Computer History Museum

Yeager, Bill oral history

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">This oral history with Bill Yeager traces a career that helped shape the internet&rsquo;s foundations. After formative experiences in mathematics, seafaring, and software engineering, in 1975 Yeager was hired by Stanford University as a researcher in the medical school, Knowledge Systems Laboratory, and Computer Science Department. There he played a pivotal role in the development of the Stanford Router</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">- a cornerstone in the evolution of computer networking.&nbsp;</span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="xp1"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Designed by Yeager and colleagues in the early 1980s, this router became the architectural model for many early commercial internet routers, including those produced by Cisco. Yeager&rsquo;s account blends technical insight with personal stories of mentorship, rigorous academic training, and a lifelong passion for mathematics. The interview also touches on his work with the classic Burroughs B5000 mainframe computer, real-time data systems at NASA, and teaching roles at Gavilan College and Cal Western. This interview shows Yeager to be both an engineering pioneer and a dedicated educator, with a gift for translating complexity into clarity.</span></p>

Item Details

Date
03-06-2025 (Made)
Type
Document
Catalogue number
300000010
Organization
Computer History Museum (Publisher)
People
Dag Spicer (Interviewer)
William Yeager (Interviewee)
Category
Transcript
Format
PDF
Credit line
Computer History Museum
Place of publication
North America/USA/CA/Mountain View
Language
English
Acquisition number
2025.0034
Subject
NASA, Motorola 68000 (Microprocessor)
Archive collection
CHM Oral History Collection
Archive hierarchy
Oral History collection