Archive of MPC79 messages, notes and files:

A VLSI Archive Document compiled by Lynn Conway

[V 11-17-07]

Following the success of her M.I.T '78 VLSI design course, Lynn Conway sought ways to dramatically scale up internet access to quick-turnaround chip prototyping, in order to enable wider testing, refinement and evaluation of the new Mead-Conway design methods. In the spring of 1979 she conceived of a new type of internet-based implementation infrastructure for this purpose, and announced its availability to students taking Mead-Conway courses in the fall of '79.  In a crash-effort that summer at PARC, Alan Bell and Martin Newell created a software prototype of the new "MPC System". Lynn's team used the new system to support rapid prototyping of student design projects at many universities that fall, in a large-scale experimental demonstration-trial of the new VLSI design and implementation methods called "MPC79".

MPC79 played a vital role in the rapid evolution and validation of the Mead-Conway design methods, and the rapid propagation of the methods into over 100 universities and scores of startup companies within just several years. The Archive of MPC79 messages, notes and files contains scans of many key documents from that event.

Archive of MPC79 messages, notes and files:  PDF (188p; 3.9mb)

    Table of Contents ..............................................1

    Photo of Alan Bell .............................................2

1. Informational Messages .....................................3

 1: 10-12-79 .....................................................4

 2: 10-17-79 .....................................................9

 3: 11-01-79 ...................................................14

 4: 11-06-79 ...................................................23

 5: 11-26-79 ...................................................27

 D: Early 12-79 ..............................................31

 6: 1-05-79 .....................................................36

 F: 1-28-07 .....................................................39

2. Photo Order .....................................................40

3. Kearns’ Letter .................................................45

4. Distribution Lists ..............................................47

5. University Information, 9-30-79  ........................52

6. University Information, 10-31-79 .......................61

7. Notes ..............................................................68

8. Area Estimates ................................................73

9. University Merges ...........................................82

Berkeley .......................................................83

Caltech .........................................................86

CMU ..........................................................100

Illinois .........................................................104

MIT ............................................................107

Other ..........................................................119

Rochester.....................................................124 

Stanford ......................................................129

10. Wafer Partitioning ........................................144

11. Scribe Lines .................................................148

12. Final Merge Specs ........................................152

13. MEBES Master Plate Specs .........................178