View source for Steve Furber

{{short description|English computer scientist (born 1953)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Steve Furber
| honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE|FRS|FREng|size=100%}}
| birth_name        = Stephen Byram Furber
| image             = Steve Furber.jpg
| image_size        = 200px
| alt               =
| caption           = Furber in 2009
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1953|03|21}}<ref name=whoswho>{{Who's Who | title=Furber, Prof. Stephen Byram | id = U43464 | year = 2015 | edition = online [[Oxford University Press]]|author=Anon|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.43464}}</ref>
| birth_place       = [[Manchester]], England<ref name="acm">{{cite web | url=http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1716385 | title=A Conversation with Steve Furber | publisher=[[Association for Computing Machinery]] | work=Queue | date=1 February 2010 | access-date=7 March 2012 | author=Brown, David}}</ref>
| death_date        = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) -->
| death_place       = 
| fields            = {{Plainlist|
* [[Artificial neural network|Neural Networks]]<ref name=googlescholar/>
* [[Network on a chip|Networks on Chip]]<ref name=googlescholar/>
* [[Microprocessor]]s<ref name="googlescholar"/>}}
| workplaces        = {{Plainlist|
* [[University of Manchester]]
* [[University of Cambridge]]
* [[Acorn Computers]]}}
| education         = [[Manchester Grammar School]]
| alma_mater        = [[University of Cambridge]] (BA, MMath, PhD)<ref name="whoswho"/><ref name=orcid/>
| thesis_title      = Is the Weis-Fogh principle exploitable in turbomachines?
| thesis_url        = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.456071
| thesis_year       = 1979
| doctoral_advisor  = [[John Ffowcs Williams]]<ref name=mathgene>{{MathGenealogy}}</ref><ref name=furberphd/>
| academic_advisors = 
| doctoral_students = Nigel Paver, Shiv Sikand, Craig Farnsworth, David Jackson
| notable_students  = [[Simon Segars]]<ref name="segarsmsc">{{cite thesis |degree=MSc|first=Simon Anthony|last=Segars |title=Low power microprocessor design|publisher=University of Manchester |date=1996|url=http://apt.cs.manchester.ac.uk/publications/thesis/segars96_msc.php|id={{copac| 36604476}}|oclc=643624237}}</ref>
| known_for         = {{Plainlist|
* [[Acorn Computers]]
* [[ARM architecture]]
* [[BBC Micro]]
* [[SpiNNaker]]<ref name="spin">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1109/JPROC.2014.2304638| title = The SpiNNaker Project| journal = Proceedings of the IEEE| pages = 652–665| year = 2014| last1 = Furber | first1 = S. B. | author-link1 = Steve Furber| last2 = Galluppi | first2 = F. | last3 = Temple | first3 = S. | last4 = Plana | first4 = L. A. | volume=102| issue = 5| s2cid = 25268038| doi-access = free}}</ref>
* [[Human Brain Project]]<ref name="hbj">{{YouTube|id=6RoiZ90mGfw|title="The Human Brain Project SP 9: Neuromorphic Computing Platform"}}</ref>
* ''[[ARM System–on–Chip Architecture]]''<ref name="armsoc">{{cite book |author=Furber, Stephen B. |title=ARM system-on-chip architecture |publisher=Addison-Wesley |location=Boston |year=2000 |isbn=0-201-67519-6 |edition=2|quote="The design of a general-purpose processor, in common with most engineering endeavours, requires careful consideration of many trade-offs and compromises"}}</ref>}}
| awards            = {{Plainlist|
* [[Charles Stark Draper Prize]] (2022)<ref name=draper/>
* [[Mullard Award]] (2016)
* [[DFBCS]] (2014)
* [[Lovelace Medal]] (2014)
* [[Pinkerton Lecture]] (2010)
* [[Millennium Technology Prize]] (2010)
* [[Faraday Medal]] (2007)
* [[Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award]] (2004)}}
| signature         = <!--(filename only)-->
| signature_alt     = 
| website           = {{URL|apt.cs.manchester.ac.uk/people/sfurber}}<br />{{URL|manchester.ac.uk/research/steve.furber}}
| footnotes         = 
| spouse            = {{marriage|Valerie Margaret Elliott|1977}}<ref name=whoswho/> 
}}

'''Stephen Byram Furber''' (born 21 March 1953)<ref name=whoswho/> is an English computer scientist, mathematician and hardware engineer, and [[Emeritus]] [[International Computers Limited|ICL]] [[Professor]] of [[Computer Engineering]] in the [[Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester|Department of Computer Science]] at the [[University of Manchester]], UK.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/researchers/steve-furber(f354bf8d-3bef-446a-a561-038382a2583a).html|title=Prof Steve Furber CBE FRS FREng FBCS FIET CITP CEng – The University of Manchester|website=research.manchester.ac.uk}}</ref> After completing his education at the [[University of Cambridge]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Master of Mathematics|MMath]], [[PhD]]), he spent the 1980s at [[Acorn Computers]], where he was a principal designer of the [[BBC Micro]] and the [[ARM architecture|ARM]] [[32-bit]] [[Reduced instruction set computer|RISC]] [[microprocessor]].<ref name="web">{{cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/voices-of-science/interviewees/steve-furber/audio/steve-furber-developing-arm-with-no-people-and-no-money |title=Steve Furber: developing ARM with no people and no money |last1=Lean |first1=Thomas |date=22 October 2012 |publisher=British Library |access-date=6 May 2014 |archive-date=10 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110002139/http://www.bl.uk/voices-of-science/interviewees/steve-furber/audio/steve-furber-developing-arm-with-no-people-and-no-money }}</ref> {{As of|2023}}, over 250 billion ARM chips have been manufactured, powering much of the world's [[mobile computing]] and [[embedded system]]s, everything from sensors to smartphones to servers.<ref name=250billion>{{cite web|website=arm.com|url=https://www.arm.com/|author=Anon|year=2023|title=Arm is Everywhere Technology Matters: 250+ Billion Chips in Everything from Sensors to Smartphones to Servers}}</ref><ref name=billion>{{cite web|url=https://community.arm.com/procesors/b/blog/posts/inside-the-numbers-100-billion-arm-based-chips-1345571105|title=Inside the numbers: 100 billion ARM-based chips|date=27 February 2017 }}</ref><ref name=segarsb>{{cite web|url=https://community.arm.com/iot/b/blog/posts/enabling-mass-iot-connectivity-as-arm-partners-ship-100-billion-chips|title=Enabling Mass IoT connectivity as Arm partners ship 100 billion chips|date=27 February 2017 }}</ref><ref name=orcid>Steve Furber's {{ORCID|0000-0002-6524-3367}}</ref>

In 1990, he moved to [[Manchester]] to lead research into [[asynchronous circuit]]s, [[low-power electronics]]<ref name="vlsi">{{cite book |author=Furber, Stephen B. |title=VLSI RISC architecture and organization |publisher=M. Dekker |location=New York |year=1989 |isbn=0-8247-8151-1 }}</ref> and [[neural engineering]], where the [[SpiNNaker|Spiking Neural Network Architecture (SpiNNaker)]] project is delivering a computer incorporating a million ARM processors optimised for [[computational neuroscience]].<ref name="googlescholar">{{Google scholar id}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1109/MAHC.2014.8| title = Steve Furber [Interviews]| journal = IEEE Annals of the History of Computing| volume = 36| pages = 58–68| year = 2014| last1 = Grier | first1 = D. A. | s2cid = 28152764}}</ref><ref name="fiftybillion">{{YouTube|id=aqVcfiwtl60|title= ARM and its Partners talk about reaching the 50 Billion chip milestone}}</ref><ref name="scopus">{{Scopus id}}</ref><ref name="blib">[http://sounds.bl.uk/related-content/TRANSCRIPTS/021T-C1379X0078XX-0000A0.pdf National Life Stories, Professor Steve Furber  Interviewed by Thomas Lean], British Library</ref>

==Education==
Furber was educated at [[Manchester Grammar School]]<ref name=whoswho/><ref name=cdyf>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdyf.me/steve|title=Steve Furber on Cambridge, Acorn and the University of Manchester|website=cdyf.me|year=2023|first=Duncan|last=Hull|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219171238/https://www.cdyf.me/steve|archive-date=2023-12-19|quote="Maths is the only sport I've played for my country"}}</ref> and represented the UK in the [[International Mathematical Olympiad]] in Hungary in 1970 winning a bronze medal.<ref>{{IMO results|id=11036}}</ref> He went on to study the [[Mathematical Tripos]] as an undergraduate student of [[St John's College, Cambridge]], receiving a [[Bachelor of Arts]] (BA) and [[Master of Mathematics]] (MMath – [[Part III of the Mathematical Tripos]]) degrees.<ref name=orcid/> In 1978, he was appointed a [[Rolls-Royce plc|Rolls-Royce]] [[research fellow]] in [[aerodynamics]] at [[Emmanuel College, Cambridge]] and was awarded a PhD in 1980 for research on the [[fluid dynamics]] of the [[Torkel Weis-Fogh|Weis-Fogh mechanism]]<ref name=furberphd>{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/265321|doi=10.17863/CAM.11472|title=Is the Weis-Fogh principle exploitable in turbomachines?|first= Stephen Byram|last=Furber|date=1980|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.456071}}|publisher=University of Cambridge|oclc=500446535}}</ref> supervised by [[John Ffowcs Williams]].<ref name="mathgene" /><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Furber | first1 = S. B. | author-link1 = Steve Furber| last2 = Williams | first2 = J. E. F. | author-link2 = John Ffowcs Williams| doi = 10.1017/S0022112079001166 | title = Is the Weis-Fogh principle exploitable in turbomachinery? | journal = Journal of Fluid Mechanics | volume = 94 | issue = 3 | page = 519 | year = 1979 | bibcode = 1979JFM....94..519F| s2cid = 222345512 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Fitzpatrick | first1 = J. | title = An interview with Steve Furber | doi = 10.1145/1941487.1941501 | journal = [[Communications of the ACM]]| volume = 54 | issue = 5 | pages = 34–39 | year = 2011 | s2cid = 9046599 }}</ref> During his PhD in the late 1970s, Furber worked on a voluntary basis for [[Hermann Hauser]] and [[Christopher Curry (businessman)|Chris Curry]] within the fledging [[Acorn Computers]] (originally the Cambridge Processor Unit), on a number of projects; notably a microprocessor based [[fruit machine]] controller, and the ''Proton'' – the initial prototype version of what was to become the [[BBC Micro]], in support of Acorn's tender for the [[BBC Computer Literacy Project]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://speleotrove.com/acorn/acornFurber.html|title= Acorn recollections: Steve Furber recalls...|website=speleotrove.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7660928.stm|publisher=[[BBC News]]|title=The Tech Lab: Steve Furber|date=9 October 2008 }}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20130414075134/http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.15671 Lecture by Furber on the Future of Computer Technology]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/5438/Steve-Furber-Interview-17-08-2009/|title= Steve Furber Video Interview|author=Anon|year=2009|website=computinghistory.org.uk}}</ref><ref name=acronworld>{{cite web|url=http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/5633/Steve-Furber-Talk-Acorn-World-13-09-2009/|title=Steve Furber Talk @ Acorn World|year=2009|website=computinghistory.org.uk}}</ref>

==Career and research==
In 1981, following the completion of his PhD and the award of the BBC contract to Acorn computers, Furber joined Acorn where he was a Hardware Designer and then Design Manager. He was involved in the final design and production of the [[BBC Micro]] and later, the [[Acorn Electron]], and the [[ARM architecture|ARM microprocessor]]. In August 1990 he moved to the [[University of Manchester]] to become the [[International Computers Limited]] (ICL) Professor of Computer Engineering and established the [[AMULET microprocessor]] research group.

Furber's main research interests are in [[Artificial neural network|neural networks]], [[Network on a chip|networks on chip]] and [[microprocessor]]s.<ref name="googlescholar"/> In 2003, Furber was a member of the [[Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council|EPSRC]] research cluster in biologically inspired<ref>{{Cite conference | last1 = Furber | first1 = S. | author-link = Steve Furber| chapter = Living with Failure: Lessons from Nature? | doi = 10.1109/ETS.2006.28 | title = Eleventh IEEE European Test Symposium (ETS'06) | pages = 4–0 | year = 2006 | isbn = 0-7695-2566-0 }}</ref> novel computation. On 16 September 2004, he gave a speech on ''Hardware Implementations of Large-scale Neural Networks'' as part of the initiation activities of the [[Alan Turing Institute]]{{Citation needed|reason=AT Institute was created in 2015 |date=October 2019}}.

Furber's most recent project [[SpiNNaker]],<ref name="spin" /><ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/5187596.stm BBC News&nbsp;– Scientists to build 'brain box'] 17 July 2006</ref><ref name="buildingbrains">{{YouTube|id=xw8OH3VlYtg|title=Professor Steve Furber: Building brains}}</ref><ref name="spinvid">{{YouTube|id=3j_mwobYEDQ|title=Professor Steve Furber Introduces SpiNNaker}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| last1 = Xin Jin| last2 = Furber | first2 = S. B.| author-link2 = Steve Furber| last3 = Woods | first3 = J. V.| doi = 10.1109/IJCNN.2008.4634194| chapter = Efficient modelling of spiking neural networks on a scalable chip multiprocessor| title = 2008 IEEE International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence)| pages = 2812–2819| year = 2008| isbn = 978-1-4244-1820-6| s2cid = 2103654 }}</ref><ref name="theiet 18-core">{{cite news | url=http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2011/feb/spinnaker-gen2-SoC.cfm | title=SpiNNaker set to receive new 18-core SoC to help reverse engineer the human brain. | work=Engineering and Technology Magazine | publisher=[[Institution of Engineering and Technology]] | date=15 March 2011 | access-date=7 March 2012 | author=Dempsey, Paul | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221174940/http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2011/feb/spinnaker-gen2-SoC.cfm | archive-date=21 February 2014 }}</ref> is an attempt to build a new kind of computer that directly mimics the workings of the human brain. Spinnaker is an [[artificial neural network]] realised in hardware, a [[Massive parallel processing|massively parallel processing]] system eventually designed to incorporate a million ARM processors.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2011/07/08/51421/one-million-arm-cores-to-simulate-brain-at-manchester.htm | title = One million ARM cores to simulate brain at Manchester | access-date = 11 July 2011 | last = Bush | first = Steve | date = 8 July 2011 | publisher = [[Electronics Weekly]] | quote = UK scientists aim to model 1 per cent of a human brain with up to one million ARM cores.&nbsp;... ARM was approached in May 2005 to participate in SpiNNaker&nbsp;... agreement extends to Manchester making enough chips for a computer with a million cores.}}</ref><ref name="techgineering million">{{cite web | url=http://www.techgineering.org/2011/07/08/496/acorns-steve-furber-looks-to-arm-supercomputers-a-million-node-supercomputer/ | title=Acorn's Steve Furber looks to ARM supercomputers: A million node supercomputer | publisher=techgineering.org | work=Techgineering | date=8 July 2011 | access-date=7 March 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014185716/http://www.techgineering.org/2011/07/08/496/acorns-steve-furber-looks-to-arm-supercomputers-a-million-node-supercomputer/ | archive-date=14 October 2011 }}</ref> The finished Spinnaker will model 1 per cent of the human brain's capability, or around 1 billion neurons.  The Spinnaker project<ref name="spinnaker"/> aims amongst other things to investigate:

* How can massively parallel computing resources accelerate our understanding of brain function?
* How can our growing understanding of brain function point the way to more efficient parallel, fault-tolerant computation?

Furber believes that "significant progress in ''either'' direction will represent a major scientific breakthrough".<ref name="spinnaker">{{Cite book | last1 = Furber | first1 = S. | title = Reconfigurable Computing: Architectures, Tools and Applications | chapter = Biologically-Inspired Massively-Parallel Architectures: A Reconfigurable Neural Modelling Platform | series = Lecture Notes in Computer Science | author-link = Steve Furber | doi = 10.1007/978-3-642-19475-7_2 | volume = 6578 | page = 2 | year = 2011 | chapter-url = ftp://ftp.cs.man.ac.uk/pub/amulet/papers/SBF_ACSD09.pdf | archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20130107233252/ftp://ftp.cs.man.ac.uk/pub/amulet/papers/SBF_ACSD09.pdf | archive-date = 7 January 2013 | isbn = 978-3-642-19474-0 }}</ref> Furber's research interests include [[asynchronous system]]s, ultra-low-power processors for [[sensor networks]], on-chip interconnect and [[globally asynchronous locally synchronous]] (GALS),<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Plana | first1 = L. A. | last2 = Furber | first2 = S. B. | author-link2 = Steve Furber| last3 = Temple | first3 = S. | last4 = Khan | first4 = M. | last5 = Shi | first5 = Y. | last6 = Wu | first6 = J. | last7 = Yang | first7 = S. | doi = 10.1109/MDT.2007.149 | title = A GALS Infrastructure for a Massively Parallel Multiprocessor | journal = IEEE Design & Test of Computers | volume = 24 | issue = 5 | page = 454 | year = 2007 | bibcode = 2007IDTC...24..454P | s2cid = 16758888 }}</ref> and [[neural system]]s engineering.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Temple | first1 = S. | last2 = Furber | first2 = S. | author-link2 = Steve Furber| doi = 10.1098/rsif.2006.0177 | title = Neural systems engineering | journal = Journal of the Royal Society Interface | volume = 4 | issue = 13 | pages = 193–206 | year = 2007 | pmid =  17251143| pmc = 2359843}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | pmid = 24910593
| year = 2014
| last1 = Sharp
| first1 = T
| title = Real-time million-synapse simulation of rat barrel cortex
| journal = Frontiers in Neuroscience
| volume = 8
| page = 131
| last2 = Petersen
| first2 = R
| last3 = Furber
| first3 = S
| doi = 10.3389/fnins.2014.00131
 | pmc=4038760
| doi-access = free
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | pmid = 24904294
| year = 2014
| last1 = Bhattacharya
| first1 = B. S.
| title = Engineering a thalamo-cortico-thalamic circuit on SpiNNaker: A preliminary study toward modeling sleep and wakefulness
| journal = Frontiers in Neural Circuits
| volume = 8
| page = 46
| last2 = Patterson
| first2 = C
| last3 = Galluppi
| first3 = F
| last4 = Durrant
| first4 = S. J.
| last5 = Furber
| first5 = S
| doi = 10.3389/fncir.2014.00046
| pmc = 4033042
| doi-access = free
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | pmid = 24567480
| year = 2014
| last1 = Cumming
| first1 = D. R.
| title = Beyond Moore's law
| journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
| volume = 372
| issue = 2012
| article-number = 20130376
| last2 = Furber
| first2 = S. B.
| last3 = Paul
| first3 = D. J.
| doi = 10.1098/rsta.2013.0376
| pmc = 3928907
|bibcode = 2014RSPTA.37230376C }}</ref>

His research has been funded by the [[Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council]] (EPSRC),<ref name="epsrc">http://gow.epsrc.ac.uk/NGBOViewPerson.aspx?PersonId=5628 Grants awarded to Steve Furber by the [[Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council]]</ref> [[Royal Society]]<ref name=frs/> and the [[European Research Council]] (ERC).<ref name=orcid/>

===Awards and honours===
In February 1997, Furber was elected a Fellow of the [[British Computer Society]]. In 1998, he became a member of the European Working Group on Asynchronous Circuit Design (ACiD-WG). He was elected a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 2002|Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2002]]<ref name=frs>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117113506/https://royalsociety.org/people/stephen-furber-11472/|archive-date=2015-11-17|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/stephen-furber-11472/|author=Anon|year=2002|publisher=[[Royal Society]]|location=London|title=Professor Stephen Furber CBE FREng FRS|website=royalsociety.org}} One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: {{blockquote|"All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under [[Creative Commons license|Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]]." --{{cite web |url=https://royalsociety.org/about-us/terms-conditions-policies/ |title=Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies |access-date=2016-03-09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111170346/https://royalsociety.org/about-us/terms-conditions-policies/ |archive-date=11 November 2016 }}}}</ref> and was Specialist Adviser to the [[House of Lords]] Science and Technology [[Select committee (United Kingdom)|Select Committee]] inquiry into microprocessor technology.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

Furber was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering]] (FREng),<ref name="whoswho"/> the [[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers]] (IEEE) in 2005{{citation needed|date=March 2018}} and a [[Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology]] (FIET).{{when|date=March 2018}} He is a [[Chartered Engineer (UK)|Chartered Engineer]] (CEng).{{when|date=March 2018}} In September 2007 he was awarded the [[Faraday Medal]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Stephen Furber |url=https://royalsociety.org/people/stephen-furber-11472/ |website=royalsociety.org |access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> and in 2010 he gave the [[Pinkerton Lecture]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pinkerton Lecture:The relentless march of the microchip |url=https://tv.theiet.org/technology/infopro/9982.cfm |website=Tv.thiet.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828100841/https://tv.theiet.org/technology/infopro/9982.cfm |archive-date=28 August 2011 }}</ref>

Furber was appointed [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[New Year Honours 2008|2008 New Year Honours]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7162935.stm|title=Home computing pioneer honoured|date=29 December 2007|publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>[http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39291825,00.htm BBC Micro designer gets New Year's Honour] ZDNet 2 January 2008</ref> and was elected as one of the three laureates of [[Millennium Technology Prize]] in 2010 (with [[Richard Friend]] and [[Michael Grätzel]]), for development of ARM processor.<ref>{{cite web | title=Professor Stephen Furber: Creator of the ARM microprocessor | publisher = Millennium Prize | date= 9 June 2010  | url=http://www.millenniumprize.fi/en/2010-prize/2010-10/professor-stephen-furber/ | access-date=10 June 2010 }}</ref> In 2012, Furber was made a Fellow of the [[Computer History Museum]] "for his work, with [[Sophie Wilson]], on the BBC Micro computer and the ARM processor architecture."<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/Steve,Furber/
 |title       = Steve Furber
 |publisher   = Computer History Museum
 |access-date  = 23 May 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130509235846/http://www.computerhistory.org/fellowawards/hall/bios/Steve,Furber/
 |archive-date = 9 May 2013
}}</ref><ref name="electronicsweekly honoured">{{cite news
 | url=http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/20/01/2012/52772/four-arm-cores-for-every-person-on-earth-furber-wilson-honoured.htm
 | title=Four ARM cores for every person on earth – Furber, Wilson honoured
 | author=Williams, Alun
 | work=[[Electronics Weekly]]
 | date=20 January 2012
 | access-date=7 March 2012
}}</ref>

In 2004 he was awarded a [[Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award]].<ref name=frs/> In 2014, he was made a [[DFBCS|Distinguished Fellow at the British Computer Society (DFBCS)]] recognising his contribution to the IT profession and industry.<ref name="DFBCS">{{cite web | url=http://www.cs.manchester.ac.uk/people/news/full-article/?articleid=726 | title=Professor Steve Furber – BCS Distinguished Fellow| first=Sarah|last= Chatwin|year=2014| publisher=University of Manchester|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314195309/http://www.cs.manchester.ac.uk/people/news/full-article/?articleid=726|archive-date=2014-03-14
}}</ref> Furber's nomination for the [[Royal Society]] reads: {{centred pull quote|Professor Furber is distinguished for his fundamental contributions to the design and analysis of electronic systems, especially microprocessors. He was the original designer of the hardware architecture of the ARM processor, the world's leading [[Embedded system|embedded processor]] core and a major engineering and commercial success for the United Kingdom. Having moved to Manchester University, he established a research team to investigate [[Asynchronous circuit|asynchronous processor design]], which rapidly made fundamental contributions to the field. He has shown how to combine academic design theories with practical engineering constraints to achieve a remarkable and elegant synthesis. His work demonstrates in particular how to design microprocessors with low power and low radio frequency emissions, necessary for future wireless applications. Furber has designed a series of highly original asynchronous processors to execute the [[ARM architecture|ARM]] [[instruction set]]. These have been fabricated and subjected to extensive experimental analysis. Furber's group is the world's leading centre of research in both fundamental theory and engineering implementation of such devices.<ref name="royal">{{cite web |url=http://royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%27EC%2F2002%2F10%27) |title=Library and Archive Catalogue EC/2002/10: Furber, Stephen Byram |publisher=The Royal Society |archive-date=17 March 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140317142331/http://royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo=='EC/2002/10') |location=London }}</ref>}}

In 2009, [[Unsworth Academy]] (formerly called Castlebrook High School) in Manchester introduced a house system, with ''Furber'' being one of the four houses.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Businessmen support school's new house system|url=https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/4118100.businessmen-support-schools-new-house-system/|access-date=2021-09-19|website=burytimes.co.uk|date=16 February 2009}}</ref> On 15 October 2010, Furber officially opened the Independent Learning Zone in Unsworth Academy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Castlebrook unveils its new Independent Learning Zone|url=https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/8736718.castlebrook-unveils-its-new-independent-learning-zone/|access-date=2021-09-19|website=burytimes.co.uk|date=14 December 2010}}</ref> In 2012, a building at [[Radbroke Hall]] was named in his honour by [[Barclays Bank]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.knutsfordguardian.co.uk/news/10015916.professor-opens-restaurant-named-in-his-honour/|website=knutsfordguardian.co.uk|title=Professor opens restaurant named in his honour|date=4 November 2012 }}</ref>

In 2022, he was awarded the [[Charles Stark Draper Prize]] by the [[National Academy of Engineering]] of the United States of America alongside [[John L. Hennessy]], [[David Patterson (computer scientist)|David A. Patterson]] and [[Sophie Wilson|Sophie M. Wilson]] for contributions to the invention, development, and implementation of [[reduced instruction set computer]] (RISC) chips.<ref name=risc>{{cite web|url=https://www.nae.edu/55291/DraperWinners|website=nae.edu|title=Recipients of the Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302052500/https://www.nae.edu/55291/DraperWinners|archive-date=2022-03-02|publisher=[[National Academy of Engineering]]}}</ref><ref name=draper>{{cite web|url=https://www.nae.edu/20681/DraperPrize|website=nae.edu|title=Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering|author=Anon|year=2022}}</ref> Furber was played by actor Sam Philips in the [[BBC Four]] documentary drama [[Micro Men]],<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q4044199|title=Micro Men (TV 2009)}}</ref> first aired on 8 October 2009.

The Furber Chair in Computer Systems Engineering at the University of Manchester is named in his honour. {{As of|2025}} this is held by [[André van Schaik]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://staffnet.cs.manchester.ac.uk/newsletters/viewer.php?articleid=30415|website=manchester.ac.uk|title=Appointment of André van Schaik to The Furber Chair in Computer Systems Engineering}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Steve Furber playing electric bass guitar 2012.jpg|thumb|right|Furber playing bass guitar]]
Furber is married to Valerie Elliot with two daughters, 3 grandchildren<ref name="whoswho"/> and plays [[bass guitar]].<ref name=cdyf/>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{CC-notice|cc=by4|url= https://royalsociety.org/people/stephen-furber-11472/}}

{{Authority control}}
{{BBC Computer Literacy Project}}
{{FRS 2002}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-aca}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Brian Warboys]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Head of the [[Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester]] | years=2001–2004}}
{{s-aft | after = Chris Taylor}}
{{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furber, Stephen Byram}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Acorn Computers]]
[[Category:Arm Holdings people]]
[[Category:English electrical engineers]]
[[Category:British computer scientists]]
[[Category:Computer designers]]
[[Category:People associated with the Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the British Computer Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:Fellows of the IEEE]]
[[Category:Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of Manchester]]
[[Category:History of computing in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Scientists from Manchester]]
[[Category:People educated at Manchester Grammar School]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Institution of Engineering and Technology]]
[[Category:International Mathematical Olympiad participants]]