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Honorary Doctor of Science, 2012
Bio | Citation

Professor Steve Furber is an academic, researcher and pioneer of the global computing revolution.

Steve was something of a mathematical prodigy as a young man. As a teenager, in 1970 he won a bronze medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Hungary and later went on to Cambridge University where he received his BA in Mathematics.

Steve was principal designer of the BBC Microcomputer and the ARM 32-bit processor. The BBC computer sold over 1.5 million units and became the cornerstone of early computing education in schools throughout the UK. The number of ARM processors that have been manufactured has passed the 30 billion mark and they now help to power everything from mobile phones to digital televisions.

In 1990 Steve moved to Manchester University where he set up the Amulet research group, with the aim of further pushing the boundaries in power-efficient computing. In 2001 he was appointed Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester and today he is ICL Professor of Computer Engineering at the School of Computer Science, University of Manchester.

Steve currently leads the SpiNNaker Project, which seeks to create a 'massively-parallel computing platform', essentially an artificial neural network that mimics the workings of the human brain.

Areas Of Interest: Technology, Education
Faculty: Science & Technology
Citation:

"Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to read the citation for Professor Stephen Furber CBE for the award of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Professor Steve Furber is an academic, researcher and pioneer of the global computing revolution.

Born in Manchester, Steve was something of a mathematical prodigy as a young man. As a teenager, in 1970 he won a bronze medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Hungary and later went on to Cambridge University where he received his BA in Mathematics. In 1978 he was appointed Rolls-Royce Research Fellow at Cambridge and in 1980 was awarded a PhD in Aerodynamics.

Steve then went to work in the Research and Development department at Acorn Computers where, alongside Sophie Wilson, he was principal designer of the BBC Microcomputer and the ARM 32-bit processor. The BBC computer sold over 1.5 million units and became the cornerstone of early computing education in schools throughout the UK. As for the ARM processor, one wonders whether the creators of this remarkable piece of technology fully understood the impact it was to have in helping to drive the technology revolution over the next 25 years. Today, the number of ARM processors that have been manufactured has passed the 30 billion mark and they now help to power everything from mobile phones to digital televisions.

Steve parted company with Acorn in 1990, moving to Manchester University where he set up the Amulet research group, with the aim of further pushing the boundaries in power-efficient computing. In 2001 he was appointed Head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester and today he is ICL Professor of Computer Engineering at the School of Computer Science, University of Manchester.

Steve currently leads the SpiNNaker Project, which seeks to create a 'massively-parallel computing platform', essentially an artificial neural network that mimics the workings of the human brain. It's powerful stuff.

Steve's contribution to computer science has been well recognised. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the British Computer Society, the Institution of Engineering and Technology and The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. In 2003 he was awarded a Royal Academy Silver Medal for 'outstanding and demonstrated personal contribution to British engineering' and in 2007 he was awarded the prestigious Institution of Engineering and Technology Faraday Medal. In 2008 Steve was awarded a CBE for services to computer science.

Earlier this year he received the Fellow Award from the Computer History Museum in California. It is surely an outstanding achievement to have one's early work feature in a museum, while still leading ground-breaking research in the field.

Professor Stephen Furber is one of the founders of modern computing and his work has changed the world in which we live. He has made extraordinary advances in computing theory and successfully converted this into practical applications that have enabled UK companies to achieve remarkable commercial success.

Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to present the Professor Stephen Furber CBE for the award of Doctor of Science, honoris causa."

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