-Liest Catch "The Ned-Liest Catch" is the twenty-second and final episode of the The Simpsons season 22, twenty-second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The episode was directed by Chuck Sheetz and written by Jeff Westbrook. ...

" (2011) *" The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" (2011) *"

Ned 'n' Edna's Blend Agenda "Ned 'n' Edna's Blend Agenda" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The episode was directed by Chuck Sheetz and written by Jeff Westbrook. It origi ...

" (2012) – Won 2012

in the Animation category. *" Treehouse of Horror XXIV" (2013) *"

The Man Who Grew Too Much "The Man Who Grew Too Much" is the twelfth episode of the twenty-fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and the 543rd episode of the series. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on March 9, 2014 ...

" (2014) *"

The Wreck of the Relationship "The Wreck of the Relationship" is the second episode of the twenty-sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 554th episode of the series overall. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on ...

" (2014) *"

Let's Go Fly a Coot The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. The imperative mood is used to demand or require that an action be performed. It is usually found only in the present tense, second person. They are sometimes called '' ...

" (2015) *“

The Nightmare After Krustmas "The Nightmare After Krustmas" is the tenth episode of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 606th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Jeff ...

” (2016) *"

Caper Chase "The Caper Chase" is the nineteenth episode of the twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 615th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Lance Kramer and written by Jeff Westb ...

" (2017) *" No Good Read Goes Unpunished" (2018) * 'Tis the 30th Season" (2018) *"

I Want You (She's So Heavy) "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song closes side one of their 1969 album ''Abbey Road'' and features Billy Preston playing the organ. ...

" (2019) *"

Bobby, It's Cold Outside "Bobby, It's Cold Outside" is the 10th episode of the The Simpsons season 31, thirty-first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 672nd episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox Broadcasting Compan ...

" (2019) *"

Better Off Ned "Better Off Ned" is the 16th episode of the thirty-first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 678th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on March 15, 2020. The episode was directed by Rob O ...

" (2020) *" The Road to Cincinnati" (2020) *" Diary Queen" (2021) *" Girls Just Shauna Have Fun" (2022) *" Pin Gal" (2023) *" Clown V. Board of Education" (2023) *"

Treehouse of Horror XXXIV A tree house, tree fort or treeshed, is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level. Tree houses can be used for recreation, work space, habitation, a ha ...

" (2023) *" Shoddy Heat" (2024) *"Full Heart, Empty Pool" (2025)

References

External links

*
Dr. Sarah's Mathematical Backgrounds of the Simpsons Writers
Year of birth missing (living people) Harvard College alumni Living people Primetime Emmy Award winners Princeton University alumni American television writers American male television writers Writers Guild of America Award winners Yale University faculty {{US-tv-writer-stub