COMPUTER SCHOOLS - Key Persons

Gordon Moore was born in San Francisco on January 23, 1929 and eventually attended UC Berkeley, earning a B.S. in Chemistry, and CalTech (the California Institute of Technology), where he earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry and Physics. He is currently the Chairman Emeritus of the Intel Corporation. It was in 1968, however, when Moore co-founded Intel, creating the specialized manufacturer of memory products. Initially Moore served as Executive Vice President, and then became President and CEO in 1975. Then, in 1979, he was elected Chairman and CEO, and retained that title until in 1987. While heading the company, he guided it to produce the world's first microprocessor. During Moore's reign, Intel also became the world's largest producer of computer chips. Although Moore is well known from his status at Intel, he is best known for developing "Moore's Law." In "Moore's Law," he predicted that the number of transistors the industry would be able to place on a computer would double every eighteen months, and then he prompted his company to achieve that feat. This prediction has proven remarkably accurate for more than two decades, as Intel was able to meet Moore's demand, and it helped to guarantee that Moore receive the National Medal of Technology from President Bush in 1990. However, in 1995 Moore had to update his prediction to once every two years as barriers with the optical lithography, now used to print the patterns of circuits onto the microchips, began to emerge. Nevertheless, constantly developing technologies promise to keep "Moore's Law" applicable for at least the next few generations, if not longer. Although initially planned as a rule of thumb, "Moore's Law" has become the guiding principle for the industry to deliver increasingly powerful semiconductors at continually decreasing costs. Moore remains active in Bay Area business, education, and philanthropy. In 2000, he and his wife Betty established a multi-billion-dollar foundation to support higher education, scientific research, the environment, and select San Francisco area projects. Continuing their philanthropic endeavors, Moore and his wife donated the largest gift ever given to an environmental conservation group: $261 million over a period of 10 years. The gift will support Conservation International's initiatives to slow the extinction of animals and plants and start an ambitious campaign to protect about 400 million acres of tropical forests.