John Mashey
John R. Mashey | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1946 United States |
| Occupation(s) | Computer scientist, entrepreneur, director, consultant |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Known for | PWB shell ("Mashey Shell"), MIPS RISC architecture, NUMAflex modular architecture, co-founder of SPEC, popularizing the term "big data" |
| Notable work | ASSIST assembler language instructional software, contributions to PWB/UNIX, leadership at Silicon Graphics |
John R. Mashey (born 1946) is an American computer scientist, entrepreneur, and director who currently provides consulting services for Techviser, a specialized boutique firm.
Career
Mashey obtained his doctorate in computer science from Pennsylvania State University, where he developed the ASSIST assembler language instructional software. Between 1973 and 1983, he contributed to the PWB/UNIX operating system at Bell Labs, where he created the PWB shell, commonly known as the "Mashey Shell." After relocating to Silicon Valley, he took on the role of software director at Convergent Technologies. Beginning in 1985, he oversaw operating system development at MIPS Computer Systems, playing a key role in the creation of the MIPS RISC architecture along with its associated CPUs and software. During his tenure at Silicon Graphics from 1992 to 2000, he assisted in designing the NUMAflex modular architecture and ultimately served as vice president and chief scientist.
Mashey was a co-founder of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC), contributed as an ACM National Lecturer, acted as guest editor for IEEE Micro, and organized the Hot Chips conferences. He led technical conferences focused on CPU design and operating systems and has delivered more than 500 presentations covering topics such as software engineering, RISC architecture, performance benchmarking, and supercomputing. He is recognized for introducing and popularizing the term and concept of big data during the 1990s. Since 2001, Mashey has been a trustee at the Computer History Museum. His accolades include Pennsylvania State University’s Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award in Computer Science and Engineering (1997) and the USENIX Lifetime Achievement "Flame Award" (2012) honoring his contributions to UNIX and benchmarking.
In addition to his technical work, Mashey has produced influential critiques of climate change denial, including a comprehensive 2010 analysis that revealed plagiarism within the Wegman Report. His investigations into the financial backing of climate skeptic think tanks have received coverage in prominent media outlets. He regularly contributes to DeSmogBlog with a focus on climate change issues. In 2015, he was appointed as a scientific consultant to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Personal life
Mashey is married to Angela Hey, who holds degrees from Cambridge University and the University of Waterloo as well as a Ph.D. from Imperial College London.