John L. Hennessy

Chairman, Alphabet, Inc. | Former President, Stanford University
Twitter iconFacebook iconInstagram iconYoutube icon
John L. Hennessy, PhD, is a computer scientist, businessman, distinguished engineer and a pioneer in computer architecture. He is one of the founders of MIPS Computer Systems and Atheros, previously served as the tenth President of Stanford University for 16 years and is currently Chairman of Alphabet Inc.

Along with his colleague, Hennessy won the 2017 Turing Award for their work in developing the reduced instruction set computer (RISC) architecture, which has revolutionized computing by increasing performance while reducing costs. The design is now used in 99% of new computer chips. Professor Hennessy co-founded Atheros Communications, a pioneer in WiFi technology and served as Chair of the Board. He currently serves on the board of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Alphabet.

Hennessy joined Stanford’s faculty as an assistant professor of electrical engineering. He was the inaugural Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and served as chair of Computer Science, dean of the School of Engineering, and university provost, before being inaugurated as Stanford’s 10th president. Keeping Stanford accessible and affordable to outstanding students was among his priorities, and during his presidency, Stanford’s financial aid program became one of the strongest in the nation. The Arts at Stanford also experienced a renaissance during his tenure. After stepping down as president, he became the inaugural Shriram Family Director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program, which is the largest fully endowed graduate-level scholarship program in the world.

His honors include the 2012 Medal of Honor of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, its highest award; the 2017 ACM Turing Prize, its highest award; the 2000 John von Neumann Medal; the 2001 Eckert-Mauchly Award of the Association for Computing Machinery; the 2001 Seymour Cray Computer Engineering Award; a 2004 NEC C&C Prize for lifetime achievement in computer science and engineering. He is an elected member or Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering, the Royal Academy of Engineering, The National Academy of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.

Hennessy earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Villanova University and his master’s and doctoral degrees in computer science from the Stony Brook University, as well as ten honorary doctorates. He is also the coauthor of two internationally used textbooks on computer architecture.

Topics

Impact of technology on higher education

Show more

Future of computing

Show more

Future of teaching and learning

Show more

Videos

The Impact of Technology on Higher Education
John L. Hennessy
The future of computing | Google I/O ’18
John L. Hennessy
Fireside Chat with Dr. John Hennessy
John L. Hennessy
Blockchain with Alphabet’s John Hennessy: Future of Finance | Google for Startups Accelerator
John L. Hennessy
Alphabet Chairman John Hennessy on Bloomberg Studio 1.0
John L. Hennessy

Articles

Newspaper icon
Checking in With Alphabet Chair John Hennessy
IEEE Spectrum
Newspaper icon
Former Stanford President Advocates Empathy, Optimism, and Leadership in 2020 Godkin Lecture
The Harvard Crimson
Newspaper icon
John Hennessy’s higher learning
Strategy + Business
Newspaper icon
Lessons from the humanities and social sciences
The Washington Post
Newspaper icon
The Leadership Crisis in Silicon Valley: A Talk with John Hennessy
Wired

Podcasts

This speaker does not have any podcasts yet.

Testimonials

This speaker does not have any Articles yet.
Book John L. Hennessy for your event
Request Availability
Download Bio
PDF icon
Education
Leadership
Engineering
Technology
Presidential Series
Twitter iconFacebook iconInstagram iconYoutube icon

Related speakers

No related speakers.
By continuing to browse you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. If you do not wish to allow cookies, please see our cookie policy for instructions. Learn more