Google Research

Dave Patterson

About

David Patterson received BA, MS, and PhD degrees from UCLA. He is a UC Berkeley Pardee professor emeritus, a Google distinguished engineer since 2016, the RIOS Laboratory Director, and the RISC-V International Vice-Chair.

His most influential Berkeley projects likely were RISC and RAID. He received service awards for his roles as ACM President, Berkeley CS Division Chair, and CRA Chair and awards for his teaching. The most prominent of his seven co-authored books is Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach.

He and his co-author John Hennessy shared the 2017 ACM A.M Turing Award, the 2021 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, and the 2022 NAE Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering. The Turing Award is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Computing” and the Draper Prize is considered a “Nobel Prize of Engineering.”

Outside of work he plays soccer, lifts weights, cycles, and bodysurfs. He has been married to his high-school sweetheart since 1967, and they have raised two sons, who in turn are raising four grandchildren.

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