- Bernard V. Vonderschmitt
Bernard V. Vonderschmitt (
October 14 ,1923 –June 9 ,2004 ) was an electrical engineer, most noted as a co-founder of leadingFPGA producerXilinx .Biography
Vonderschmitt graduated with a BSEE from
Rose Polytechnic Institute in 1944. He also received an MSEE degree from theUniversity of Pennsylvania , and later an honorary doctorate fromRider University .Vonderschmitt began his career with
RCA , and worked with them for 34 years, taking a short time duringWorld War II to serve in the US Navy as an electronics officer. He holds 13patent s that cover color television and solid state electronics.After leaving RCA, he worked briefly for
Zilog , before co-foundingXilinx together withRoss Freeman andJim Barnett in 1984. With Xilinx, he pioneered the "fabless" business model which is now used by a large number of semiconductor companies around the world.In 2002, he retired from Xilinx, with the company entrenched as the worldwide leader in FPGA marketshare.
On
June 9 ,2004 Vonderschmitt died in his hometown of Jasper,Indiana . [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Bernard Vonderschmitt, 80, Semiconductor Designer, Dies |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E4D91439F93AA25755C0A9629C8B63 |quote=Bernard V. Vonderschmitt, an electrical engineer who led early semiconductor research efforts and who later pioneered the business of separating chip design and manufacturing, died on June 9 at his home inJasper, Indiana , from complications from a stroke, according to a spokesman for Xilinx Inc. He was 80 years old. |publisher=New York Times |date=June 19 ,2004 |accessdate=2007-07-21 ]References
External links
* [http://www.xilinx.com/prs_rls/xil_corp/0341bernie.htm Xilinx press release; 2002]
* [http://www.rose-hulman.edu/echoes/summer2004/vonderschmitt.htm Rose-Hulman alumni newsletter; 2004]
* [http://www.xilinx.com/prs_rls/xil_corp/0469bernie.htm Xilinx press release; 2004]
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