Miller, William F. (Drummer)

Biographical/Historical note

William F. Miller received is BS (1949), MS (1951), PhD (1956) and Honorary DSc (1972) from Purdue University. He was the last faculty member recruited to Stanford University by the legendary Frederick Terman, who was then Vice President and Provost of Stanford. Miller himself later became Vice President and Provost of Stanford. He conducted research and directed many graduate students in Computer Science. As President and CEO of SRI International (1979-1990) Miller opened SRI to the Pacific Region; he established the spin-out and commercialization program at SRI and established the David Sarnoff Research Center (now the Sarnoff Corporation) as a for-profit subsidiary of SRI, and he became the Chairman and CEO of SRI. In 1982 Miller was appointed to the National Science Board. He has served on the board of directors of several major companies such as Signetics, Firemans Fund Insurance, First Interstate Bank (and later) Wells Fargo Bank, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Varian Associates, WhoWhere? Inc. (Chairman), and Borland Software Corp. (Chairman). He co-founded SmartValley, Inc. and aided the formation of CommerceNet and serves on the board of directors. Dr. Miller was a founding director of the Center for Excellence in Non-profits. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Sentius Corporation and is a Founder and Chairman of Nanostellar, Inc. Dr. Miller is a Life Member of the National Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Life Fellow of IEEE, and Member of the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame.

From the guide to the William F. Miller Papers, 1957-1980, (Department of Special Collections and University Archives)