14 DAY TRIAL // Charles P. Thacker joined Microsoft Research in 1997 and is one of the 18 Microsoft Technical Fellows. He has been interested in engineering ever since he was a little child. Later, he became fascinated by physics and computers.
Now his activities in this domain bring him the prestigious John von Neumann medal for outstanding achievements in computer-related science and technology. An honors ceremony in Philadelphia is the scene of this event. The recognition is awarded every year by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), one of the world leaders in the advancement of technology.
The IEEE President Leah H. Jamieson has stated with this occasion that "Mr. Thacker's influential work at Microsoft and in the computer industry -- as well as within the greater technology industry -- has resulted in fundamental breakthroughs and technology upgrades in personal and network computing, and has paved the road for so many of the innovations that affect the lives of people everyday"
Thacker said he is deeply honored, but in fact, the work that's being honored - namely the development of the first PC - was a team effort and not the result of only one person's work.
Nowadays, Thacker says he is somehow sorry that he didn't join Microsoft earlier, in 1983, when he first met Bill Gates, but at that time Charles was considering himself more of a "hardware guy", while Microsoft at that time was completely a software company. In 1997, Thacker joined Microsoft by helping in the establishment of a Microsoft Research lab, led by Roger Needham, in Cambridge, England. In 1999, Thacker joined a product group to develop prototypes of Microsoft's Tablet PC. Currently, Thacker is leading a group at the Silicon Valley lab that works on computer architecture research.
Charles "Chuck" Thacker, who is now 64 years old, also stated that he does not take retirement into consideration yet, as he still feels inspired by his work in computer architecture.