Carver Andress Mead, born May 1, 1934, in Bakersfield, California, is an American scientist and engineer who holds the position of Gordon and Betty Moore Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology, where he taught for over 40 years. Mead earned his B.S. (1956), M.S. (1957), and Ph.D. (1960) in electrical engineering from Caltech. He is credited with coining the term “Moore’s Law” and, along with colleague Lynn Conway, developed the landmark textbook Introduction to VLSI Systems (1979), which revolutionized integrated circuit design and enabled the modern computing era.
In 1968, Mead joined Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce as a consultant in founding what would become Intel. His pioneering work extended beyond semiconductors into neuromorphic computing—electronic systems modeled on human neurology. In 1986, he co-founded Synaptics Inc. with Federico Faggin to develop neural networkbased analog circuits, leading to the invention of the touchpad. Mead has received numerous honors including the National Medal of Technology and the Kyoto Prize. His insight that Moore’s Law reflects human vision and belief about what is possible exemplifies his unique perspective on the intersection of technology and human potential.