Time to Celebrate the Latest IT Hall of Fame Induction – Jacob “Jack” Goldman

This is the second of a two-part article commemorating the latest members of the IT Hall of Fame, who will be inducted April 11^th at the CompTIA Annual Member Meeting in Chicago. The first honorees were the solution providers who helped found Ingram Micro’s Venture Tech Network (VTN), represented by Jane Cage, Steve Harper and Ted Warner. Today, we celebrate the work of the late Jacob “Jack” Goldman, a scientist with the vision to start one of the world’s most innovative research facilities.    

Those who never heard of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) likely know the names of the scientists and entrepreneurs who toiled to create some of the world’s most innovative technologies. Recognized as one of the top research facilities in the IT industry, it almost never happened. If not for the persistence of Xerox’s chief scientist, Jacob “Jack” Goldman, the extraordinary concept would never have received board approval, let alone succeed to the level it has.



After all, building a second research facility thousands of miles away from the company’s headquarters was a risky venture in the early 1970s. Situated on land leased from Stanford University, the West Coast location offered access to a thriving tech community and the associated talent pool, including scientists from existing research programs. But the remote office concept wasn’t popular in those days and Goldman had to sell his research vision (and all the benefits it could provide to Xerox) to many board members. In the end, he won them over and was given the green light.

After hiring noted physicist Dr. George Pake and selecting the site, the duo created a facility that has become as renowned for the people who walked its halls as for the phenomenal discoveries they made—not to mention the inventions they created.

Goldman would be first to admit that the success of PARC was a total team effort, but his leadership skills and insight were invaluable to its success. In addition to recruiting the most promising talent, he created an environment where they could work their magic and gave them the tools needed to develop some amazing innovations.

Goldman’s efforts in founding the Xerox PARC led to some of the IT industry’s most significant innovations, including:

• The Alto Computer—the precursor to the modern personal computer,


• GUI (graphical user interface)—the facility’s researchers advanced the design, creating the industry standard that’s still used today,


• Laser printing—Gary Starkweather designed the first system while at PARC,


• The Ethernet (ARPNET)—Bob Metcalfe perfected the concept as a researcher here and later founded 3Com to advance and market the technology,


• WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get )—text editing was fashioned by PARC researchers,


• InterPress—page description language, the basis for products such as Adobe’s Interpress, was written at the Palo Alto facility, and


• Bitmap graphics—the foundation for digital images and GUI, it was used in many PARC projects over the years.

The list of PARC alumni is just as impressive, and its employees were instrumental in founding a series of industry leading organizations. Founders of Adobe Systems, 3Com, Aladdin Enterprises, SynOptics Communications and Electronic Arts have attributed their success to the research and time they spent in Palo Alto. Several industry associations and research facilities also trace their roots to the people and work conducted at the facility.

Goldman joins several other PARC alumni as members of IT Hall of Fame, including John Seely Brown, Charles Geschke, John Warnock, Gary Starkweather, Robert (Bob) Metcalfe and Dr. Alan Kay. All would agree that his inclusion was long overdue, and his death in December of 2011 brought that oversight to light.

His family is expected to be in attendance at the IT Hall of Fame induction at AMM. This special luncheon ceremony is open to all conference attendees.