ACM

Communications of the ACM

Home/Magazine Archive/June 2023 (Vol. 66, No. 6)/In Memoriam: William A. Wulf/Abstract

News

In Memoriam: William A. Wulf

By Simson L. Garfinkel, Eugene H. Spafford
Communications of the ACM, June 2023, Vol. 66 No. 6, Pages 20-23
10.1145/3594711
Comments

View as: Print Mobile App ACM Digital Library In the Digital Edition Share:

William A. Wulf was among the first computer science Ph.D.'s. He was an accomplished academic who worked at the intersection of operating systems, computer architecture, and computer languages. He was an entrepreneur who co-founded a company to commercialize his research. And he was hugely influential in computing policy, making major contributions at the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Wulf grew up in Chicago, under severe economic hardship after his father developed Parkinson's disease when Wulf was a small child. He enrolled at the University of Illinois' temporary branch campus on Chicago's Navy Pier—the only school he could afford—where he studied engineering physics.

No entries found

Log in to Read the Full Article

Sign In

Sign in using your ACM Web Account username and password to access premium content if you are an ACM member, Communications subscriber or Digital Library subscriber.

Need Access?

Please select one of the options below for access to premium content and features.

Create a Web Account

If you are already an ACM member, Communications subscriber, or Digital Library subscriber, please set up a web account to access premium content on this site.

Join the ACM

Become a member to take full advantage of ACM's outstanding computing information resources, networking opportunities, and other benefits.

Subscribe to Communications of the ACM Magazine

Get full access to 50+ years of CACM content and receive the print version of the magazine monthly.

Purchase the Article

Non-members can purchase this article or a copy of the magazine in which it appears.