Bill Mensch
Encyclopedia
American
engineer William David Mensch, Jr., born 9 February 1945 in Quakertown
, Pennsylvania
, USA, is the founder, chairman and CEO of the Western Design Center
(WDC) of Mesa
, Arizona
. Before founding the Western Design Center in 1978, Mensch held design engineering and management positions at Philco-Ford, Motorola
, MOS Technology
and Integrated Circuit Engineering.
A central person in the creation of the Motorola 6800
and MOS Technology 6502
families of microprocessor
chips, Bill Mensch has later worked primarily on extending and expanding the latter architecture at the Western Design Center. The Center produces a hobbyist computer system called the Mensch Computer
, based on the 65816 microprocessor and running the Mensch Works suite of software.
from Temple University
in 1966, and received his bachelor's degree
in electrical engineering
from the University of Arizona
in Tucson
in 1971. He has taught classes at Arizona State University
, including courses on system-on-a-chip
(SoC) IC design. Mensch is a Senior Member of the IEEE. In 2004 he was inducted in the Computer Hall of Fame (hosted by the San Diego Computer Museum, part of the San Diego State University
Library), and in 2005 was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Arizona's College of Engineering.
microprocessor and supporting computer chips, Mensch is a co-holder of several 6800 family patents, including the 6800 CPU
, 6820/21 PIA, 6850 ACIA, and 6860 modem
chip. He was the sole IC
design engineer of the 6820/21 PIA, which was the first peripheral IC to have bit
-programmable I/O
.
Along with three other engineers at MOS Technology, Mensch holds the patent on the decimal correct circuitry on the 6502
CPU. He was responsible for the basic circuit design, transistor
sizing, instruction decode
logic (wishing to minimize the number of levels of logic so as to achieve higher speed operation), oscillator
design and buffer
design.
Before leaving MOS Technology in 1977, Bill Mensch became the microprocessor design manager at the company.
The first major effort of Mensch and his team at the Western Design Center
was the development of the WDC 65C02
, a bug-fixed version of the 6502 CPU implemented in CMOS
circuit technology (the original 6502 was made in NMOS
). Later, a fully compatible, 16-bit
extension of the 6502 family, called the 65816
, was to become an important product of the company. (Further information on related products is available in the article about WDC
.) The Mensch Computer
is a computer system based on the WDC 65C265 microcontroller (which implements both the 16-bit instruction set of the W65C816/65816 microprocessor, as well as the 8-bit instruction set of the 6502 microprocessor) and produced by the Western Design Center.
As of 2006, Bill Mensch is still involved with design engineering at WDC in addition to his work as CEO. He has written the upcoming Terbium processor family's data sheets and will be making the major RTL
design decisions associated with that processor architecture.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
engineer William David Mensch, Jr., born 9 February 1945 in Quakertown
Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Quakertown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 8,979. The borough is south of Bethlehem and north of Philadelphia, making Quakertown a border town of both the Delaware Valley and Lehigh Valley metropolitan areas...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, USA, is the founder, chairman and CEO of the Western Design Center
Western Design Center
The Western Design Center , located in Mesa, Arizona, USA, is a company developing and manufacturing MOS 65xx-based microprocessors, microcontrollers , and related support chips...
(WDC) of Mesa
Mesa, Arizona
According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. Before founding the Western Design Center in 1978, Mensch held design engineering and management positions at Philco-Ford, Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, MOS Technology
MOS Technology
MOS Technology, Inc., also known as CSG , was a semiconductor design and fabrication company based in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is most famous for its 6502 microprocessor, and various designs for Commodore International's range of home computers.-History:MOS Technology, Inc...
and Integrated Circuit Engineering.
A central person in the creation of the Motorola 6800
Motorola 6800
The 6800 was an 8-bit microprocessor designed and first manufactured by Motorola in 1974. The MC6800 microprocessor was part of the M6800 Microcomputer System that also included serial and parallel interface ICs, RAM, ROM and other support chips...
and MOS Technology 6502
MOS Technology 6502
The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle and Bill Mensch for MOS Technology in 1975. When it was introduced, it was the least expensive full-featured microprocessor on the market by a considerable margin, costing less than one-sixth the price of...
families of microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
chips, Bill Mensch has later worked primarily on extending and expanding the latter architecture at the Western Design Center. The Center produces a hobbyist computer system called the Mensch Computer
Mensch Computer
The Mensch Computer is a computer system based on the WDC 65C265 microcontroller and produced by the Western Design Center...
, based on the 65816 microprocessor and running the Mensch Works suite of software.
Education, teaching, honors
Mensch graduated with an associate's degreeAssociate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
from Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
in 1966, and received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
from the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
in 1971. He has taught classes at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, including courses on system-on-a-chip
System-on-a-chip
A system on a chip or system on chip is an integrated circuit that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic system into a single chip. It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single chip substrate...
(SoC) IC design. Mensch is a Senior Member of the IEEE. In 2004 he was inducted in the Computer Hall of Fame (hosted by the San Diego Computer Museum, part of the San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
Library), and in 2005 was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of Arizona's College of Engineering.
Engineering achievements
Based on his participation in the basic circuit design, definition, and system design of the Motorola 6800Motorola 6800
The 6800 was an 8-bit microprocessor designed and first manufactured by Motorola in 1974. The MC6800 microprocessor was part of the M6800 Microcomputer System that also included serial and parallel interface ICs, RAM, ROM and other support chips...
microprocessor and supporting computer chips, Mensch is a co-holder of several 6800 family patents, including the 6800 CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
, 6820/21 PIA, 6850 ACIA, and 6860 modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
chip. He was the sole IC
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
design engineer of the 6820/21 PIA, which was the first peripheral IC to have bit
Bit
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications; it is the amount of information stored by a digital device or other physical system that exists in one of two possible distinct states...
-programmable I/O
Input/output
In computing, input/output, or I/O, refers to the communication between an information processing system , and the outside world, possibly a human, or another information processing system. Inputs are the signals or data received by the system, and outputs are the signals or data sent from it...
.
Along with three other engineers at MOS Technology, Mensch holds the patent on the decimal correct circuitry on the 6502
MOS Technology 6502
The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle and Bill Mensch for MOS Technology in 1975. When it was introduced, it was the least expensive full-featured microprocessor on the market by a considerable margin, costing less than one-sixth the price of...
CPU. He was responsible for the basic circuit design, transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
sizing, instruction decode
Instruction cycle
An instruction cycle is the basic operation cycle of a computer. It is the process by which a computer retrieves a program instruction from its memory, determines what actions the instruction requires, and carries out those actions...
logic (wishing to minimize the number of levels of logic so as to achieve higher speed operation), oscillator
Clock signal
In electronics and especially synchronous digital circuits, a clock signal is a particular type of signal that oscillates between a high and a low state and is utilized like a metronome to coordinate actions of circuits...
design and buffer
Buffer amplifier
A buffer amplifier is one that provides electrical impedance transformation from one circuit to another...
design.
Before leaving MOS Technology in 1977, Bill Mensch became the microprocessor design manager at the company.
The first major effort of Mensch and his team at the Western Design Center
Western Design Center
The Western Design Center , located in Mesa, Arizona, USA, is a company developing and manufacturing MOS 65xx-based microprocessors, microcontrollers , and related support chips...
was the development of the WDC 65C02
WDC 65C02
The Western Design Center WDC 65C02 microprocessor is an upgraded CMOS version of the popular NMOS-based MOS Technology 6502 8-bit CPU — the CMOS redesign being made by Bill Mensch of the Western Design Center...
, a bug-fixed version of the 6502 CPU implemented in CMOS
CMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor is a technology for constructing integrated circuits. CMOS technology is used in microprocessors, microcontrollers, static RAM, and other digital logic circuits...
circuit technology (the original 6502 was made in NMOS
NMOS logic
N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor logic uses n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors to implement logic gates and other digital circuits...
). Later, a fully compatible, 16-bit
16-bit
-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...
extension of the 6502 family, called the 65816
WDC 65816/65802
The W65C816S is a 16-bit microprocessor developed by the Western Design Center . The W65C816S is an enhanced version of the WDC 65C02 8-bit MPU, itself a CMOS enhancement of the venerable MOS Technology 6502 NMOS MPU...
, was to become an important product of the company. (Further information on related products is available in the article about WDC
Western Design Center
The Western Design Center , located in Mesa, Arizona, USA, is a company developing and manufacturing MOS 65xx-based microprocessors, microcontrollers , and related support chips...
.) The Mensch Computer
Mensch Computer
The Mensch Computer is a computer system based on the WDC 65C265 microcontroller and produced by the Western Design Center...
is a computer system based on the WDC 65C265 microcontroller (which implements both the 16-bit instruction set of the W65C816/65816 microprocessor, as well as the 8-bit instruction set of the 6502 microprocessor) and produced by the Western Design Center.
As of 2006, Bill Mensch is still involved with design engineering at WDC in addition to his work as CEO. He has written the upcoming Terbium processor family's data sheets and will be making the major RTL
Register transfer level
In integrated circuit design, register-transfer level is a level of abstraction used in describing the operation of a synchronous digital circuit...
design decisions associated with that processor architecture.
Articles
- "What's the Proper Goal for an IPIntellectual propertyIntellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
Business Model". Silicon Strategies editorial. - "The Chips We Live By". Forbes magazine cover story, Michael S. Malone, 6 January 1998. (Online version)
- "A Business Model? for IP Providers". FSA Forum/Fabless Forum (member publication of the Fabless Semiconductor Association).
Books
- Bagnall, Brian: On The Edge: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Commodore, ISBN 0-9738649-0-7
- Drescher, Nancy (1997). Which Business?: Help in Selecting Your New Venture. Psi Successful Business Library. Bookworld Services. 358 pp. ISBN 1-55571-390-4.
- Gilder, GeorgeGeorge GilderGeorge F. Gilder is an American writer, techno-utopian intellectual, Republican Party activist, and co-founder of the Discovery Institute...
(1989). Microcosm: The Quantum Revolution in Economics and Technology. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-50969-1. Touchstone/Free Press reprint ed., 1990: ISBN 0-671-70592-X.
External links
- Western Design Center corporate information page Biography of William Mensch
- Interview with William Mensch Transcript of interview made on 9 October 1995 by Rob Walker for Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
's Silicon Genesis project - Computer Hall of Fame Inductee: William D. Mensch, Jr, co-inventor of the 6502 microprocessor San Diego Computer Museum Hall of Fame
- Univ. of Arizona Coll. of Engineering’s Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech Childhood reminiscences of Mensch