Press Releases (2002)

Impinj Cofounder Carver Mead Inducted into Silicon Valley's Computer History Museum Hall of Fellows

SEATTLE, Wash. October 21, 2002 Impinj, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company commercializing its patented Self-Adaptive Silicon technology, today announced that Dr. Carver Mead, the company's cofounder has been recognized by the renowned Computer History Museum for his pioneering role in the advancement of the computer industry. The Computer History Museum, a non-profit organization, preserves and presents the authentic artifacts and stories of the worldwide computing revolution. The museum is home to the world's largest collection of computing-related items â€" hardware, software, photos, films, videos, documents, and marketing materials. Previous inductees into the museum's Hall of Fellows include Intel cofounder Gordon Moore and Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak.

Shaping the Semiconductor Industry

Best known for his contributions to the fields of solid-state electronics, very large-scale integrated circuits, and neurobiologically inspired circuit research, Dr. Mead received a Ph.D. and faculty position at the California Institute of Technology in 1960. In the 1970s he researched and developed methods for structured electronics design, paving the way for today's electronics revolution and leading to his classic 1979 textbook (coauthored with Lynn Conway) "Introduction to VLSI Systems." In addition to 40 years at Caltech, where he trained generations of engineers who helped shape the semiconductor industry, Dr. Mead's structured design methods were instrumental to the success of several prominent electronics companies, including Intel, where he wore badge number five, Actel Corporation and Silicon Compilers, Inc.

Founding of Impinj

Dr. Mead's research and related work lead to the co-founding of Impinj in 2000 along with his colleague Dr. Chris Diorio. The company's Self-Adaptive Silicon technology, utilizes self-tuning transistors and revolutionizes the way in which high-performance integrated circuits are designed. Impinj's breakthrough enables the design of many mixed-signal and analog building blocks that are critical for true System On a Chip (SOC) product realizations. Similar to Dr. Mead's previous technology endeavors, Impinj's approach has been recognized as fundamental to the realization of new generations of electronic products.

Industry Accolades

In addition to Impinj's growing list of industry honors and the Computer History Museum's Hall of Fellows induction, Dr. Mead's work has received numerous awards including the 2002 Dickson Prize in Science, the 1999 Lemelson-MIT Prize, the ACM's 1997 Allen Newell Award, EDAC's 1996 Phil Kaufman Award, the IEEE's 1996 John Von Neumann Medal, the 1994 Secretary of the Navy Captain Robert Dexter Conrad Award, the INNS' 1992 Award for Outstanding Research, the 1985 Harry Goode Memorial Award, the Franklin Institute's 1985 John Price Wetherhill Medal, and the 1984 Centennial Medal of the IEEE. Dr. Mead is a Fellow of the IEEE and the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of both the National Academy of Science and the National Academy of Engineering, a life member of the Franklin Institute, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Science. He remains active at Caltech where he is the Gordon and Betty Moore Professor of Engineering and Applied Science. Author George Gilder, in a 1988 article for Forbes magazine, said of Mead: "No single individual has exerted a more profound influence on modern human productivity."

About Impinj, Inc.

Located in Seattle, Washington, Impinj was founded in May 2000 by semiconductor industry veteran Carver Mead and Chris Diorio. The company holds 14 patents on its innovative Self-Adaptive Silicon technology for developing mixed-signal CMOS integrated circuits that enable a new generation of system-on-chip (SOC) devices for communications applications requiring high-performance analog circuitry. More information about Impinj is available at www.impinj.com.

About the Computer History Museum

The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, preserves and presents the authentic artifacts and stories of the worldwide computing revolution and its impact on our lives. The Museum is home to the world's largest collection of computing-related items including one-of-a-kind and rare objects such as the Cray-1 supercomputer, the Apple I, the WWII ENIGMA, the Palm Pilot prototype and the 1969 Honeywell Kitchen Computer. Bringing computing history to life through lectures, seminars, tours, oral histories and workshops, the Museum records these events for posterity, thereby capturing information technology inventors as they share their personal insights and stories about the 20th century creation that has permanently reshaped our world. Significant parts of the collection are now on view in a Visible Storage Exhibit Area at Moffett Field, Mountain View, Calif. The Museum is relocating to a world-class facility in Mountain View; the first phase will open to the public in Spring 2003. For more information, please visit www.computerhistory.org.