Carver Mead
American scientist and engineer
Carver Andress Mead (born 1 May 1934) is an American scientist and engineer. He is the Gordon and Betty Moore Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), having taught there for over 40 years.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Carver Mead (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born May 1, 1934.1
About
A pioneer of modern microelectronics, Mead has made contributions to the development and design of semiconductors, digital chips, and silicon compilers, technologies which form the foundations of modern very-large-scale integration chip design. Mead has also been involved in the founding of more than 20 companies.
In the 1980s, Mead focused on electronic modeling of human neurology and biology, creating "neuromorphic electronic systems." Most recently, he has called for the reconceptualization of modern physics, revisiting the theoretical debates of Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein and others in light of later experiments and developments in instrumentation.
Mead's contributions as a teacher include the classic textbook Introduction to VLSI Systems (1980), which he coauthored with Lynn Conway. He also taught Deborah Chung, the first female engineering graduate of Caltech, and advised Louise Kirkbride, the school's first female electrical engineering student.
From Wikipedia’s article on Carver Mead, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
Early life and education
- Date not recordedCalifornia Institute of Technology3
Carver Andress Mead was born in Bakersfield, California, and grew up in Kernville, California. His father worked in a power plant at the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, owned by Southern California Edison Company. Carver attended a tiny local school for some years, then moved to Fresno, California to live with his grandmother so that he could attend a larger high school. He became interested in electricity and electronics while very young, seeing the work at the power plant, experimenting with electrical equipment, qualifying for an amateur radio license and in high school working at local radio stations.
Mead studied electrical engineering at Caltech, getting his BS in 1956, his MS in 1957, and his PhD degree in 1960.
From Wikipedia’s article on Carver Mead (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: engineer, inventor, university teacher, physicist, businessperson, electrical engineer, computer scientist.7
- Date not recordedWorked at California Institute of Technology4
- Date not recordedFounded Synaptics5
- Date not recordedFounded Impinj6
Mead has been involved in the founding of at least 20 companies. The following list indicates some of the most significant, and their main contributions.
Lexitron, videotype word processing
Actel, field programmable gate arrays
Foveon, silicon sensors for photographic imaging
Impinj, self-adaptive microchips for flash memory and RFID
Silicon Compilers, integrated circuit design
Sonic Innovations, computer chips for hearing aids
Synaptics, touch pads for computers
Silerity, automated chip design software
From Wikipedia’s article on Carver Mead (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Personal life
Awards
- 2022Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology10 16
- 2011BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award10
- 2009National Inventors Hall of Fame10
- 2002Dickson Prize in Science10
- 2002National Medal of Technology and Innovation10 15
- 1999Lemelson–MIT Prize10
- 1997ACM-AAAI Allen Newell Award10 14
- 1996IEEE John von Neumann Medal10
- 1996Phil Kaufman Award10
- 1993Captain Robert Dexter Conrad Award10
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataCarver Mead on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaCarver Mead on Wikipedia
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- 10WikidataCarver Mead: award, on Wikidata
- 11Wikidataaward, as reported
- 12Wikidataaward, as reported
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- 14Wikidataaward, as reported
- 15Wikidataaward, as reported
- 16Wikidataaward, as reported
- 17WikidataImpinj, Founder
- 18WikidataSynaptics, Founder