Honor Roll
| Name Sort descending | Noted For | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia (Ginni) Marie Rometty | Chairwoman and CEO of IBM; the first woman to hold this position | The first woman to serve as Chairman and CEO of IBM, Rometty held the positions of Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of IBM. She was appointed President and CEO effective January 1,… |
| Vladimir Iosifovich Levenshtein | Best known for his contributions to error-correction theory and information theory including the "Levenshtein distance" | Best known for his contributions to error-correction theory and information theory, Levenshtein is sometimes called the father of edit distance and is known for the Levenshtein distance algorithm… |
| Vladimir Kozmich Zworykin | Inventor of a television transmitting and receiving system employing cathode ray tubes; a vacuum tube containing an electron gun (a source of electrons) and a fluorescent screen used to view images that may represent electrical waveforms (oscilloscope), pictures (television, computer monitor), radar targets and others | Inventor of a television transmitting and receiving system employing cathode ray tubes, Zworykin was a Russian-American engineer and pioneer of television technology. He played a role in the… |
| W. (Rick) Richards Adrion | Founder of the Applied Computing Systems Institute of Massachusetts | Founder of the Applied Computing Systems Institute of Massachusetts, Adrion has served as a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He served as PI for an… |
| W. Bruce Croft | Contributor to research in information retrieval and the theoretical development and practical use of Bayesian inference networks and language modelling for retrieval | A leading contributor to research in information retrieval and the theoretical development and practical use of Bayesian inference networks and language modelling for retrieval, Croft has served… |
| Walden (Wally) C. Rhines | Supervisor of the development of Texas Instrument’s first TI speech synthesis devices (used in “Speak & Spell”) | Supervisor of the development of Texas Instruments' first speech synthesis devices, used in the iconic "Speak & Spell" toy, Rhines is also co-inventor of the GaN blue-violet light emitting… |
| Wallace John Eckert | A part of the creation of the research division of IBM | A part of the creation of the research division of IBM, Eckert directed the Thomas J. Watson Astronomical Computing Bureau at Columbia University, which evolved into that division. |
| Wally Feurzeig | Inventor of the LOGO programming language | Inventor of the LOGO programming language, Feurzeig was also a well-known researcher in Artificial Intelligence. |
| Walter (Dave) David Sincoskie | Inventor of the Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) | Inventor of the Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), Sincoskie also installed the first ethernet local area network at Bellcore and helped invent voice over IP technology. He co-authored the first… |
| Walter (Jerry) Jeremiah Sanders III | Co-founder, former CEO; AMD | Co-founder and long-time CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Sanders helped establish one of America's most prominent semiconductor manufacturers. |
| Walter F. Bauer | Pioneer in the use of electronic computers | Pioneer in the use of electronic computers and founder of Informatics General Corporation, Bauer distinguished himself as a research digital computer engineer. During World War II, he served as a… |
| Walter Houser Brattain | Co-inventor of the transistor along with William Shockley and John Bardeen | Co-inventor of the transistor, along with William Shockley and John Bardeen, Brattain made one of the most consequential contributions to modern electronics. Brattain's employment at Bell… |
| Wanda Gass | Developed First Commercial DSP | Credited with helping develop the first commercially viable digital signal processor at Texas Instruments, Gass was an American engineer and philanthropist whose work shaped a foundational… |
| Wanda M. Austin | First Female Aerospace Corporation CEO | The first woman and first African American to serve as president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, Austin broke similar ground at the University of Southern California, where she served as… |
| Ward Christensen | Founder of the CBBS bulletin board, the first bulletin board system (BBS) ever brought online | Founder of the CBBS bulletin board, the first bulletin board system (BBS) ever brought online, Christensen started development during a blizzard in Chicago, Illinois, and officially established… |
| Warren Weaver | Writer of a memorandum, entitled, "Translation," ( July 1949) is said to probably be the single most influential publication in the early days of machine translation | Writer of the memorandum "Translation" (July 1949), said to be probably the single most influential publication in the early days of machine translation, Weaver was an American scientist,… |
| Watts S. Humphrey | Headed the IBM software team that introduced the first software license and was awarded the National Medal of Technology | Father of Software Quality who headed the IBM software team that introduced the first software license, Humphrey was awarded the National Medal of Technology for his contributions to software… |
| Wayne D. Pickette | Conceptualized the design for putting a computer on a chip and the first to utilize Switches as a backbone to Servers and is arguably one of the greatest technological advances of the Twentieth Century | Conceptualized as the design for putting a computer on a chip, Pickette's work is arguably one of the greatest technological advances of the Twentieth Century. A self-taught childhood electronics… |
| Wayne P. Stevens | Co-refiner and promoter of the concepts of what is now called Flow-based Programming (FBP) | Co-refiner and promoter of the concepts of what is now called Flow-based Programming (FBP), Stevens worked with John Paul Morrison to develop and advocate these ideas. An American software… |
| Wei Yen | He and his brother David Yen were the major contributors to the Cydra-5 mini-supercomputer | Major contributor to the Cydra-5 mini-supercomputer, Yen is a software developer and entrepreneur who has been involved with several companies, including as chairman and founder of AiLive. He and… |
| Wen Tsing Chow | Inventor and fundamental patent holder on what is now commonly known as programmable read-only memory or PROM | Inventor and fundamental patent holder of programmable read-only memory (PROM), Chow was a Chinese-born American missile guidance scientist and digital computer pioneer. He was born in Taiyuan,… |
| Wen-mei Hwu | Noted for his work in CPU microarchitecture and compiler optimization | Noted for his work in CPU microarchitecture and compiler optimization, Hwu completed his Ph.D. research at the University of California, Berkeley under Yale Patt. Their CPU microarchitecture… |
| Wendy W Hall | On the team that invented the Microcosm hypermedia system prior to the existence of the World Wide Web | Leader of the team that invented the Microcosm hypermedia system before the World Wide Web existed, Hall has been a pioneering figure in multimedia, hypermedia, and web science. Born in west… |
| Werner Almesberger | Writer of the code to support Differentiated Services on Linux | Writer of the code to support Differentiated Services on Linux, Almesberger was an Austrian free software computer programmer and open-source hardware designer mainly known as a hacker of the… |
| Werner Buchholz | Coined the term "byte" during the creation of the Stretch computer | Coiner of the term "byte" during the creation of the Stretch computer, Buchholz left a lasting mark on computing history. In July 1956, he coined the term byte, a unit of digital information to… |
| Werner L. Frank | Co-founder of Informatics, Inc., one of the first viable software companies | Co-founder of Informatics General Corporation, one of the first viable software companies, Frank is a pioneering figure and longtime contributor to the United States and international computer… |
| Werner Michael Blumenthal | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unisys; an American global information technology (IT) company | Chairman and CEO of Unisys, the American global information technology company, Blumenthal is recognized as a leading figure in both the technology industry and public service. He was born… |
| Werner Zorn | One of the fathers of networking in Germany | One of the fathers of networking in Germany, Zorn oversaw the first email link between Germany and the US CSNET in August 1984 and the spread of CSNET in Germany, while serving as Director of the… |
| Wes Kussmaul | Founder of the Kussmaul Encyclopedia, the first online encyclopedia and the developer of online identity security | Founder of the Kussmaul Encyclopedia, the first online encyclopedia, and developer of online identity security, Kussmaul is also the author of several books about online security. In 1971, while… |
| Wesley Allison Clark | One of the main participants, along with Charles Molnar, in the creation of the LINC laboratory computer, which was the first mini-computer and one of the inspirations for the personal computer | One of the main participants, along with Charles Molnar, in the creation of the LINC laboratory computer — the first mini-computer and one of the inspirations for the personal computer — Clark was… |
| Wesley W. Chu | Pioneer researcher in file allocation and directory design for distributed databases which aided the design and development of domain name servers and current cloud computing systems | Pioneer researcher in file allocation and directory design for distributed databases, Chu's work aided the design and development of domain name servers and current cloud computing systems. He has… |
| Wietse Zweitze Venema | Writer of the Postfix email system and TCP Wrapper | Writer of the Postfix email system and TCP Wrapper, Venema is a Dutch programmer and physicist recognized as an authority on Internet security. Postfix is a free and open-source mail transfer… |
| Wilhelm Schickard | Inventor of many machines such as one for calculating astronomical dates and one for Hebrew grammar | Inventor of many machines, including one for calculating astronomical dates and one for Hebrew grammar, Schickard was a universal scientist whose research spanned astronomy, mathematics, and… |
| Willem (Wim) Roelandts | Under his leadership Xilinx Inc. increased market share in the programmable Logic Business from 30% to over 50% | Born in Lennik, Belgium, he holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Rijks Hogere Technische School in Anderlecht, Belgium in 1965. He began his career with Hewlett Packard in Belgium in 1967. He… |
| Willem Louis van der Poel (aka William) | Designer of the ZEBRA computer and contributor to Algol 68 and co-builder of a Braille translator | Designer of the ZEBRA computer, van der Poel was a pioneering Dutch computer scientist who also contributed to Algol 68 and co-built a Braille translator. In 1950 he obtained an engineering degree… |
| Willgodt Theophil Odhner | Inventor of one of the most popular portable mechanical calculators the Arithmometer | Inventor of one of the most popular portable mechanical calculators, Odhner based his solution on a geared pinwheel mechanism, resulting in the well-known barrel-shaped calculating machines… |
| William (Bill) David Mensch, Jr., | A central person in the creation of the Motorola 6800 and MOS Technology 6502 families of microprocessor chips and was the sole IC design engineer of the 6820/21 PIA, which was the first peripheral IC to have bit-programmable I/O. | A central person in the creation of the Motorola 6800 and MOS Technology 6502 families of microprocessor chips, Mensch is also recognized as the sole IC design engineer of the 6820/21 PIA, the… |
| William (Bill) Douglas Gropp | Co-creator of the Message Passing Interface, also known as MPI, and the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation, also known as PETSc | Co-creator of the Message Passing Interface (MPI) and the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation (PETSc), Gropp has served as a Professor of Computer Science at the University of… |
| William (Bill) E. Foster | Co-founder of Stratus Computer, Inc. along with Gardner C. Hendrie and Robert A. Freiburghouse | Co-founder of Stratus Computer, Inc., Foster established the company in May 1980 alongside Gardner C. Hendrie and Robert A. Freiburghouse, who also had experience in the computer industry. On the… |
| William (Bill) F. Beausoleil | Designer of some of the world's first silicon-based computer systems in the 1950’s and 1960’s | Designer of some of the world's first silicon-based computer systems in the 1950s and 1960s, Beausoleil is a triple fellow of IBM, Cadence, and the IEEE. Born Oct. 24, 1929, the day the stock… |
| William (Bill) Grant Moggridge | Designing Grid Compass Laptop and Palm handheld | Designer of the Grid Compass Laptop and Palm handheld, Moggridge co-founded IDEO, where he focused on developing a process that could lead to innovative products. He felt products could be more "… |
| William (Bill) Henry Gates | Founder, Microsoft | Founder of Microsoft, Gates is an American business magnate and philanthropist who co-founded the software company with Paul Allen. Gates has been consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest… |
| William (Bill) James Dally | Co-builder of the J–Machine and the M–Machine; parallel machines emphasizing low overhead synchronization and communication | Co-builder of the J-Machine and the M-Machine — parallel machines emphasizing low overhead synchronization and communication — Dally has served as Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President of… |
| William (Bill) John Poduska, Sr. | Founder of Apollo Computer; one of the first creators of graphical workstations in the 1980’s | Founder of Apollo Computer, one of the first creators of graphical workstations in the 1980s, Poduska is an American engineer, entrepreneur, and independent business consultant. Born in Memphis,… |
| William (Bill) L. Schrader | Co-founder of the world's first commercial Internet Service Provider | Co-founder of the world's first commercial Internet Service Provider, Schrader partnered with Martin L. Schoffstall to launch PSINet in 1989, initially funding the company using credit cards and… |
| William (Bill) Millard | Considered to be the "father" of modern computer retailing | Considered the "father" of modern computer retailing, Millard founded IMS Associates, makers of the IMSAI series of computers, and the electronics retailer ComputerLand. Millard worked for IBM and… |
| William (Bill) Nelson Joy | Founder and Chief Scientist, Sun Microsystems | Founder and Chief Scientist of Sun Microsystems, Joy co-founded the company in 1982 along with Vinod Khosla, Scott McNealy, Andy Bechtolsheim and Vaughan Pratt, and has served as chief scientist… |
| William (Bill) Reeves | A pioneer and inventor of the first Motion Blur algorithm and methods to simulate particle motion in the field of computer graphics; also one of the founding employees of Pixar | Pioneer and inventor of the first Motion Blur algorithm and methods to simulate particle motion in computer graphics, Reeves is also one of the founding employees of Pixar. After obtaining a… |
| William (Bill) Thomas Tutte | Performed significant foundational work in the fields of combinatorics which has many applications in computer science; and graph theory which in mathematics and computer science, is the study of mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection | A foundational figure in combinatorics and graph theory, Tutte performed significant work in fields with many applications in computer science, and is credited with helping create graph theory in… |
| William (Bill) V. Campbell | Silicon Valley Entrepenuer, Apple, Intuit, Google, Go | A Silicon Valley entrepreneur who mentored leaders at Apple, Intuit, and Google, Campbell was born and raised in Homestead, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, son of a local school official. He… |
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