John Hennessy : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- John L. Hennessy, a Turing Award-winning computer scientist and entrepreneur who served as president of Stanford University from 2000 to 2016, reflects on his family background and education, his research and teaching contributions, and his leadership as the dean of the School of Engineering, provost, and president. Hennessy recalls his upbringing as part of a large Irish Catholic family, his undergraduate and graduate years, and the circumstances that led him to pursue a career in academia. He describes the technology underlying MIPS, as well as the joys and challenges of starting a company. Turning to his university leadership roles, Hennessy speaks of the opportunities he sought to realize, the challenges he encountered, and the importance of his working relationship with Provost John Etchemendy. Additional topics include planning for interdisciplinary research, the Stanford Challenge campaign, undergraduate education and financial aid, and the 2008 financial crisis. Hennessy concludes by speaking about the establishment of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program. The interview includes an excerpt from a 2007 interview with Hennessy conducted by John Mashey for the Computer History Museum.
Description
| Type of resource | moving image, sound recording-nonmusical, text |
|---|---|
| Extent | 2 video files; 2 audio files; 1 text file |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | July 18, 2019 - 2019-11-04 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Hennessy, John L. | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Hennessy, John L. | |
| Interviewer | Kennedy, David M. | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Hennessy, John L. |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University. School of Engineering |
| Subject | Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program |
| Subject | College presidents |
| Subject | MIPS Technologies |
| Subject | Qualcomm Atheros |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical Profile | John L. Hennessy is the James F. and Mary Lynn Gibbons Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in the Stanford School of Engineering, and the Shriram Family Director of Stanford’s Knight-Hennessy Scholars, the largest fully endowed graduate-level scholarship program in the world. He is chairman of Alphabet and serves as a trustee of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Formerly the tenth president of Stanford, he is also a computer scientist who co-founded MIPS Computer Systems and Atheros Communications. Hennessy is the coauthor with David Patterson of two internationally used textbooks in computer architecture. His honors include the 2012 Medal of Honor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the 2017 ACM A.M. Turing Award, jointly with David Patterson. Hennessy earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Villanova University and his master’s and doctoral degrees in computer science from the Stony Brook University. |
|---|---|
| Summary Part 1 | Part 1 [00:00:00–00:32:02] Family background • Role of Catholicism in his family • Father’s work as an engineer in the aerospace industry • Siblings; family roles and responsibilities • Early interest in science and math • Impact of challenging advice from a high school math teacher • Building a tic-tac-toe machine in his high school computing club • Working in a grocery store as a high school student • Meeting his future wife, Andrea; Andrea’s family and Italian heritage • Father’s military service during World War II • Decision to attend Villanova for college • Long distance relationship in college with Andrea; marriage just after college • Paying for college • Jobs during college, including working in the university computer center • How an undergraduate research opportunity in computing led him to pursue a career in academia • Impact of mother’s death during freshman year [00:32:03–01:04:52] Memories of the late 1960s and the Vietnam War era • Attending Stony Brook University for graduate school • PhD advisors Dick Kiebertz and Dave Smith • Early work on microprocessors and real-time control • Interviewing for faculty positions during time of growth in field of computer science • Interviewing at Stanford; a memorable conversation with Donald Knuth • Early impressions of Stanford • Salary and research funding • Settling in; children • Treatment of son’s serious illness at Stanford Medical Center • First impressions of the Bay Area • Reflections on Silicon Valley’s growth and success • Moore’s Law in relation to Silicon Valley • DARPA’s very-large-scale integration (VLSI) program; research project at Stanford with Forest Baskett and Jim Clark • First entrepreneurial work with Silicon Graphics and Silicon Compilers [01:04:53–01:36:04] Origins of MIPS technology in graduate brainstorming course • Lack of interest in technology from industry; decision to starts MIPS • Taking leave of absence to work on MIPS before tenure; working with Office of Technology Licensing at Stanford • Teaching; writing textbooks with David Patterson • Impact of MIPS on tenure and teaching style • Relationship with Jim Clark; MIPS and Silicon Graphics • Move of Computer Science (CS) from the School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) to the Engineering School • Computer Systems Laboratory; joint appointments • Becoming department chair of CS in 1990 • Decision to move into university administration and service as dean of the School of Engineering • Turing Award • Research Program and Founding of MIPS: Excerpt from Computer History Museum Interview, conducted by John Mashey recorded September 20, 2007 [01:36:05–02:02:25] Early work at Stanford on compiler optimization (including register allocation) and Pascal language extension • Creating the Slim programming language to write microcode for the geometry engine project • Consulting at Silicon Compilers on Micro VAX 1; interest in computer architecture • Inspiration for IPS processor • MIPS team members • Role of universities in fostering new technologies • Collaboration with Dave Patterson • Role of DARPA in encouraging research and creating a research community • Thoughts on bygone era of industrial research and development labs like Bell Labs • Relationship between industry and academia • Story of founding of MIPS • Computer Systems Labs at Stanford • Memories of MIPS sales and marketing lead Steve Black • MIPS engineering team members [02:02:26–02:31:52] Technical and schedule challenges at MIPS; delivering first boards to Prime Computer • Lessons learned about management and engineering teams • Pursuing new research in multiprocessors, cache coherency, and distributed memory; DASH machine • FLASH Project; software and parallel machines • Decision to make MIPS R4000 a 64-bit processor; delays caused by work on ECL machine • Acquisition of MIPS by Silicon Graphics • Interactions with semiconductor vendors and partners |
| Summary Part 2 | Part 2 [00:00:00–00:27:36] Startup with Teresa Meng based on low-power radio technology • Initiatives as dean of the School of Engineering, including new search procedures to diversify faculty • Building a relationship between the Engineering and Medical schools; Creation of Bioengineering Department • Merging departments to create Department of Management Science and Engineering • Office of Technology Licensing and technology transfer issues • Building groundwork for interdisciplinary research • Stanford and Silicon Valley • School of Engineering Advisory Committee • Invitation from Gerhard Casper to become provost • Decision to take the provost position [00:27:37–01:05:27] Casper’s retirement announcement and last year as president • General Use Permit negotiations; challenges of planning Stanford’s land use • Growth of the university and the medical center • Challenges as the new president, including improving public speaking • Fostering relationships with faculty university-wide • Working relationship with Provost John Etchemendy • Etchemendy’s strengths as provost • Interview process for presidential search • Speaking for the university as opposed to as an individual • Growth of the university budget, especially medical center • Balancing the undergraduate population with the growing graduate student population • Undergraduate admissions • International students • Legacy and athletics admissions [01:05:28–01:31:08] Economics of a university • Increasing financial aid for low and middle-income families • Financial crisis in 2008 and layoffs • First Generation Low-Income Partnership program and supporting students • Financial support and fellowships for graduate students • Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) • Day in the life of a university president • Ambassadorial role • Working with senior staff, including Debra Zumwalt and Jeff Wachtel • Dealing with criticism from students • Leadership style [01:31:09–02:02:48] Strategic planning process; Provost Task Force on University Priorities • Relationship between interdisciplinary centers and departments • Stanford Challenge campaign and fundraising • Efforts to establish a Stanford campus in New York City • Alternative models for increasing Stanford’s presence • Thoughts on structure of Stanford’s schools and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education position • Faculty Senate • Office of Technology Licensing • Conflict of interest and commitment rules [02:02:49–02:47:35] Steve Jobs’s commencement speech • Hard moments as president • Fostering discussions surrounding race during the Black Lives Matter movement • Diversity and equality of opportunity • Advantage of Stanford’s West Coast location • Housing issues for the Stanford community • General Use Permit negotiations; town-gown relations • Opinions on compensation of student-athletes and division status • Stanford’s Athletic Department • Reflections on the Stanford presidency • Relationship with the Board of Trustees as president • Creation of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program • Reflections from the first two years of Knight-Hennessy Scholars • Nonprofit work in Silicon Valley • Hobbies, including golf and reading • What Stanford stands for • Lasting legacy at Stanford |
| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/ns127fp1400 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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