Burton Smith facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Burton J. Smith
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Smith at Supercomputing in 2007
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| Born | March 21, 1941 |
| Died | April 2, 2018 (aged 77) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Technical Fellow at Microsoft |
Burton J. Smith (born March 21, 1941 – died April 2, 2018) was a brilliant American computer architect. He was known for designing supercomputers. Later, he became a Technical Fellow at Microsoft, helping them with advanced computing.
Learning About Computers
Burton Smith was a very smart student from a young age. He loved math and science. After high school, he started college to study physics. However, he wasn't happy with his studies at first.
He decided to join the Navy for four years. This experience helped him grow. When he returned to college, he changed his focus to Electrical engineering. He graduated with top honors in 1967.
Smith then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for his advanced degree. While there, he helped build a database for the computer science department. This was one of his first big experiences with computers. He earned his doctorate degree from MIT in 1972.
Building Supercomputers
After finishing his studies, Burton Smith taught at MIT and the University of Colorado. He then joined a company called Denelcor Inc. There, he was in charge of research and development. He was the main designer of a special computer called the Denelcor Heterogeneous Element Processor (HEP). This computer was very advanced for its time.
In 1988, Smith helped start a new company called Tera Computer Company. He was the chief scientist and chairman. This company focused on building powerful supercomputers. In 2000, Tera bought part of another famous computer company, Cray Research. The company then changed its name to Cray Inc.. Cray is well-known for making some of the fastest computers in the world.
In 2005, Burton Smith joined Microsoft as a Technical Fellow. In this role, he helped different teams at Microsoft. He worked on making computers faster and better at handling many tasks at once. This is called parallel and high-performance computing.
Awards and Recognition
Burton Smith received many important awards for his work. These awards showed how much he contributed to the world of computers.
- In 1991, he received the Eckert-Mauchly Award. This award is given by two major computer organizations.
- In 2003, he received the Seymour Cray Computer Science and Engineering Award. He was also chosen to be part of the National Academy of Engineering. This is a very high honor for engineers.
- In 2010, he received the International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium#IEEE Computer Society Charles Babbage Award. He was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- In 2018, he received the George Cotter Award for his vision in data analytics.
His Later Life
Burton Smith passed away on April 2, 2018, in Burien, Washington. He left behind his two daughters, Julia and Katherine, and his granddaughter, Erin. His wife, Dorothy, had passed away before him. Burton Smith's work greatly influenced how we use and understand supercomputers today.
