32nd Annual Engineers Week Banquet &
Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony
Friday, February 24, 2023
The Silicon Valley Engineering Council (SVEC) proudly presents the 32nd annual National Engineers Week Banquet and Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony on Friday, February 24, 2023. The SVEC honors outstanding individuals for their contributions by welcoming them into its Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame ceremony recognizes local engineers for their outstanding professional achievements, both in engineering and technology, and for significant contributions to the community. The banquet will also feature a distinguished keynote speaker, education/scholarships awards to students for academic excellence, Discover-E, and Keeper of the Flame Awards.
Time
5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Location
Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, CA 94043
Dressy attire suggested.
Program:
- 4:30PM Pre-Program: IEEE Milestone “Wall of Fame” Tour
- Brick Wall, Computer History Museum’s Front Entryway
- 5:00PM Reception and No-Host Bar (Hahn auditorium)
- 6:00PM Settling in Dining Hall (Hahn auditorium)
- 6:30 PM SVEC President’s Welcome
- 6:30 PM Dinner with Friends
- 7:30 PM Keynote Speech
- 8:00 PM Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
- 8:30 PM Keeper of the Flame/Discover-E Awards
- 8:45 PM Scholarship Awards
- 9:00PM Program Close
Flyer Download
Sponsorship Brochure Download
Dr. Steven Chu, Stanford Professor, former Secretary of Energy and Nobel Laureate, giving the Keynote at the last SVEC Engineers Week Event.
Highlights Video
32nd SVEC Annual Engineers Week Banquet &
Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony
The 32nd SVEC Annual Engineers Week Banquet and Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony took place on February 24, 2023, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. President Sharif Zadeh expressed gratitude to attendees and acknowledged the challenges faced due to the pandemic. The SVEC successfully organized the event, highlighting the impact of the pandemic and the organization’s initiatives to expand outreach to engineers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The program’s theme was “Artificial Intelligence: From Science to Engineering,” featuring keynote speaker Dr. Kang Shen from Stanford Neuroscience Institute. Dr. Bill Dally, Chief Scientist of NVIDIA, was honored as the 2023 Hall of Fame inductee. Past Hall of Famers and distinguished guests were recognized for their contributions.
President Zadeh discussed the future directions of the SVEC, proposing new programs like the Silicon Valley Hall of Fame Club and an Annual Corporate Membership program. He emphasized the importance of sponsorships and support from corporations and Hall of Fame members.
Dr. Kang Shen’s keynote speech focused on the frontiers and challenges of neuroscience, discussing topics such as genetic contributions to intelligence, neural mechanisms of spatial navigation, and advancements in artificial retinas.
Dr. Fred Barez introduced Dr. Bill Dally as the 2023 Hall of Fame inductee, recognizing his exceptional contributions to engineering. A tribute video celebrated Dr. Dally’s achievements and highlighted his impact in the field.
During his acceptance speech, Dr. Dally expressed gratitude for the Hall of Fame induction and credited the teamwork behind his accomplishments. He highlighted the evolution of stream processing into GPU Computing, the revolution of deep learning, and the importance of efficiency in GPU Computing.
Overall, the event celebrated the achievements of engineers, highlighted the latest advancements in artificial intelligence and neuroscience, and emphasized the importance of continued support and collaboration in engineering endeavors.
Opening Speech
Sharif Zadeh, SVEC President
Download Slides Presentation
Opening and Acknowledgments
This year’s event marked a significant milestone as it was the first in-person event since the 2020 banquet. President Sharif Zadeh expressed his gratitude to everyone in attendance and acknowledged the support received for the event. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the SVEC managed to organize the program within a tight schedule, starting in October 2022. Zadeh thanked the sponsors, volunteers, and committee members for their contributions to making the event a success.
Impact of the Pandemic and Engineering Initiatives
President Zadeh highlighted the impact of the pandemic on the SVEC’s events, which were moved online. However, this also presented an opportunity to bring together various engineering events and initiatives in one place on the SVEC website, reaching a wider audience of engineers. The SVEC’s goal is to expand its outreach to the over half a million engineers in the San Francisco Bay area and reach 100,000+ engineers in Silicon Valley. The organization sponsors several programs, including the Hall of Fame, Engineers Week, and Discover-E, with the aim of encouraging younger generations to pursue engineering careers.
Theme and Keynote Speakers
The theme of the program for the evening was “Artificial Intelligence: From Science to Engineering.” The keynote speaker was from the Stanford Neuroscience Institute, Dr. Kang Shen, who would provide insights into the scientific aspects of artificial intelligence. Additionally, Dr. Bill Dally, Chief Scientist of NVIDIA, and former professor and chair of Computer Science department at Stanford University, a leader in artificial intelligence hardware, was honored as the 2023 Hall of Fame inductee.
Recognition of Past Hall of Famers
Mr. Zadeh acknowledged the presence of past Hall of Famers in attendance and recognized their contributions. Dr. Fred Barez, the Chair of the Hall of Fame Committee, and Dr. Bernard Widrow, a 1999 SVEC Hall of Famer, were specifically mentioned for their involvement in the review process of this year’s Hall of Fame nominations. Dr. TJ Rogers, and Mr. Pasquale were also recognized as past Hall of Famers and SVEC sponsors.
Recognition of Distinguished Guests
The presence of distinguished guests was acknowledged, including the founders of NVIDIA, Jensen Huang and Chris Makowski, as well as faculty and professors from Stanford and MIT, including alumni of Dr. Bill Dally’s research groups from Stanford, MIT, and NVIDIA.
Future Directions and Programs
Mr. Zadeh discussed the future directions of the SVEC and proposed new programs that require support and sponsorship. One such initiative is the establishment of a Silicon Valley Hall of Fame Club, aimed at fostering engagement and connection with past Hall of Famers. He discussed the plans for purchasing a building for the Hall of Fame Club, which would require significant funding. Additionally, the organization plans to introduce an Annual Corporate Membership program to secure funding for future events and mitigate the challenges faced due to short event planning periods. Zadeh emphasized the importance of sponsorships and support from corporations and Hall of Fame members for the successful implementation of these initiatives.
President Sharif Zadeh expressed his gratitude to all sponsors, distinguished guests, and members of the SVEC for their support. He highlighted the importance of collaboration and continued support in achieving the SVEC’s goals and future endeavors.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Kang Shen
Director, The WuTsai Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University
The Frontiers and Challenges of Neurosciences:
an update from the Stanford WuTsai Neuroscience Institute
Dr. Kang Shen is a neuroscientist, an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and is the Vincent V.C. Woo Director of Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford University. Dr. Shen and his team have studied neural circuits for years based on researching cell biological events during development of neural circuits. In this exciting talk, he will cover the latest developments in neuroscience in understanding the brain and the nervous system. This includes the highlight of research progress at the Stanford’s neurosciences institute. He will discuss how brains process information in the context of spatial learning in memory, progress from brain-machine interfaces, and brain aging and resilience. These research areas are aimed to understand both how brain functions as a input-output device to encode information and generate response, and how brain cells are constructed by biological materials.
Abstract:
Technological advances in the recent decades have revolutionized biology. Our understanding of how the brain develops, functions and ages remain rudimentary. Constructed by tens of thousands of genes in hundreds of millions of cells, the human brain is the most complex organ. This complexity presents challenges to understand how the brain produces behavior, encodes and stores information. I will discuss the progress and challenges of system, cellular and molecular neuroscience. The topic of discussion will include ongoing research in the Stanford WuTsai Neuroscience Institute in spatial learning and memory, brain machine interface and brain aging.
Keynote Speech
Inherited Intelligence: Genetic Contributions to IQ
Dr. Kang Shen began his keynote speech by discussing the widely debated topic of whether IQ is inherited or shaped by the environment. Drawing from genetic studies, he explained that approximately half of an individual’s IQ score can be attributed to genetics, while the other half is influenced by non-genetic factors. He emphasized the interplay between genetic information as the hardware and environmental experiences as the software in shaping our cognitive abilities.
Neural Mechanisms of Spatial Navigation: Unveiling the Cognitive Map
Dr. Shen highlighted the work of Professor Lisa Giocomo, whose research explores the neural components responsible for spatial navigation. Using electrodes implanted in the medial entorhinal cortex of mice, Giocomo’s lab discovered a network of neurons called grid cells. These grid cells exhibit remarkable firing patterns that form a grid-like representation of space in the brain. The density of grid cells changes across different regions, providing animals with rich information to navigate their environment.
Digital Twin Brain: Adapting Maps Based on Reward
Building upon the understanding of grid cells, Dr. Shen described Giocomo’s experiment where mice were exposed to two different environments—one with a food reward and one without. The study revealed that when animals received a reward in a specific location, the allocation of grid cells to that location increased. This suggests that the brain’s representation of space is flexible and can be modified based on rewarding experiences, enabling animals to optimize their behaviors in response to environmental stimuli.
Artificial Retina: Advancements in Restoring Vision
Dr. Shen touched upon ongoing research in Stanford’s Neuroscience Institute regarding artificial retinas. While not discussing his own research, he mentioned the work of colleagues who are exploring innovative approaches to restore vision using retinal prosthetics. By leveraging advancements in neural engineering, these efforts aim to develop technologies that can interface with the visual system, potentially offering solutions for individuals with visual impairments.
Challenges in Neuroscience: Complexity and Unanswered Questions
Throughout the speech, Dr. Shen emphasized the immense challenges faced in the field of neuroscience. He underscored that the brain remains the last frontier of biology due to its unique nature and complexity. Understanding fundamental questions such as the generation of consciousness, the mechanisms of learning and memory, and the storage of memories still elude researchers. Dr. Shen acknowledged that despite significant progress, many aspects of brain science remain elusive.
Conclusion
Dr. Kang Shen’s keynote speech shed light on the frontiers and challenges of neuroscience. He highlighted the role of genetics in shaping intelligence while emphasizing the intricate neural mechanisms underlying spatial navigation. The concept of a digital twin brain and the adaptability of neural maps based on rewarding experiences showcased the brain’s remarkable plasticity. Furthermore, Dr. Shen briefly mentioned ongoing research on artificial retinas, providing a glimpse into potential breakthroughs in vision restoration. Overall, his speech invited reflection on the complex nature of the brain and the ongoing pursuit of understanding its mysteries.
Hall of Fame Ceremony
Dr. William J. Dally
Chief Scientist and Sr. Vice President, NVIDIA Corporation
Citation:
For contributions to Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) computing, as a Professor of Computer Science at Stanford and Chief Scientist of Nvidia Corporation,
which led to the world’s fastest, most energy efficient supercomputers and enabled the current revolution in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Dr. Bill Dally is Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President of Research at NVIDIA Corporation and an Adjunct Professor and former chair of Computer Science at Stanford University. Bill is currently working on developing hardware and software to accelerate demanding applications including machine learning, bioinformatics, and logical inference. He has a history of designing innovative and efficient experimental computing systems. He developed much of the technology used in high-performance computer networks – from the routing and flow control protocols down to the signaling and equalization methods used on the wire. His development of stream processing at Stanford led to GPU computing. GPUs now power the world’s fastest supercomputers and enable the current revolution in AI. He co-founded STAC, AVICI Systems, Velio Communications, and Stream Processors. While at Bell Labs Bill contributed to the BELLMAC32 microprocessor and designed the MARS hardware accelerator. At Caltech he designed the MOSSIM Simulation Engine and the Torus Routing Chip which pioneered network routing and flow control technology. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology his group built the J-Machine and the M-Machine, experimental parallel computer systems that were the first to demonstrate many communication and synchronization methods. At Stanford University his group developed the Imagine processor, which introduced the concepts of stream processing and partitioned register organizations, the Merrimac streaming supercomputer, which led to GPU computing, the ELM low-power processor, the Darwin bioinformatics accelerator, and the Satin SAT solving accelerator. Bill is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of the ACM, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received the ACM Eckert-Mauchly Award, the IEEE Seymour Cray Award, the ACM Maurice Wilkes award, the IEEE-CS Charles Babbage Award, and the IPSJ FUNAI Achievement Award. He is a member of President Biden’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST). He currently leads projects on computer architecture, network architecture, circuit design, and programming systems. He has published over 250 papers in these areas, holds over 160 issued patents, and is an author of the textbooks: Digital Design: A Systems Approach, Digital Systems Engineering, and Principles and Practices of Interconnection Networks.
Hall of Fame Induction & Tribute Video
Hall of Fame Induction
Dr. Fred Barez
Chairman, Hall of Fame Committee
Dr. Fred Barez, Chairman of the Hall of Fame Committee, introduced this year’s Hall of Fame inductee, Dr. Bill Dally. In his introductory remarks, Dr. Barez expressed his gratitude to the members of the Hall of Fame selection committee, the nominators of the inductees, and the inductees themselves for making the celebration possible.
The Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame was established in 1990, following the formation of the Silicon Valley Engineering Council in 1989. The Hall of Fame aims to honor engineers in Silicon Valley who have demonstrated exceptional professional achievements and made significant contributions to the community. Over the years, a total of 93 engineers have been honored and inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Dr. Barez acknowledged the presence of prominent individuals from the Silicon Valley community, including the giants of Silicon Valley listed in the program book and showcased on posters around the room. He then proceeded to introduce the 2023 inductee, Dr. Bill Dally, recognizing his outstanding contributions not only to his profession but also to Silicon Valley and beyond.
Dr. Bill Dally has served as the chief scientist and Senior Vice President of Research at Nvidia for the past 14 years. Prior to that, he held the position of chair of the computer science department at Stanford University for 12 years and was a professor at MIT for 11 years. In addition, Dr. Dally has founded several startups, namely Viello Communications, Stream Processors, and Avicii Systems.
Dr. Dally’s notable work spans various areas, including high-performance computers, network signal processing, streaming graphic processing units, computer system and network processor architecture, and more recently, artificial intelligence and machine learning. He is a member of esteemed professional organizations such as the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and a fellow of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Dr. Dally’s expertise and contributions have been recognized with his induction into the National Academy of Engineers and his appointment to President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
With an extensive portfolio of accomplishments, Dr. Dally has authored several textbooks, published over 250 papers, and holds 160 patents. His impact on the field of engineering and his dedication to advancing technology are evident in his achievements.
Hall of Fame Tribute Video
Dr. Bill Dally, Chief Scientist and Senior VP of Research at NVIDIA, was honored and inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame. The tribute video showcased the immense respect and admiration for Dr. Dally from various individuals, friends and colleagues, who have worked closely with him.
Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA, expressed his delight in celebrating Dr. Dally’s induction, describing him as an extraordinary scientist, engineer, leader, and an amazing person deserving of this recognition.
David Luebke, Vice President of Graphics Research at NVIDIA, highlighted Dr. Dally’s exceptional intellect and ability to grasp complex concepts quickly. He admired how Dr. Dally would ask insightful questions that one wouldn’t expect until much later in a conversation.
Brian Kelleher, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering at NVIDIA, shared his initial impression of Dr. Dally, emphasizing his extensive technical interests and unparalleled depth of knowledge in the field.
Fei-Fei Li, Sequoia Professor of Computer Science & Co-Director of Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, Stanford University, acknowledged Dr. Dally’s transition from an academic scholar and world-class researcher to an industry leader. She commended his role in leading the AI revolution through advancements in both software and hardware.
Dave Patterson, Distinguished Engineer at Google & Pardee Professor of Computer Science, Emeritus, UC Berkeley, praised Dr. Dally’s boldness and willingness to take risks in designing computers. He noted that this fearlessness extended to his personal life, such as his passion for flying planes, even though he had experienced a plane crash.
Chris Malachowsky, co-founder and NVIDIA Fellow, highlighted the broad and profound influence of Dr. Dally, describing him as a prolific inventor. He shared an example of Dr. Dally’s remarkable dedication by mentioning how he designed a new type of respirator during the COVID-19 pandemic, showcasing his technical expertise and humanitarian efforts.
John Hennessy, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, commended Dr. Dally’s work at NVIDIA, which complemented his contributions in academia. He acknowledged Dr. Dally’s leadership in developing GPU-focused machines and turning them into powerful general-purpose computers, aligning with the future of domain-specific computing.
Jensen Huang reiterated Dr. Dally’s significant contributions as NVIDIA’s Chief Scientist, particularly in the field of accelerated computing. He emphasized Dr. Dally’s expertise across various domains, including computer graphics, climate science, quantum computing, robotics, and AI. Jensen recognized Dr. Dally’s leadership in building NVIDIA’s world-class industry lab, where groundbreaking work is conducted by a team of 300 researchers worldwide.
Sophia Shao, Assistant Professor at UC Berkeley, expressed her appreciation for Dr. Dally’s encouragement of exploring innovative ideas and fostering inclusivity within the team. She praised his dedication to ensuring all team members, especially junior members, had their voices heard and were given opportunities to contribute to different aspects of projects.
Overall, the tribute video celebrated Dr. Bill Dally’s exceptional career, technical prowess, leadership, and humanitarian efforts. The quotes from various individuals highlighted his brilliance, boldness, and dedication to advancing the fields of computer science, AI, and accelerated computing. Dr. Dally’s induction into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame was well-deserved and recognized as a significant achievement in his illustrious career.
Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech
Dr. Bill Dally
Chief Scientist and Sr. Vice President, NVIDIA Corporation
Dr. Bill Dally, Chief Scientist and Senior VP of Research at NVIDIA, delivered his acceptance speech. He expressed his gratitude for being inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame and acknowledged the esteemed individuals who have been inducted before him, such as Bill Hewlett and David Packard.
Dr. Dally emphasized that engineering is a team sport and credited several people who have played significant roles in his career. He thanked the leadership of the Silicon Valley Engineering Council, particularly SVEC President, Sharif Zadeh and Hall of Fame Committee Chairman, Dr. Fred Barez, for recognizing his contributions and organizing the Hall of Fame. He also expressed his appreciation for his parents, who instilled in him a love for science, engineering, and learning, as well as his family, including his wife Sharon and daughters Katie, Jenny, and Eliza, for their support throughout the years.
The development of stream processing and its evolution into GPU Computing were highlighted. Dr. Dally acknowledged Pat Hanrahan, his colleague at Stanford on the stream streaming supercomputer project, and the students who made pivotal contributions to the project. He emphasized the importance of teaching and mentoring, having supervised 56 PhD students and expressed gratitude to those who were present at his group’s alumni table. Dr. Dally recognized the contributions of individuals like John Nichols, John Danskin, Ian Buck, David Kirk, and others, who played key roles in translating stream processing into GPU Computing. He credited Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA, for his vision and investment in GPU Computing, which ultimately revolutionized the field and enabled modern deep learning.
Dr. Dally emphasized the significance of GPU Computing in the current revolution, enabling advancements in various fields. He noted that the algorithms and techniques used in deep neural networks have been around for decades, but the spark that ignited the revolution was having computers with sufficient power to train powerful networks on large datasets within a reasonable timeframe. He acknowledged the role of NVIDIA GPUs in fueling this revolution and mentioned the software developments, such as CUDA, that have made it easier for developers to run deep learning on NVIDIA GPUs.
The speech also addressed the focus on efficiency in GPU Computing. Dr. Dally mentioned the end of Moore’s Law and the need for real engineering to improve machine efficiency. He discussed the optimizations and innovations that have doubled the efficiency of GPUs in deep learning every year since 2012. He mentioned a prototype chip described at a previous symposium, which achieved a hundred teraflops per watt efficiency, a significant advancement compared to their latest GPU. Dr. Dally expressed confidence in achieving further advancements in efficiency and stated that there is much more to come.
Looking ahead, Dr. Dally expressed excitement about the application of stream processing principles and specialization to various computations beyond deep learning. He mentioned the addition of an accelerator for dynamic programming in the Hopper generation GPU, which is useful for accelerating bioinformatics computations. He envisioned the acceleration of other demanding computations, such as continuous and discrete optimization, through specialized hardware and accelerated computing.
In conclusion, Dr. Dally expressed his honor of being inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame. He emphasized that the recognized work was a result of a large team effort, involving faculty and students in stream processing research at Stanford and a dedicated team at NVIDIA. He highlighted the exciting time to be a computer engineer and expressed optimism about the future impact of accelerated computing in addressing demanding applications.
SVEC Awards Presentation Video
Awards Description
Scholarship Awards
The Silicon Valley Engineering Council Engineering Education awards recognize young engineering and technology students for their dedication, focus, and commitment to engineering. Engineering and Technology students graduating from high school are eligible to apply. Students may receive an SVEC Education award only once.
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Keeper of the Flame Award
During the 1990s, the content of K-12 mathematics and science courses came under attack by the education establishment. These “new math,” “integrated math,” “discovery math,” etc. courses sought to protect students from difficulties in learning traditional mathematical skills. But it failed to provide students with the proper mathematical skills. Science education also suffered due to an “anti-science movement.” This includes attacks on what scientists do, how they affect society and the scientific method of reaching objective truth.
However, there are many teachers who still recognize that their job is to teach mathematics and science skills, and not to fall to the whims of administrators. These teachers display great integrity in defying the education establishment to ensure that their students actually learn mathematics and science.
The SVEC Keeper of the Flame award recognizes and honors those heroes of middle and high school education who have distinguished themselves as Keepers of the Flame of knowledge by maintaining high standards of content in mathematics and science instruction in the face of significant challenges. This award is not intended just to recognize outstanding teaching ability.
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Discover-E
Discover “E” (E for engineering) is a nationwide student outreach program to expose elementary, junior and senior high school students to engineering and cultivate their interest in math, science, and engineering. This outreach program takes place annually in Silicon Valley from the beginning of National Engineers Week until the end of March. The Discover “E” program was initiated in 1990. Thousands of engineers throughout the United States participate in the program every year. The Discover “E” outreach effort in the South Bay area has been coordinated by the Silicon Valley Engineering Council since 1992.
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Registration
Friday, February 24, 2023, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View, CA 94043
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