William Dally

About

Bill Dally is Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President of Research at NVIDIA, where he works on computer architecture, high-performance computing, GPU systems, and advanced interconnect technologies. His research and engineering work spans parallel computer architectures, interconnection networks, microelectronics, and systems for accelerated computing. Dally has also held academic positions at MIT and Stanford University, where he led research in parallel computing and computer systems. He has contributed to technologies including routing networks, stream processors, optical interconnects, and GPU computing systems. Quick Facts about Bill Dally: Field Details Full Name William James Dally Known As Bill Dally Born August 17, 1960 Current Position Chief Scientist and Senior Vice President of Research Current Company NVIDIA Academic Field Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Previous Academic Institutions MIT, Stanford University Previous Companies / Organizations Bell Telephone Laboratories, Cray Research, Avici Systems, Velio Communications, Stream Processors Education Virginia Tech, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology Degrees BS in Electrical Engineering; MS in Electrical Engineering; PhD in Computer Science Doctoral Advisor Charles Seitz Publications More than 200 papers Professional Fellowships ACM Fellow, IEEE Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow Public Service Member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology since 2021 Career Overview of Bill Dally: Dally began his technical career at Bell Telephone Laboratories, contributing to the Bellmac 32 microprocessor, before completing doctoral research at Caltech. He then spent 11 years at MIT, where his research group developed parallel machines including the J-Machine and M-Machine. After joining Stanford in 1997, he became a professor and later chaired its computer science department. His corporate work included roles and collaborations with Cray Research, Avici Systems, Velio Communications, and Stream Processors. He joined NVIDIA as Chief Scientist in 2009 after initially consulting for the company in 2003.

Experience

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  Other

  NVIDIA

  Jan 2009 to Present

  Leads research in parallel computing, deep learning, and HPC architecture.

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  Founder, Other

  Stream Processors, Inc.

  Jan 2004 to Sept 2009

  Founder and Chairman

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  Other

  Stanford University

  Jul 1997 to Present

  Professor (Research)

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  Other

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  Jul 1986 to Jul 1997

  Professor

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  Other

  Nokia Bell Labs

  Jan 1980 to Dec 1982

  Member of Technical Staff

Awards

• Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering2025 - Jointly received the prize for engineering contributions alongside several leading computer scientists and engineers.
• Benjamin Franklin Medal2025 - Received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science.
• ACM/IEEE Eckert-Mauchly Award2010 - Recognized for contributions to the architecture of interconnection networks and parallel computers.
• National Academy of Engineering2009 - Elected for contributions to high-performance interconnect networks and parallel computer architectures.
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow2007 - Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• IEEE Computer Society Charles Babbage Award2006 - Received the award for contributions to computer architecture and computing.
• Seymour Cray Computer Science and Engineering Award2004 - Recognized for contributions to computer science and engineering.
• IEEE Fellow2002 - Elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
• ACM Fellow2002 - Elected a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery.
• Maurice Wilkes Award2000 - Received the ACM/SIGARCH Maurice Wilkes Award.

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