LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., 31 October, 2008 -- Industry notable and Convey Computer co-founder Steven Wallach has been named this year’s winner of the IEEE Computer Society’s prestigious Seymour Cray Computer Science and Engineering Award.
Established in 1998 by the IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors, the Seymour Cray Award is given each year to individuals whose innovative contributions to high-performance computing systems best exemplify the creative spirit demonstrated by the late Seymour Cray. The award includes a crystal model, certificate, and honorarium of $10,000. Wallach will accept the award at 1:30 p.m. on 20 November at Supercomputing 2008 in Austin, Texas. He is also scheduled to give a plenary presentation at 1:30 p.m. on 19 November at the conference.
Wallach is specifically named for his “contribution to high-performance computing through design of innovative vector and parallel computing systems, notably the Convex mini-supercomputer series, a distinguished industrial career and acts of public service.”
“This is one of our industry’s greatest honors and I am deeply honored,” said Wallach, chief scientist for Convey Computer Corp. “At Convex Computer Corp., and now at Convey, we are showing that you can have a highly productive software environment coupled with high-performance computing. I have always believed that the machine that is simplest to program will ultimately win.”
Previous recipients of the Seymour Cray Award include John Cocke, Glen Culler, John L. Hennessy, Monty Denneau, Burton J. Smith, William J. Dally, Steven L. Scott, Tadashi Watanabe and Ken Batcher.
Wallach is a founder of Convey and an adviser to venture capital firms CenterPoint Ventures, Sevin-Rosen, and InterWest Partners. He is also a consultant to the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Simulation and Computing Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Previously he was vice president of technology for Chiaro Networks and was co-founder of Convex Computer, its chief technology officer and senior vice president of development.
After Hewlett-Packard bought Convex, Wallach became the chief technology officer of HP’s Enterprise Systems Group. He was also a visiting professor at Rice University in 1998 and 1999, and was manager of advanced development for Data General. His efforts on the MV/8000 are chronicled in Tracy Kidder's Pulitzer Prize winner “The Soul of a New Machine.” Wallach has 33 patents and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, an IEEE Fellow and was a founding member of the Presidential Information Technology Advisory Committee.
About the Computer Society
With nearly 85,000 members, the IEEE Computer Society is the world’s leading organization of computing professionals. Founded in 1946, and the largest of the 39 societies of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Computer Society is dedicated to advancing the theory and application of computer and information-processing technology, and is known globally for its computing standards activities.
The Computer Society serves the information and career-development needs of today’s computing researchers and practitioners with technical journals, magazines, conferences, books, conference publications, and online courses. Its Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP) program for mid-career professionals and Certified Software Development Associate (CSDA) credential for recent college graduates confirm the skill and knowledge of those working in the field. The CS Digital Library (CSDL) is an excellent research tool, containing more than 250,000 articles from 1,600 conference proceedings and 26 CS periodicals going back to 1988.
