Summer 2004
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Summer 2004 |
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Bernard "Bernie" Vonderschmitt, a noted Rose-Hulman alumnus, internationally known engineer and business executive, whose expertise helped create color television and major developments in the semiconductor industry, died June 9 in his hometown of Jasper, Ind. He was 80 years of age. Vonderschmitt is survived by his wife, Theresa; a brother Ralph, and sisters, Genevieve Schmidt and Dolores Lienenbach. Vonderschmitt earned a reputation as an innovative engineer and entrepreneur whose expertise led to major advancements in solidstate electronics and integrated circuits. He began his exceptional career as an electrical engineer with RCA and received promotions to the position of vice president and general manager of the RCA Solid State Division. He also held 13 patents for his design activities at RCA. At the age of 60, he co-founded Xilinx which has become the worldwide leader in Field Programmable Logic solutions. He helped develop technology that created a Xilinx chip that could be programmed by a customer after it was manufactured. Vonderschmitt and his fellow Xilinx founder, Ross Freeman, were pioneers of the fabless semiconductor business model and programmable logic technology. Xilinx, a publicly traded company based in San Jose, Calif., has achieved over $1 billion in annual sales. "Bernie and his wife, Theresa, were an inseparable team helping manage day-to-day and strategic business decisions at Xilinx," noted Erik Jansen, a Rose-Hulman trustee, alumnus and friend of the Vonderschmitts. "She would assemble real-time and critical information technology for Bernie's team as well as contribute international business acumen, always considered critical by Bernie in his planning processes," he stated. Vonderschmitt was admired for his strategic vision and humanistic, modest and gentlemanly leadership style. "Bernie was an advocate for the highest levels of integrity, diversity and international cooperation in business and education. He always gave any person with talent, capabilities, and commitment an opportunity," said Jansen, who considered Vonderschmitt to be an invaluable advisor and mentor. "Through the Vonderschmitts’ vision, Xilinx pioneered a manufacturing partnership with Japan-based Seiko, Inc. which continues to this day as a model relationship and backbone of the company's many successes," Jansen said. Vonderschmitt was the recipient of numerous honors from the electronics industry and from Rose-Hulman. Vonderschmitt received the prestigious David Sarnoff Outstanding Achievement Award in Engineering in Recognition of his work in integrated circuits and his contributions to the invention of color television. In 2002, nearly 1,600 electronics industry officials attended an awards dinner in Santa Clara, Calif. where he received the Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award for outstanding achievements and unique contributions to the fabless semiconductor industry. During the same awards program, Xilinx was named Most Respected Public Fabless Semiconductor Company. Rose-Hulman bestowed several honors upon Vonderschmitt for his long-time, loyal support to the college and for his outstanding career achievements in the semiconductor industry. Vonderschmitt graduated in 1944 with a degree in electrical engineering and was presented with the Heminway Medal designating him as the top student in the graduating class. In 1979, Vonderschmitt received an honorary doctor of engineering degree from Rose-Hulman. The Honor Alumnus Award was presented to him by the Rose-Hulman Alumni Association at Homecoming in 2002. The Vonderschmitt Dining Room in the Hulman Union is named in honor of him and Theresa. The Vonderschmitts have been generous in their efforts to help make a Rose-Hulman education available to talented students through their continued support of an endowed scholarship fund they established. He was volunteer co-chair of the successful Vision to be the Best Campaign, the largest fund-raising effort in Rose-Hulman history, and he served on the Commission on the Future of Rose-Hulman. In addition to his Rose-Hulman education, Vonderschmitt earned a master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and the MBA and honorary doctorate of laws from Rider University. At the time of his death, he was chairman emeritus and former chairman of the board of Xilinx.
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