Ross Freeman (July 26, 1948 – October 22, 1989), was an American

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and inventor, and co-founder of the leading

FPGA A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is a type of configurable integrated circuit that can be repeatedly programmed after manufacturing. FPGAs are a subset of logic devices referred to as programmable logic devices (PLDs). They consist of a ...

developer

Xilinx Xilinx, Inc. ( ) was an American technology and semiconductor company that primarily supplied programmable logic devices. The company is renowned for inventing the first commercially viable field-programmable gate array (FPGA). It also pioneered ...

Early life and education

Freeman was born in the upper peninsula of Michigan on July 26, 1948. He grew up on a farm near Engadine, Michigan. Freeman earned a BS degree in physics from Michigan State University in 1969 and a master’s from University of Illinois in 1971. He worked in the Peace Corps for several years, then went to

Teletype Corporation The Teletype Corporation, a part of AT&T Corporation, American Telephone and Telegraph Company's Western Electric manufacturing arm since 1930, came into being in 1928 when the Morkrum-Kleinschmidt Company changed its name to the name of its tra ...

to design a custom PMOS circuit.

Founding of Xilinx

Ross postulated that because of

Moore's Law Moore's law is the observation that the Transistor count, number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years. Moore's law is an observation and Forecasting, projection of a historical trend. Rather than a law of ...

transistors A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...

would be getting less expensive each year, making customizable programmable chips affordable. The idea was "far out" at the time, but the company and technology grew quickly, eventually catching the attention of new-found competitors in what is now a mature industry. With Bernard Vonderschmitt and James V Barnett II Freeman co-founded Xilinx in 1984, and a year later invented the first field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Freeman's invention - patent 4,870,302 - is a

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

chip full of 'open gates' that

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

s can reprogram as much as needed to add new functionality, adapt to changing standards or specifications and make last minute design changes.Company Release,
Xilinx Co-Founder Ross Freeman Honored as 2009 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee for Invention of FPGA
. February 11, 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2009.

Death and legacy

Freeman died in 1989, only a few years after creating a new industry with the FPGA and launching what would become a multi-billion dollar company. In 2006, 17 years after his death, Freeman was inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame, which honors men and women responsible for fundamental technology advances for human, social and economic progress.Loring Wirbel, EDN,
Remembering Ross Freeman
February 27, 2009. Retrieved on March 16, 2009"Frederick E. Allen, Forbes,

.February 12, 2009. Retrieved on February 13, 2009.Inventor's Hall of Fame Website
That year was the

integrated circuit An integrated circuit (IC), also known as a microchip or simply chip, is a set of electronic circuits, consisting of various electronic components (such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors) and their interconnections. These components a ...

's 50th anniversary so the hall of fame inductees were themed with inventions fundamental to modern computing. To honor Freeman's memory, encourage technical innovation, and reward employees, Xilinx began a new tradition in 1992 of honoring a Xilinx employee each year with the Ross Freeman Award for Technical Innovation. Participants are nominated, finalists are chosen by a nomination committee at Xilinx and award winners are chosen by a vote from the company's technical staff.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Ross 1948 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American inventors