| 1 | Name: | Dr. Charles M. Geschke | |
| Institution: | Adobe Systems Incorporated | ||
| Year Elected: | 2012 | ||
| Class: | 1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 107 | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1939 | ||
| Death Date: | April 16, 2021 | ||
Charles (Chuck) Geschke co-founded Adobe Systems Incorporated in 1982. A leader in the software industry for more than 40 years, Geschke retired from his position as president of Adobe in 2000 and continued to share the chairmanship of the board with Adobe’s co-founder John Warnock. Prior to co-founding Adobe Systems, Geschke formed the Imaging Sciences Laboratory at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in 1980, where he directed research activities in the fields of computer science, graphics, image processing, and optics. From 1972 to 1980, he was a principal scientist and researcher at Xerox PARC's Computer Sciences Laboratory. Before beginning full time graduate studies in 1968, he was on the faculty of the mathematics department of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. Geschke has actively participated on several boards of educational institutions, non-profits, technology companies, and arts organizations. From 1989 until 2007 Geschke served on Board of Trustees of the University of San Francisco and chaired the board for four years beginning in 2002. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the San Francisco Symphony and the board of the Commonwealth Club of California. He also serves on the board of the Egan Maritime Foundation, the board of the National Leadership Roundtable On Church Management and the board of the Nantucket Boys and Girls Club. In 1995, Geschke was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. In 2008, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In October 2009, Geschke was awarded the 2008 National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Barack Obama. In the fall of 2010, Geschke was presented with the Marconi Society Award for scientific contributions to human progress in the field of information technology. In the spring of 2012, Geschke was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society. Industry and business leaders, including the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Carnegie-Mellon University, the National Computer Graphics Association, and the Rochester Institute of Technology, have honored Geschke’s technical and managerial achievements. He received the regional Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1991 and the national Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2003. In 2002, he was elected a Fellow of the Computer History Museum and in 2005 he was given the Exemplary Community Leadership Award by the NCCJ of Silicon Valley. Geschke received the Medal of Achievement from the American Electronics Association (AeA) in 2006. In 2007, he received the John W. Gardner Leadership Award. In 2000, Geschke was ranked the seventh most influential graphics person of the last millennium by Graphic Exchange magazine. He and his wife Nancy were honored with the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award in 2012 for their charitable endeavors. Geschke holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie-Mellon University and a M.S. in mathematics and an A.B. in Latin, both from Xavier University. He died on April 16, 2021. | |||