Archive of MPC79 messages, notes and files:

A VLSI Archive Document compiled by Lynn Conway

[V 4-08-08]

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 that fall. 

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 their propagation into over 100 universities and scores of startup companies within just several years. This Archive of MPC79 files contains scans of key documents from that event.

Archive of MPC79 messages, notes and files:  PDF (206p; 4.3mb)

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

    Photo of Alan Bell during the final merge .............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

 Update 1: 12-02-79 .........................................................31

 Update 2: 12-05-79.........................................................34

 6: 1-05-79 .......................................................................47

 Photos: 2-28-07 ..............................................................42

2. Photo Order .....................................................43

3. Distribution Lists ...............................................48

4. University Information, 9-30-79  .........................53

5. University Information, 10-31-79 ........................62

6. Notes ...............................................................69

7. Area Estimates .................................................76

8. University Merges ............................................82

Berkeley ...........................................................................86

Caltech .............................................................................89

CMU ..............................................................................103

Illinois .............................................................................107

MIT ................................................................................110

Other ..............................................................................122

Rochester........................................................................127 

Stanford .........................................................................134

9.  Wafer Partitioning ..........................................147

10. Scribe Lines ..................................................151

11. Final Merge Specs ......................................./.155

12. MEBES Master Plate Specs ..........................182

13. HP letters…………………………………......191

14. Paul Gray letters ……………………...….…..197

15. David Kearns Letter ......................................204