Gene Amdahl
Gene Myron Amdahl | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Flandreau, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Died | November 10, 2015 (aged 92) Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Computer architect, technology entrepreneur |
| Known for | Amdahl's law, IBM System/360 chief architect, founder of Amdahl Corporation |
Gene Myron Amdahl (November 16, 1922 – November 10, 2015) was a prominent American computer architect and technology entrepreneur, renowned for his contributions to mainframe computer development at IBM and for establishing the Amdahl Corporation. He is credited with formulating Amdahl's law, which highlights a fundamental constraint in parallel computing.
Childhood and education
Amdahl was born in Flandreau, South Dakota to parents of Norwegian and Swedish descent. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, he earned a degree in engineering physics from South Dakota State University in 1948.
He continued his studies in theoretical physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under the mentorship of Robert G. Sachs. In 1950, together with fellow doctoral candidate Charles H. Davidson, he proposed the construction of a digital computer, receiving backing from professors Harold A. Peterson and Vincent C. Rideout. Amdahl completed his PhD in 1952 with a dissertation entitled A Logical Design of an Intermediate Speed Digital Computer and was instrumental in creating the Wisconsin Integrally Synchronized Computer (WISC). Immediately following graduation, he joined IBM in June 1952.
IBM
During his tenure at IBM, Amdahl played key roles in the development of the IBM 704, IBM 709, and the Stretch initiative that culminated in the IBM 7030. He departed IBM in December 1955 but rejoined in September 1960 after working at Ramo-Wooldridge and Aeronutronic. Disenchanted with IBM’s bureaucratic environment, he resigned once more. In a 1989 interview with the Charles Babbage Institute, Amdahl explained that his departure was motivated by a desire to avoid becoming a "peg-in-a-hole" within a rigid corporate system.
Upon returning, he assumed the role of chief architect for the IBM System/360, earned the distinction of an IBM Fellow in 1965, and led the Advanced Computing Systems Laboratory (ACS) located in Menlo Park, California.
Amdahl Corporation
Following his exit from IBM in September 1970 due to the rejection of his computer design proposals, Amdahl founded the Amdahl Corporation based in Sunnyvale, California, securing significant investment from Fujitsu.
Positioned as a direct competitor to IBM within the mainframe sector, Amdahl Corporation launched "plug-compatible" mainframe systems, debuting its first model—the Amdahl 470V/6—in 1975. This system provided a faster, more dependable, and cost-efficient alternative to IBM's System 370/168. By integrating an Amdahl 470 mainframe with plug-compatible peripherals supplied by third parties, clients were able to run both S/360 and S/370 software seamlessly. The company’s software division developed VM/PE (Virtual Machine/Performance Enhancement), designed to enhance IBM’s MVS operating system performance within a VM environment.
By 1979, sales of V6 and V7 mainframes exceeded US$1 billion, with over 6,000 employees worldwide. The company also marketed an IBM-plug-compatible front-end processor (the 4705) along with advanced disk drives, both created through collaboration with Fujitsu engineers.
At the 1967 Spring Joint Computer Conference, Amdahl collaborated with other leading designers such as ILLIAC IV architect Daniel Slotnick to explore emerging computing architectures. He presented analyses on physical constraints impacting specialized functions in new machines, leading to what became known as Amdahl's laws regarding sequential versus parallel processing. These principles continue to hold significant influence in evaluating computer performance.
1979–2015: Entrepreneurial Ventures
In August 1979, Amdahl exited the company bearing his name to establish Trilogy Systems alongside his son Carl and Clifford Madden. Supported by capital exceeding US$200 million, Trilogy's goal was to create a wafer-scale microprocessor aimed at producing cost-effective mainframes. However, shortly after its $60 million initial public offering, the chip development efforts collapsed. Subsequently, the firm pivoted to VLSI technology, which also did not succeed, culminating in a 1985 merger with Elxsi, a computer manufacturer known for its proprietary CPU architecture. Despite this, Elxsi faced commercial difficulties, prompting Amdahl's departure in 1989. Prior to leaving, he had launched Andor International in 1987, targeting the mid-range mainframe market by leveraging advanced manufacturing innovations developed by employee Robert F. Brown. Andor focused on producing smaller and more efficient systems; however, production challenges combined with fierce market competition led to bankruptcy by 1995.
In 1996, Amdahl co-established Commercial Data Servers in Sunnyvale, which specialized in mainframe-compatible systems incorporating super-cooled processors and compact form factors. Their 1997 product, the ESP/490 (Enterprise Server Platform/490), enhanced IBM's P/390 from the System/390 series. The company later transformed into Xbridge Systems, shifting its focus toward software solutions that analyze mainframe data and databases for sensitive information such as credit card details, government identification numbers, medical records, and electronic discovery materials.
Amdahl joined the advisory board of Massively Parallel Technologies in November 2004.
He passed away on November 10, 2015, in Palo Alto, California, due to pneumonia just days before his 93rd birthday. In his later years, he battled Alzheimer's disease.
Awards and recognition
Amdahl earned the title of IBM Fellow in 1965 and was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 1967. In 1986, he was recognized as the Centennial Alumnus of South Dakota State University. Throughout his career, he held numerous patents and received honorary doctorates from both of his alma maters as well as other academic institutions.
In 1979, he was honored as a Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society (DFBCS). The IEEE Computer Society presented him with the Harry H. Goode Memorial Award in 1983 in recognition of his substantial contributions to high-performance computer design and manufacturing processes.
In 1998, Amdahl was named a Fellow of the Computer History Museum for his pioneering work in computer architecture, project leadership, and management.
The SIGDA awarded him their Pioneering Achievement Award in 2007. The ceremony featured Amdahl delivering a keynote address alongside a panel discussion on parallel processing that included experts like John Gustafson. This event is preserved within SIGDA and the ACM Digital Library.
See also
- Amdahl's law
- Amdahl Corporation
- IBM mainframe
- FUD – term coined by Amdahl describing IBM’s competitive strategies
External links
- Oral history interview with Gene M. Amdahl at the Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota. This interview covers his graduate research at University of Wisconsin, design work on the WISC, contributions to IBM projects including the IBM 7030 Stretch, and collaborations with industry pioneers.
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1922 births
- 2015 deaths
- American computer businesspeople
- American physicists
- Computer hardware engineers
- IBM employees
- IBM Fellows
- People from Flandreau, South Dakota
- American people of Norwegian descent
- American people of Swedish descent
- University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
- Fellows of the British Computer Society
- South Dakota State University alumni
- Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
- Deaths from pneumonia in California
- United States Navy personnel of World War II