Name: Donald Rose ’64
Major: Physics
Profession: Retired computer engineer and executive
Home: Palo Alto, CA

From a childhood on a dairy farm near a small Adirondack village, Don Rose changed the world as a leader in the development and application of the silicon chip.

After graduating from St. Lawrence, he earned his doctorate at Stanford University in 1971; his thesis concerned microchip superconductivity. This “cutting edge” topic propelled him into a career that dealt successively with the development and manufacture of magnetic and superconducting devices; magnetic bubble technology, significant in the evolution of computer memory capacity; silicon-based chips, fundamental to the operation of today’s microprocessors; and management of Intel’s implementation of consistent practices and procedures across its numerous facilities, the success of which company officials have credited with turning the corporation into the multi-billion dollar giant that it is today. He holds six patents and is credited with over 75 publications and presentations to technology, management, industry and government forums.

Now retired, Don has established four University fellowships so that science and mathematics students from his native North Country will have the opportunities of discovery that he had. In spring 2004, he volunteered as a visiting professor at St. Lawrence, teaching mathematics and physics.

He was awarded an Alumni Citation during Reunion 2004, and was elected to the Board of Trustees effective July 1, 2004 .