A Recent History of Silicon Valley Technologies and Companies
Professor John Hennessy, past President of Stanford University (2000-2016) and Chairman of Alphabet Inc. will be in conversation with Alan J Weissberger of the IEEE Technology blog. This talk will be about the history of technologies and companies in Silicon Valley since the late 1970s.
Later in the program they will be joined on stage by IEEE past President Tom Coughlin to discuss recent IEEE accomplishments, current focus areas and suggestions on how to strengthen the world’s largest technology non-profit organization.
Our conversation will cover the evolution of RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) and its applications in smart phones, tablets and other devices. We will discuss the evolution of GPUs, the computational demands of machine learning, and the emergence of domain-specific architectures (DSAs).
We will also discuss the founding of Atheros Communications (acquired by Qualcomm in 2011) and its development of chip sets for WiFi, Bluetooth and other OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) technologies. That will lead us into a brief discussion of WiFi – one of the most successful IEEE standards (802.11) – and Bluetooth, along with the associated semiconductor and equipment companies that developed those ubiquitous technologies.
Finally, we will turn to Google’s history, particularly its research activities. As a Google Board member for more than two decades, Prof. Hennessy has played a role in helping develop Google's strategic direction. With the current pervasiveness of AI, what does that hold for the future of science, technology and higher education?
This will be both an in person event at SCU and also an online virtual event with zoom. Pre registration is required for the in-person event.
Parking at SCU Note: Parking is free for only 2 hours
Link: SCU Parking Info
Date and Time
Location
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- 500 El Camino Real
- Santa Clara, California
- United States 95053
- Building: Locatelli Student Activity Center
- Click here for Map
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'Alan Weissberger' <alan.weissberger@ieee.org>
- Starts 20 August 2025 09:12 PM UTC
- Ends 08 October 2025 07:00 PM UTC
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
John
Biography:
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An IEEE Life Fellow, Professor Hennessy was a RISC pioneer and the co-founder of MIPS Technologies as well as Atheros Communications. He has been on Google’s Board of Directors since 2004 (a 2015 restructuring created Alphabet as the parent company of Google) and has been the Chairman of Alphabet since February, 2018. In 2012, John was awarded the IEEE Medal of Honor - the Institute’s highest award. |
Alan
Biography:
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Alan J Weissberger, ScD, is the creator and writer of the IEEE Technology Blog. He is an IEEE Senior Life Member who was an adjunct professor at Santa Clara University EE Department and is currently a Research Affiliate at its School of Engineering. Alan is the content manager and principal contributing author to IEEE Communications Society technology blog sites since March 2009. |
Tom
Biography:
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Tom Coughlin, 2024 President of the IEEE, is a digital storage analyst and business and technology consultant. He has more than 40 year's experience in data storage industry and technology with senior management positions at several Silicon Valley companies. As Coughlin Associates he consults and publishes books and market and technology reports. |
Agenda
| 5:00 - 5:25 pm | Registration and Networking |
| 5:30 - 6:15 pm | Conversation with Prof Hennessy about RISC applications, evolution of DSAs/GPUs, WiFi, BlueTooth, Google's Moon Shot projects, current status & future of AI. |
| 6:15 - 6:25 pm | Conversation with 2024 IEEE President Tom Coughlin to discuss how to revitalize and strengthen IEEE. |
| 6:25 - 6:55 pm | Audience Q & A |
| 6:55 - 7:00 pm | Closing Remarks |