Alastair David Milne is a Scottish technologist and founder and former CEO of the Wolfson Microelectronics company.

Early life and education

Milne was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and attended

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eighteenth ...

. He pursued higher education in physics, earning a Bachelors from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

in 1966 and an MSc and then PhD from the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

in 1968.

Career

In 1970, Milne joined the newly created Wolfson Industrial Liaison Unit at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In 1973 he was promoted to director, renamed the unit as the Wolfson Microelectronics Institute and changed its focus to the design of semiconductor devices. In 1984, he co-founded the spinout company Wolfson Microelectronics which developed audio processing products for consumer electronics made by major manufacturers including

Apple Inc Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer ...

and

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

. The company became the first successful spin-out from a Scottish university and the second to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. Milne served as chief executive officer of Wolfson Microelectronics until 2007 and as non-executive director until 2012. Milne has been active in the promotion of science and technology. He served as chairman of the Edinburgh International Science Festival between 2007 and 2022, and as trustee and chair of the

James Clerk Maxwell Foundation The James Clerk Maxwell Foundation is a Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, registered Scottish charity set up in 1977. By supporting physics and mathematics, it honors one of the greatest physicists, James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), an ...

Awards and recognition

In recognition of his contributions to technology and business he was awarded an OBE in 1984, Fellowship of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in 1991, Fellowship of the

Institution of Engineering and Technology The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is a multidisciplinary professional engineering institution. The IET was formed in 2006 from two separate institutions: the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), dating back to 1871,Engin ...

in 1992, and Fellowship of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

in 2002. He was awarded the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Royal Medal in 2012 and honorary degrees from the

and

in 2007, and the

in 2008. He has received several business awards including Scotland's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003. He was inducted into the

Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame The Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame honours "those engineers from, or closely associated with, Scotland who have achieved, or deserve to achieve, greatness", as selected by an independent panel representing Scottish engineering institutions, aca ...

in 2024.

References

Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame inductees Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, David 1942 births Living people Alumni of Heriot-Watt University People educated at George Watson's College Alumni of the University of Bristol People associated with the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Institution of Engineering and Technology Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Scottish engineers Scottish scientists