Lynn Conway was a microchip design pioneer and transgender activist who helped shape how modern semiconductors are made, literally writing the book on the topic.
· Died: June 9, 2024 (Who else died on June 9?)
· Details of death: Died in Jackson, Michigan of a heart condition at the age of 86.
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Lynn Conway’s legacy
Lynn Conway’s interest in technology began at a young age and never waned throughout her life. Educated first at MIT, then later at Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, she was recruited by IBM in 1964 and placed on a team tasked with developing supercomputers. Four years later, when she began to pursue gender transition from male to female, IBM fired her for it. The company apologized more than 50 years later in 2020.
Despite the setback, Conway continued her career post-transition, going on to work at Xerox’s famed Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). She helped write “Introduction to VLSI Systems,” one of the most important books on the topic of microchip design, and helped craft the approach to semiconductor configuration that is the backbone of modern smartphones, computers and other devices.
After maintaining secrecy about her gender transition for many years, in the early 2000s, Conway began to come out publicly, leading to profiles in Scientific American, Forbes, the Los Angeles Times and other outlets in which she discussed the obstacles she faced. This led to Conway becoming a transgender activist, especially with regard to the tech field. She has been honored by Time magazine for her work and was recognized by the Trans Activism Oral History Project.
For her contributions to technology, Conway has been paid tribute by the National Academy of Engineering, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, the Electronic Design Hall of Fame and a host of others.
Notable quote
“What I’m interested in … isn’t so much who I am, but what I actually did. The joy I felt – the joy of discovery. The daring to push send on something that I knew was going to change the world. Those were the moments that mattered to me.” —interview with The Independent, 2023
Tributes to Lynn Conway
Full obituary: Los Angeles Times
