Donald O. Pederson | |
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| Born | September 30, 1925 Hallock, Minnesota, United States |
| Died | December 25, 2004(2004-12-25) (aged 79) Concord, CA, United States |
| Alma mater | North Dakota Agricultural College (nowNorth Dakota State University),Stanford University |
| Known for | Circuit design,CAD,SPICE |
| Awards | IEEE Medal of Honor(1998) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Electronic Engineer |
| Institutions | University of California Berkeley,New Jersey Institute of Technology |
| Doctoral advisor | Joseph M. Pettit |
| Doctoral students | A. Richard Newton |
Donald Oscar Pederson (September 30, 1925 – December 25, 2004) was an American professor ofelectrical engineering at theUniversity of California, Berkeley, and one of the designers ofSPICE, a simulator forintegrated circuits that has been universally used as a teaching tool and in the everyday work of circuits engineers. TheIEEE Donald O. Pederson Award in Solid-State Circuits is named in his honor.
Pederson was born inHallock, Minnesota to Oscar Jorgan and Beda Emilia Pederson. He attendedFergus Falls Public Schools inFergus Falls, Minnesota during which time he built his firstcrystal radio by using junkyard finds and spare parts which were given by his uncle and cousin. During those years he also saved money, and eventually bought his firstsoldering iron and avacuum tube. Don's passion for electronics began in high school during physics class inFargo, North Dakota where his parents had moved. He graduated high school at age 17 and enteredIowa State College in the autumn of 1943, but then left for the military duringWorld War II. He served as a private in theU.S. Army in Austria, Germany, France and thePhilippines from 1943 to 1946.[1]
Upon his return from military service, he continued his undergraduate education atNorth Dakota Agricultural College (nowNorth Dakota State University) and earned a bachelor's degree inelectrical engineering in 1948. He then attendedStanford University for graduate school, where he received a master's degree in electrical engineering in 1949 and a Ph.D. in 1951.[1]
Pederson remained at Stanford as a researcher in the university's electronics research lab. From 1953 to 1955, he worked atBell Telephone Laboratories, inMurray Hill, New Jersey, and lectured at Newark College of Engineering (nowNew Jersey Institute of Technology). In 1955, Pederson joined the faculty of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences of theUniversity of California, Berkeley as an assistant professor of electrical engineering. In the early 1970s he began work onSPICE, with his colleagues from the Electronic Research Lab.[1] He retired in 1991, but continued to teach part-time.[2]
Pederson died on December 25, 2004, inConcord, California, of complications fromParkinson's disease.[3]
Pederson was a member of theNational Academy of Engineering and theNational Academy of Sciences. He was also a Fellow of theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science, and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences.[1]
In 1987 the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) named one of its major awards in his honor, theIEEE Donald O. Pederson Award in Solid-State Circuits. It is aTechnical Field Award given by theboard of directors level of the IEEE. It had previously been simply called the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Award.[8]
Don was married to Claire N. Pederson and together they had three daughters (Emily Sanders, Margaret Stanfield, and Katharine Rookard) and a son (John). They also had four grandchildren
After they divorced he married Karen Pederson.[2]
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