Dr. William A. Wulf was a pioneering computer scientist, entrepreneur, and policymaker who passed away at the age of 83 in March 2023. He helped adapt an early Pentagon communications web into the network that eventually grew into the internet. Dr. Wulf called engineering “problem-solving under constraints” and believed that diversity in engineering raises the odds of success. He advocated for greater diversity in the field and established the Center for Engineering, Ethics and Society. Dr. Wulf resigned from the University of Virginia in 2012 after the university’s Board of Visitors forced the resignation of its president, Teresa Sullivan. He refused to return, citing the board’s “command and control” approach. Dr. Wulf will be remembered for his inspiring leadership in engineering and his efforts to broaden participation in the field.
William A. Wulf, Computer Science Pioneer, Dies at 83
William A. Wulf, an eminent figure in the field of computer science, passed away on March 10 in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was 83 years old. The University of Virginia, where he served as a faculty member, confirmed his death. However, no cause of death was disclosed.
Wulf made significant contributions to the development of computer science during its nascent stages. He was one of the first individuals to earn a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Virginia in 1968, when the field was just emerging as a new academic discipline. Wulf’s career spanned academia, entrepreneurship, and policymaking, as he helped transform the internet from an early Pentagon communications web into the global network it is today.
Early Career
Born on December 8, 1939, in Chicago, Wulf was the only son of an engineer who was disabled by Parkinson’s disease at a young age. He completed his bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. After that, he moved to the University of Virginia, where he became one of the first people to receive a Ph.D. in computer science.
At Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Wulf worked as a faculty member, conducting research in computer architecture and programming languages. He was particularly interested in compilers, which are used to translate high-level programming languages like Java or C++ into machine-readable code.
Entrepreneurship
In 1981, Wulf, along with his wife Anita K. Jones, a fellow computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, founded Tartan Laboratories, a company that specialized in developing compilers. Tartan Laboratories was later sold to Texas Instruments, but not before it became one of the leading high-tech companies that transformed Pittsburgh from a rusting steel town into a hub for technology.
Policymaking
Wulf took a leave of absence from the University of Virginia to join the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation. There, he collaborated with then-Senator Al Gore to craft legislation that would make the military’s computer network, Arpanet, available to civilian researchers through the foundation’s NSFnet. This model later paved the way for widely accessible, commercially operated networks.
Legacy
Throughout his career, Wulf was instrumental in reshaping and inspiring thinking about the conduct, progress, and ethics of engineering. His work made significant contributions to the field of computer science, and his influence can still be felt in the way technology is developed and used today.
Wulf’s pioneering spirit and dedication to computer science will continue to inspire future generations of researchers and technologists to push the boundaries of what is possible.
Remembering the Legacy of Computer Science Pioneer William A. Wulf
William A. Wulf, a pioneering computer scientist, entrepreneur, and policymaker, passed away on March 10, 2023, in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 83. According to the Association for Computing Machinery, Wulf was “among a very small, distinguished group of people that made significant, core contributions to the creation of the modern internet.”
Early Career
Born in Chicago in 1939, Wulf earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He went on to become one of the first individuals to receive a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Virginia in 1968, a time when the field was just beginning to emerge.
Entrepreneurship
Wulf worked as a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he conducted research in computer architecture and programming languages. Along with his wife, Anita K. Jones, he founded Tartan Laboratories, a company that specialized in developing compilers. The company later sold to Texas Instruments and was considered one of the high-tech companies that transformed Pittsburgh into a hub for technology.
Policymaking and Legacy
Wulf took a leave of absence from the University of Virginia to join the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering at the National Science Foundation. There, he collaborated with then-Senator Al Gore to craft legislation that would make the military’s computer network, Arpanet, available to civilian researchers through the foundation’s NSFnet. This model later paved the way for widely accessible, commercially operated networks.
Over the years, Wulf was honored by every major professional society in computer science, as well as the American Philosophical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and other groups. In 1993, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and in 1996 he was appointed its interim president. In 2001, he was elected to a full six-year term.
Wulf will be remembered for his inspiring leadership in engineering, particularly his efforts to broaden participation in the field. He advocated for greater diversity in the field, believing that it pays economic dividends. He also established the Center for Engineering, Ethics and Society, which produced reports offering guidance for dealing with complex technologies, including genetics research and the teaching of evolution.
Ed Lazowska, a computer scientist at the University of Washington, said that Wulf will be remembered for his inspiring leadership in engineering. He was a huge champion of broadening participation in the field, not only for women and members of other underrepresented groups but also for people who did not necessarily come from big research universities mostly on the coasts.
Wulf is survived by his wife, Anita K. Jones, their two daughters, Ellen Wulf Epstein and Karin Wulf, and four grandsons.
Dr. William A. Wulf’s Legacy of Diversity and Engineering Innovation
Dr. William A. Wulf, a pioneering computer scientist, entrepreneur, and policymaker, passed away on March 10, 2023, in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 83. Throughout his career, he advocated for diversity in engineering and the importance of bringing diverse experiences and points of view to problems.
Engineering as Problem-Solving Under Constraints
Dr. Wulf called engineering “problem-solving under constraints” — time, money, or other practical issues. He believed that without diverse views, we pay an opportunity cost in products not built, designs not considered, constraints not understood, and processes not invented. In his view, bringing diverse experiences and points of view to problems raises the odds of success.
Engineering as a Creative Thrill
Dr. Wulf often referred to a situation he encountered as a student at the University of Illinois, working at a summer job for a company that made automatic phone dialers. The machine would jam periodically and break down, but Dr. Wulf had a Eureka moment when he realized what the problem was and how to fix it. When he made a cardboard mock-up of his design, it worked. For Dr. Wulf, the real reward of engineering was “the creative thrill” of designing something that solves a human problem.
Resignation from the University of Virginia
After leaving his post at the National Academy of Engineering, Dr. Wulf returned to the University of Virginia, but he resigned in protest in 2012 after the university’s Board of Visitors forced the resignation of its president, Teresa Sullivan. Dr. Wulf refused to return, citing the board’s “command and control” approach, which he called “the worst example of corporate governance I have ever seen.”
Legacy
Dr. Wulf will be remembered for his inspiring leadership in engineering and his efforts to broaden participation in the field. He advocated for greater diversity in the field, believing that it pays economic dividends. He also established the Center for Engineering, Ethics and Society, which produced reports offering guidance for dealing with complex technologies, including genetics research and the teaching of evolution.
In the words of Ed Lazowska, a computer scientist at the University of Washington, “You don’t have to have a social conscience. All you have to be is a capitalist who wants to make better things and sell more of them.” Dr. Wulf believed that engineering was about problem-solving under constraints and the creative thrill of designing something that solves a human problem.
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