Stanford Engineering Heroes

James H. Clark

James H. Clark is an entrepreneur and computer scientist who was a founder of Silicon Graphics, Netscape, Healtheon, myCFO and Shutterfly. From 1979 to1984, he was an associate professor of electrical engineering at Stanford, where he developed the Geometry Engine, an early hardware accelerator for rendering computer images based on geometric models. That technology was the basis for early products by Silicon Graphics, which revolutionized the design process for everything from bridges and airplanes to special effects for movies. In 1994, Clark joined Marc Andreessen (lead developer of Mosaic, one of the first web browsers) to form Netscape. Clark has a BS and MS in Physics from Louisiana State University and a PhD in computer science from the University of Utah, which also awarded him an honorary PhD in science in 1995. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.

Martin Hellman

Martin Hellman is best known as the inventor – with Whitfield Diffie and Ralph Merkle – of public key cryptography in 1976. Today, public key cryptography secures trillions of dollars of financial transactions daily, making it possible for us to bank, shop, book airline tickets – and perform countless other tasks on the Internet with peace of mind.

Dr.  Hellman has a deep interest in the ethics of technological development. He is a long-time activist in the computer privacy debate, and for more than 30 years he has campaigned to raise awareness about the urgent need to defuse the threat of nuclear weapons. Most recently, he began applying the engineering discipline known as risk analysis – the same method used to reduce the dangers associated with nuclear power plants and other complex systems – to demonstrate the continued risk of a nuclear catastrophe even at a time when most people think this danger is behind us. This approach and his campaign have won support from Nobel Laureates, military leaders, academics and government leaders.

Dr. Hellman earned both a master’s degree and doctorate in electrical engineering at Stanford. He was an assistant professor at MIT before joining the faculty here in 1971, serving as Associate Chair of the EE Department, Chairman of EE Graduate Admissions, and as Associate Dean of Graduate Studies for minority student affairs until he became Professor Emeritus in 1996.

His work in cryptography has been recognized by many awards, including the IEEE Hamming Medal, the ACM Kanellakis Award and the National Computer Systems Security Award. He is a Marconi International Fellow, an IEEE Fellow, a Fellow of the International Association for Cryptologic Research and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. In 2011, Hellman and his collaborators on encryption were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

He has authored over 75 technical papers holds 10 U.S. patents, along with a number of corresponding foreign patents. He was named a Stanford Engineering Hero in 2012.

• Read more about Dr. Hellman and his work or watch a short video about his invention of public key cryptography.
• Find more information about his work in cryptography and his efforts to defuse the nuclear threat here.

Dr. Hellman spoke about "The Wisdom of Foolishness" his after being inducted as a Hero on January 29, 2013.

William J. Perry

William J. Perry was secretary of defense of the United States from February 1994 to January 1997, deputy secretary of defense from 1993 to 1994 and under secretary of defense for research and engineering from 1977 to 1991. He is known internationally to the arms control community for his many contributions to international security. At Stanford, he is the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor (emeritus) in the Department of Management Science and Engineering, a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI) and Director of the Preventive Defense Project, and a former co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1997 and was named Knight Commander of the British Empire in 1998. Former Secretary Perry's many other honors include being elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has a BS and MS from Stanford and a PhD from Pennsylvania State University, all in mathematics.