Major advancements in microcomputing

The evolution of computers from large mainframes to the ubiquitous cell phones we use today included the advent of super minicomputers. And Bill Strecker (ENG 1966, 1967, 1971) advanced the era with the invention of the VAX computer architecture that was introduced by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1977.

It was the encouragement toward interdisciplinary study at CMU that inspired Strecker to look beyond the field of electronic communication systems to one in computers that led to a career during which Strecker amassed 16 patents in computer architecture and design. In 2019, he and his wife, Nancy, who served for many years as an executive at Digital Equipment Corporation, made a $15 million gift to endow the deans’ chair in the College of Engineering.

Nancy and William Strecker provided a transformational gift to the College of Engineering in 2019. Dr. William D. and Nancy W. Strecker Dean's Chair of the College of Engineering was established and first held by Dean Bill Sanders.

Read about the Streckers’ gift