Dr. John Hennessy

Biography

John L. Hennessy joined Stanford’s faculty in 1977 as an assistant professor of electrical engineering. He rose through the academic ranks to full professorship in 1986, becoming the inaugural Willard R. and Inez Kerr Bell Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from 1987 to 2004. Between 1983 and 1993, Dr. Hennessy directed the Computer Systems Laboratory, a research and teaching center operated between the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science that fosters research in computer systems design. He served as chair of computer science from 1994 to 1996 before being named dean of the School of Engineering. As dean, he launched a five-year plan that laid the groundwork for new activities in bioengineering and biomedical engineering. In 1999, he was appointed provost, serving as the university’s chief academic and financial officer. Under his leadership, the university continued to foster interdisciplinary activities in biosciences and bioengineering while overseeing improvements in faculty and staff compensation. In October 2000, he was inaugurated as Stanford University’s 10th president, a position he held until 2016. In 2016, he co-founded the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program, which provides scholarships and leadership development for a global community of scholars enrolled in graduate programs at Stanford. A pioneer in computer architecture, Dr. Hennessy is known for his work on RISC technology, which has revolutionized the computer industry by increasing performance and reducing costs. In addition to his role in basic research, he has helped transfer technology to industry, co-founding MIPS Computer Systems, which designs microprocessors. His recent research has focused on the architecture of high-performance computers.

Research Interests