Computer History Museum Announces 2018 Fellow Award Honorees

Mountain View, CA, Feb. 21, 2018 -- The Computer History Museum (CHM), the world’s leading institution exploring the history of computing and its transformational impact on society, today proudly announced its 2018 Fellow Award honorees:

• Dov Frohman-Bentchkowsky−For the invention of the first commercial erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), which enabled rapid development of microprocessor-based systems.
• Dame Stephanie Shirley CH−For a lifetime of entrepreneurship promoting the growth of the UK software industry and the advancement of women in computing.
• Guido van Rossum−For the creation and evolution of the Python programming language, and for leadership of its community.

 “We are delighted to induct these outstanding new Fellows with diverse contributions in hardware, in services, and in software,” said Len Shustek, the Museum’s board chairman. “They are true heroes of the Digital Age.”

This year’s Fellow Awards – presented by headline sponsor Accenture for the fifth year – will take place on Saturday, April 28, 2018, at the Computer History Museum.

“At Accenture, we recognize that history makes what we do today and tomorrow possible. That history is formed by remarkable individuals who dared to dream and tackled the most difficult problems of their day – with a goal to make our world better,” said Paul Daugherty, Accenture’s chief technology and innovation officer.  “We are proud to support the Computer History Museum’s 2018 Fellow Awards and congratulate this year’s honorees.”

Fellow Honoree sponsors are Dropbox and Intel. Other main supporters of Fellows include: 1185 Design, Intuit, First Tech Credit Union, Microsoft, TidalScale, and UBS Financial.

The CHM Fellow Awards is the Museum’s prestigious program, which has recognized such esteemed honorees as Frances Allen, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Ed Catmull, Vint Cerf, Morris Chang, Lynn Conway, Doug Engelbart, Bjarne Stroustrup, Ken Olsen and Steve Wozniak. This singular program is an ongoing initiative of the Museum and is supported with collecting, education, research and media efforts that reflect the seminal work of each Fellow and cements their place in computing history. Each year, the Museum selects a new class of Fellows and honors their accomplishments and global influence at a gala ceremony.

Since its inception in 1987 when the Museum inducted its first Fellow, computer scientist and US Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, the Fellow Awards at the Computer History Museum have honored distinguished individuals and pioneering teams whose contributions have forever transformed our world. Supported by technology leaders, innovators and visionaries from around world, the Fellow Awards are a time-honored tradition that celebrate the creative spirit and preserve the stories of each honoree, advancing the world’s collective history and inspiring future generations.  

Fellow nominations are open to the public and reflect a diverse range of viewpoints and areas of computing. Final selections are made by a panel of historians, researchers, industry leaders, Museum staff and past Fellows.

For more information about the 2018 Fellow Awards click here.

About the Computer History Museum

The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, is a nonprofit organization with a four-decade history as the world’s leading institution exploring the history of computing and its ongoing impact on society. The Museum is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of computer history and is home to the largest international collection of computing artifacts in the world, encompassing computer hardware, software, documentation, ephemera, photographs, and moving images.

The Museum brings computer history to life through large-scale exhibits, an acclaimed speaker series, a dynamic website, docent-led tours, and an award-winning education program. The Museum’s signature exhibition is “Revolution: The First 2000 Years of Computing,” described by USA Today as “the Valley’s answer to the Smithsonian.” “Make Software: Change the World,” opened in 2017, illustrates the impact of software on the world through the stories of seven iconic and widely used applications. Other current exhibits include the “Where To? A History of Autonomous Vehicles,” “Thinking Big: Ada, Countess of Lovelace,” “Happy Birthday, iPhone,” and demonstration labs featuring fully restored and working models of the DEC PDP-1 and the IBM 1401 systems. For more information and updates, visit computerhistory.org

Carina Sweet
Computer History Museum 
(650) 810-1059
[email protected]