| 1 | Name: | Dr. William A. Wulf | |
| Institution: | University of Virginia | ||
| Year Elected: | 2007 | ||
| Class: | 1. Mathematical and Physical Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 107 | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1939 | ||
| Death Date: | March 10, 2023 | ||
William Wulf was president of the National Academy of Engineering for the past eleven years. He recently returned to the University of Virginia - where he earned his Ph.D. in 1968 - as University Professor and AT&T Professor of Engineering. Previously Wulf spent thirteen years on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University and six years as chairman and chief executive officer of Tartan Laboratories, Inc. A former assistant director of the National Science Foundation, he has served on the University of Virginia faculty since 1988. For the 2008-09 academic year he is also serving as a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar. Through his technical innovations, publications, and national science policy leadership, William Wulf has had a profound impact on the science and practice of computing and engineering. His technical work revolved around the hardware/software interface that spans programming systems and computer architectures. His specific technical impacts include Bliss, a systems implementation language adopted by the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC); architecture (with others) of the DEC PDP-11, a highly successful minicomputer; a new approach to computer security; and the development of a technology for constructing high quality optimizing compilers. In addition to his many technical books and papers, he has initiated national dialogues on topics such as the state of higher education, "Engineering Ethics and Society," and "Some Thoughts on Engineering as a Humanistic Discipline." As head of the National Academy of Engineering, he has advanced and articulated the role of engineering in serving society and improving people's lives. Wulf's many honors include the University of Pennsylvania's Distinguished Service Medal; the Kenneth Andrew Roe Award; and the Ralph Coats Roe Award of the ASME. He became a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1993 and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 1995. He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2007. | |||