The Computer History Museum today announced that Morris Chang, John Hennessy, David Patterson and Charles Thacker are the recipients of its 2007 Fellow Awards. Next month a VIP crowd of technology pioneers will gather at the Computer History Museum's 20th Anniversary Fellow Award dinner to honor the new inductees, which brings to forty-four the number of honorees recognized by the Museum since it established the Fellow Awards program twenty years ago.
The mission of the Computer History Museum is to preserve and share the artifacts and stories of the information age. At the Fellow Awards dinner next month, honorees will share personal stories from their experiences in the technology world.
Each year, Fellow Award candidates are nominated by the public and selected by a panel composed of computer historians, past Museum Fellows, their peers, staff and trustees. Honorees must have made a significant personal contribution to the development of computing, have demonstrated a strong influence upon the intellectual, disciplinary or industrial underpinnings of computing, and sustained a minimum of ten years between the time of their achievement and their nomination. Highlights of the 2007 Fellows' achievements include:
Morris Chang. In the late 1980s, as the cost of semiconductor factories was even then rising well above $1 billion, Chang saw an opportunity to provide a service in which people could simply submit designs electronically and have their integrated circuits built for the company Chang founded, TSMC.
John Hennessy has been an educator and entrepreneur for over three decades. Now president of Stanford University, Hennessy was instrumental in developing RISC-based computers and making fundamental contributions to engineering education.
David Patterson is professor of computer science at the University of California at Berkeley. Considered one of the key figures in computer systems design for over two decades, Patterson enjoys a loyal following among students and researchers alike and was a key innovator in RAID and RISC technologies.
Charles Thacker led development of the Xerox PARC Alto-the machine that inspired the Apple Macintosh-and co-invented the Ethernet local area network. He also made pioneering contributions to dozens of important projects in computing, including development of the world's first laser printer.
"I think of inspiration, persistence, and transforming our world when I hear the stories of this year's inductees," said John Toole, executive director and CEO of the Computer History Museum. "They are living proof that heroes and legends walk among us, and the Museum is proud to share their amazing stories with the world." The 2007 Fellow Awards Dinner
The 2007 Computer History Museum's 20th Fellow Award event will be held on Tuesday, October 16th at the Museum's landmark Silicon Valley building at 1401 N. Shoreline Boulevard in Mountain View, California. Invitation and sponsorship information can be found at computerhistory.org/fellowawards. More than four hundred guests are expected to attend the event including business leaders, entrepreneurs, technologists and academics.
Because the Museum commemorates such a rich array of technology breakthroughs and industry visionaries, the Fellow Award event sponsors always represents a "who's who" of leading companies and influential people.
For companies and individuals interested in sponsorship, please contact David Ujita at (650)810-1033. The Computer History Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and sponsorship proceeds support the preservation and educational missions of the Museum.
The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with a 25-year history as part of the former Boston Computer Museum. CHM preserves and presents the artifacts and stories of the information age and is dedicated to exploring the social impact of computing. CHM's diverse collection of computing-related artifacts is the largest and most significant in the world. CHM brings computing history to life through an acclaimed speaker series, dynamic website, and onsite tours and exhibits. Current exhibits include "Mastering The Game: A History of Computer Chess," "Innovation in the Valley," and "Visible Storage," featuring 600 key objects from the collection. A signature "Timeline of Computing History" exhibit will open in October 2009. For open hours and more information, please visit www.computerhistory.org or call 650.810.1010. Admission is free.
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