Year: 2000

Who: Kunle Olukotun​

Where: Mostly based in California

What: Dr. Oyekunle Ayinde "Kunle" Olukotun is a British-born Nigerian computer scientist renowned as the “father of the multi-core processor.” A pioneer in computer architecture, Olukotun has revolutionized computing through his work on multi-core CPUs, parallel programming environments, and scalable systems. He is currently the Cadence Design Systems Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University, where he directs the Stanford Pervasive Parallelism Lab.

Olukotun’s academic journey began at Calvin College in Michigan, followed by an MS (1987) and PhD (1991) in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan, where he studied under Trevor Mudge. His early research emphasized the potential of multi-core processors to outperform traditional superscalar designs, setting the stage for his groundbreaking contributions.

At Stanford, Olukotun led the Hydra chip multiprocessor (CMP) research project, which introduced multiprocessors with thread-level speculation. In 2000, he founded Afara Websystems, a company that developed high-throughput, low-power processors for servers. Afara’s technology was later acquired by Sun Microsystems, culminating in the UltraSPARC T1 processor, a design that powers Oracle’s SPARC-based servers and has generated billions in revenue.

In 2017, Olukotun co-founded SambaNova Systems, a cutting-edge company focused on next-generation computing platforms for machine learning and data analytics. His research continues to push boundaries in domain-specific programming languages, enabling algorithms to adapt seamlessly across diverse hardware platforms such as multi-core systems and GPUs.

With over 150 scientific papers, 12 U.S. patents, and fellowships in both the ACM and IEEE, Olukotun’s influence extends across academia and industry. His Yoruba heritage informs his work, with names like “Afara” (bridge) and “Ogun” (Yoruba god of iron) reflecting his cultural roots. Through his innovations, Olukotun has reshaped the landscape of computing, paving the way for a parallel and interconnected future.

Sources:

Websites:

• Sambanova, founded by alumnus Kunle Olukotun, emerges from stealth mode with AI-Accelerated HPC System. Computer Science and Engineering. (2020, December 17). https://cse.engin.umich.edu/stories/sambanova-founded-by-alumnus-kunle-olukotun-emerges-from-stealth-mode-with-ai-accelerated-hpc-system