“Acceptance Speech” Frontiers of Knowledge Award 2021 in Information and Communication Technologies

Acceptance speech by David A. Patterson, winner of the 2021 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Information and Communication Technologies, who was honored alongside John L. Hennessy for their fundamental contributions to establishing computer architecture as a scientific discipline. Their research drove the development of RISC processors, based on simplified instructions that improve the performance and energy efficiency of computer systems, and established quantitative methods for evaluating their operation.

Patterson highlights how RISC architecture evolved from a controversial proposal into a technology widely used in microprocessors. He recalls the importance of applying experimental and reproducible methods to computer design and translating scientific advances into industrial applications. He also reflects on the challenges posed by the end of traditional Moore’s Law scaling a

Acceptance speech by David A. Patterson, winner of the 2021 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Information and Communication Technologies, who was honored alongside John L. Hennessy for their fundamental contributions to establishing computer architecture as a scientific discipline. Their research drove the development of RISC processors, based on simplified instructions that improve the performance and energy efficiency of computer systems, and established quantitative methods for evaluating their operation.

Patterson highlights how RISC architecture evolved from a controversial proposal into a technology widely used in microprocessors. He recalls the importance of applying experimental and reproducible methods to computer design and translating scientific advances into industrial applications. He also reflects on the challenges posed by the end of traditional Moore’s Law scaling and the opportunities to develop new architectures capable of improving computing performance without relying solely on transistor miniaturization.