Steve Furber
Engineer who co-designed the ARM processor and the BBC Micro
- Age
- 73 yrs
- Birthday in 135 days
- Works listed
- 1
- Book
- Honours
- 1
- Most recent 2002
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Steve Furber is an English computer engineer who designed the hardware of the BBC Micro and, with Sophie Wilson, the first ARM processor at Acorn Computers. At the University of Manchester he built SpiNNaker, a computer that models the brain.
Biography
Cambridge
Furber studied mathematics at Cambridge and earned a PhD in aerodynamics. He was involved with the Cambridge University Processor Group.
Acorn
At Acorn he designed the hardware of the BBC Micro. From 1983 he and Wilson designed the ARM1 chip, which first ran in April 1985.
Manchester
In 1990 he became ICL Professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Manchester, working on low-power and asynchronous chips.
SpiNNaker
He led SpiNNaker, a machine with about a million ARM cores designed to simulate networks of neurons, part of the Human Brain Project. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and was appointed CBE.
Timeline
-
1953
Born in Manchester, England
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1978
Joins Acorn
-
1981
BBC Micro
-
1985
ARM1 runs
-
1990
Professor at Manchester
-
2002
Fellow of the Royal Society
-
2018
Million-core SpiNNaker switched on
Notable works
-
2000
ARM System-on-Chip Architecture Book
Awards and honours
-
Fellow of the Royal Society
2002
Did you know?
-
1
More than 250 billion ARM chips had been made by 2023.
-
2
His PhD was in aerodynamics.
-
3
He was appointed CBE in 2008.
Connections
Related people
Frequently asked
Who is Steve Furber?
Steve Furber is an English computer engineer who designed the hardware of the BBC Micro and, with Sophie Wilson, the first ARM processor at Acorn Computers. At the University of Manchester he built SpiNNaker, a computer that models the brain.
How old is Steve Furber?
Steve Furber is 73 years old, born on 21 March 1953 in Manchester, England.
Where is Steve Furber from?
Steve Furber was born in Manchester, England.
What is Steve Furber known for?
Steve Furber is best known for Designing the BBC Micro hardware and the first ARM processor; SpiNNaker brain-inspired computer.
What awards has Steve Furber received?
Notable honours include Fellow of the Royal Society (2002).
References
- Steve Furber — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. research.manchester.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Steve Furber (Q92776) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Steve Furber”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Steve Furber.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/steve-furber
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