Hermann Hauser
Encyclopedia
Hermann Maria Hauser, CBE
FREng
FinstP CPhys (born October 23, 1948), is an entrepreneur
who was born in Vienna
, Austria but is primarily associated with Silicon Fen
in England.
When he was 15 he came to the United Kingdom to learn English at a language school in Cambridge
. After his first degree in Physics
from Vienna University, he returned to Cambridge
to do a PhD
in Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory
.
He is probably most well-known for his part in setting up Acorn
with Chris Curry
in 1978 (portrayed in the BBC drama Micro Men
), and was voted the UK's 'Computer Personality of the Year' of 1984. When Olivetti
took control of Acorn
in 1985., he became vice-president for research at Olivetti
where he was in charge of laboratories in the U.S. and Europe. In 1986, Hauser co-founded the Olivetti Research Laboratory
(ORL) in Cambridge along with Professor Andy Hopper
. Hopper became the laboratory's Director.
acquired Active Book and incorporated it into EO
in July 1991. Hauser became Chief Technical Officer and Chairman of EO Europe. EO folded on Friday, 29 July 1994.
In 1990, Hauser was involved in spinning out Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) from Acorn.
In 1993, Hauser set up Advanced Telecommunication Modules Ltd
with Andy Hopper. The company was acquired by Conexant Systems on 1 March 2004. He founded NetChannel Ltd in June 1996 as a holding company in order to begin work on marketing the NetStation. NetChannel was sold to AOL in 1998.
In 1997 he co-founded Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd, a venture capital company, and in 1998 he co-founded Cambridge Network Ltd
with David Cleevely
, Alec Broers.
In 1998, Hauser was elected into an Honorary Fellowship of Hughes Hall, Cambridge
, and he was also elected into an Honorary Fellowship of King's College
with effect from 1 January 2000. In the same year he was awarded the Mountbatten Medal
.
In 2000, Plastic Logic
was founded, with Hauser as chairman.
Hauser was awarded an Honorary CBE for "innovative service to the UK enterprise sector" in 2001.
On 14 June 2001, the Hauser-Raspe Foundation was registered as a charity by Dr Hermann Hauser and Dr Pamela Raspe to advance education.
On 8 July 2002, Hauser was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Physics
and as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
.
In August 2004, Amadeus Capital Partners led the Series B venture capital financing of Solexa, Ltd and Hermann Hauser joined its Board of Directors. Solexa developed a next-generation DNA sequencing technology which became the market leader. Solexa was sold to Illumina, Inc (ILMN) of San Diego in January 2007 for over $600M. In 2009, Dr. Hauser was announced as the first customer of the Illumina Personal Genome Sequencing service.
In 2005, Hauser received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a venture capitalist and entrepreneur. The award was presented at the annual European Electronics Industry Awards in London.
As of 2009, Dr. Hauser is the head of the East Anglia Stem Cell research network.
Dr Hauser is a Non-Executive Director
of Cambridge Display Technology Ltd, a Non-Executive Director of XMOS
Ltd and a Member of the Board of Red-M (Communications) Ltd. He holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Bath
and Loughborough
and from Anglia Polytechnic University. He is a member of the Advisory Board on the Higher Education Innovation Fund, and of the UK's Council for Science and Technology.
In 2010, Eureka
, in its "100 most important scientists", placed Hauser at 51.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
FREng
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
FinstP CPhys (born October 23, 1948), is an entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who was born in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria but is primarily associated with Silicon Fen
Silicon Fen
Silicon Fen is the name given to the region around Cambridge, England, which is home to a large cluster of high-tech businesses focusing on software, electronics, and biotechnology...
in England.
When he was 15 he came to the United Kingdom to learn English at a language school in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. After his first degree in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from Vienna University, he returned to Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
to do a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory
Cavendish Laboratory
The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the university's School of Physical Sciences. It was opened in 1874 as a teaching laboratory....
.
He is probably most well-known for his part in setting up Acorn
Acorn Computers
Acorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the UK. These included the Acorn Electron, the BBC Micro, and the Acorn Archimedes...
with Chris Curry
Chris Curry
Christopher Curry is the co-founder of Acorn Computers, with Hermann Hauser and Andy Hopper.-Early life:...
in 1978 (portrayed in the BBC drama Micro Men
Micro Men
Micro Men is a one-off BBC drama television show set in the late 1970s and 1980s, about the rise of the British home computer market, particularly the rivalry between Sir Clive Sinclair who developed the ZX Spectrum, and Chris Curry - the man behind the BBC Micro; played by Alexander Armstrong and...
), and was voted the UK's 'Computer Personality of the Year' of 1984. When Olivetti
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines.- Founding :The company was founded as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908 in Ivrea, near Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. The firm was mainly developed by his son Adriano Olivetti...
took control of Acorn
Acorn Computers
Acorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the UK. These included the Acorn Electron, the BBC Micro, and the Acorn Archimedes...
in 1985., he became vice-president for research at Olivetti
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, printers and other business machines.- Founding :The company was founded as a typewriter manufacturer in 1908 in Ivrea, near Turin, by Camillo Olivetti. The firm was mainly developed by his son Adriano Olivetti...
where he was in charge of laboratories in the U.S. and Europe. In 1986, Hauser co-founded the Olivetti Research Laboratory
Olivetti Research Laboratory
The Olivetti Research Laboratory was a research institute in the field of computing and telecommunications founded in 1986 by Hermann Hauser and Andy Hopper.-History:...
(ORL) in Cambridge along with Professor Andy Hopper
Andy Hopper
Andrew Hopper CBE FRS FREng FIET is the Professor of Computer Technology and Head of the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory and an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge.-Research:...
. Hopper became the laboratory's Director.
Career
In 1988, Hauser left Olivetti to start the Active Book Company, investing one million pounds of his own money. Not wanting to repeat the mistakes made by Acorn, which had kept its technology to itself, he demonstrated the Active Book to as many large companies as he could. AT&TAT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
acquired Active Book and incorporated it into EO
EO Personal Communicator
The EO was an early commercial tablet computer created by GO/Eo and released in April 1993. Eo was the hardware spin-out of GO. Officially named the AT&T EO Personal Communicator, it was similar to a large personal digital assistant with wireless communications, and competed against the Apple...
in July 1991. Hauser became Chief Technical Officer and Chairman of EO Europe. EO folded on Friday, 29 July 1994.
In 1990, Hauser was involved in spinning out Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) from Acorn.
In 1993, Hauser set up Advanced Telecommunication Modules Ltd
Advanced Telecommunication Modules Ltd
Advanced Telecommunication Modules Ltd was set up in 1993 by Dr Hermann Hauser and Professor Andy Hopper as a spin-off from the Olivetti Research Laboratory in Cambridge....
with Andy Hopper. The company was acquired by Conexant Systems on 1 March 2004. He founded NetChannel Ltd in June 1996 as a holding company in order to begin work on marketing the NetStation. NetChannel was sold to AOL in 1998.
In 1997 he co-founded Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd, a venture capital company, and in 1998 he co-founded Cambridge Network Ltd
Cambridge Network
The Cambridge Network is a commercial business networking organisation for business people and academics working in technology fields in the Cambridge area of the UK...
with David Cleevely
David Cleevely
David Cleevely is an entrepreneur and international telecoms expert who has built and advised many companies, principally in Cambridge, UK.- Telecommunications :...
, Alec Broers.
In 1998, Hauser was elected into an Honorary Fellowship of Hughes Hall, Cambridge
Hughes Hall, Cambridge
Hughes Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It is often informally called Hughes, and is the oldest of the four Cambridge colleges which admit only mature students...
, and he was also elected into an Honorary Fellowship of King's College
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
with effect from 1 January 2000. In the same year he was awarded the Mountbatten Medal
Mountbatten Medal
The Mountbatten Medal is awarded annually for an outstanding contribution, or contributions over a period, to the promotion of electronics or information technology and their application....
.
In 2000, Plastic Logic
Plastic Logic
Plastic Logic is a spin-off company from Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory and specializes in polymer transistors and electronics.The firm was founded in 2000....
was founded, with Hauser as chairman.
Hauser was awarded an Honorary CBE for "innovative service to the UK enterprise sector" in 2001.
On 14 June 2001, the Hauser-Raspe Foundation was registered as a charity by Dr Hermann Hauser and Dr Pamela Raspe to advance education.
On 8 July 2002, Hauser was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Physics
Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
and as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
.
In August 2004, Amadeus Capital Partners led the Series B venture capital financing of Solexa, Ltd and Hermann Hauser joined its Board of Directors. Solexa developed a next-generation DNA sequencing technology which became the market leader. Solexa was sold to Illumina, Inc (ILMN) of San Diego in January 2007 for over $600M. In 2009, Dr. Hauser was announced as the first customer of the Illumina Personal Genome Sequencing service.
In 2005, Hauser received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a venture capitalist and entrepreneur. The award was presented at the annual European Electronics Industry Awards in London.
As of 2009, Dr. Hauser is the head of the East Anglia Stem Cell research network.
Dr Hauser is a Non-Executive Director
Non-executive director
A non-executive director or outside director is a member of the board of directors of a company who does not form part of the executive management team. He or she is not an employee of the company or affiliated with it in any other way...
of Cambridge Display Technology Ltd, a Non-Executive Director of XMOS
XMOS
XMOS is a fabless semiconductor company that develops multi-core multi-threaded processors designed to execute several real-time tasks, DSP, and control flow all at once.-Company history:...
Ltd and a Member of the Board of Red-M (Communications) Ltd. He holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Bath
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
and Loughborough
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
and from Anglia Polytechnic University. He is a member of the Advisory Board on the Higher Education Innovation Fund, and of the UK's Council for Science and Technology.
In 2010, Eureka
Eureka (Times magazine)
Eureka is a monthly British science magazine, launched in October 2009, published by The Times newspaper.-References:**...
, in its "100 most important scientists", placed Hauser at 51.
External links
- Public oration, Loughborough UniversityLoughborough UniversityLoughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
, 1998 - Hermann Hauser's Second Chance by Christopher Anderson, 1996
- Cambridge Network [Founded by Hermann Hauser]
- Dr Hermann Hauser CBE FREng, Ingenia, Issue 33, Dec 2007
- Hermann Hauser interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 3 September 2008 (film)