Nationality American Organizations founded Xilinx Institution memberships Xilinx | Engineering discipline Electrics Role Electrical engineer Citizenship American Name Bernard Vonderschmitt | |
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Education Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | ||
Significant projects Fabless business model | ||
Bernard V. Vonderschmitt (October 14, 1923 – June 9, 2004) was an electrical engineer, most noted as a co-founder of leading FPGA producer Xilinx.
Biography
He was born on October 14, 1923 in Jasper, Indiana.
Vonderschmitt graduated with a BSEE from Rose Polytechnic Institute in 1944. He also received an MSEE degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and later an honorary doctorate from Rider University.
Vonderschmitt began his career with RCA, and worked with them for 34 years, taking a short time during World War II to serve in the US Navy as an electronics officer. He holds 13 patents that cover color television and solid state electronics.
After leaving RCA, he worked briefly for Zilog, before co-founding Xilinx together with Ross Freeman in 1984. With Xilinx, he pioneered the fabless business model which is now used by a large number of semiconductor companies around the world.
In 2002, he retired from Xilinx, with the company entrenched as the worldwide leader in FPGA marketshare.
On June 9, 2004 Vonderschmitt died in his hometown of Jasper, Indiana.