8 Brookhead Ave
Beverly, MA 01915

Phone: 978-922-5042
E-mail: conway.mel@gmail.com
Essays: web.me.com/melconway

Mel Conway, Ph.D.
I am an entrepreneurial computer professional, inventor, and educator with advanced
degrees in Mathematics and Physics. I have co-founded two technology companies,
published several widely cited papers, and have been issued a major software patent.

Education

Ph.D.
M.S.
B.S.

Mathematics
Physics
Physics

Case Western Reserve University
California Institute of Technology
Case Western Reserve University

Experience asan Educator

Full-time public high school teacher. Mass. licenses: Physics 8-12, Math 8-12.
Designed and taught undergrad/graduate computer science courses at Case.
Taught university freshman physics at Caltech. (Began midyear and improved
the final placement of my section from 9th of 9 to 2nd to the honors section.)
Invited seminars: MIT, Caltech, Washington University, IBM.

Employment

Educator
Fall 2008

Adjunct Faculty, Endicott College.

Fall 2003 – Summer 2007

Chelsea High School, Chelsea, MA.

Physics, Geometry, and MCAS Prep. Professional development: SIOP,NCLB English Language Arts Series, Adolescent Literacy, Analyzing
Student Data/Differentiating Instruction.
Technology and Management Consultant
1992 – 2003

Some engagements:

United a ten-person software development team from warring groups in twocompanies and managed the successful completion of its graphical PCbased laboratory workstation.
Participated in development of a trader workstation at J.P. Morgan Bank.
Senior Architect/Director
1988 – 1991

Wang Laboratories, Inc.

Co-Founder, Corporate Director, Chief Scientist
1982 – 1987

THINK Technologies, Inc.

Developed the technology that was the basis of the company's initial
product, Macintosh Pascal. This product was key to the success of theMacintosh in undergraduate Computer Science education.
Technology Consultant1971 – 1982
Designed and developed hardware and software. Some clients:
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Burroughs Corporation, US Department
of Health Education and Welfare, Digital Equipment Corporation,
Massachusetts General Hospital, Monroe Calculator Company, National
Bureau of Standards, Raytheon Corporation, Rockwell International
Corporation, US Air Force, US Veterans Administration, and Washington
University Medical School.

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Avocations

ResearchInterests

CareerHighlights

Vocal Music
Four years, Cleveland Orchestra Chorus (Robert Shaw, George Szell)
Eight years, Tanglewood Festival Chorus-Boston Symphony Orchestra (JohnOliver, Seiji Ozawa; performances in numerous locations including Boston,Tanglewood, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Osaka.
Formal voice studies: 1987-2002
Reading
I am interested in the history of Western Ideas. Some books I have read:
J. Bronowski and B. Mazlish: The Western Intellectual Tradition; J. Diamond:Guns, Germs, and Steel; V. Hanson: Carnage and Culture; R. Kagan: Of
Paradise and Power; C. Christensen: The Innovator’s Dilemma; R. Feynman:
The Character of Physical Law and The Pleasure of Finding Things Out; R.
Dawkins: The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker; J. Gleick: Chaos; L.
Garrett: The Coming Plague; S. Hawking: A Brief History of Time; M.
Rothschild: Bionomics-Economy as Ecosystem; J. K. Galbraith, The Great
Crash-1929 and The New Industrial State; Amity Shlaes, The Forgotten Man.
Cognitive Models of Software Internals
I have developed a new conceptual model for computer applications thatpromises intellectual accessibility to a broader audience than just softwaredevelopers. The patent cited below describes in detail a concrete realizationof the model.
Sociology of System DesignIn graduate school I concentrated in Operations Research. This focus on
quantitative system analysis led to development of the principle now known
as Conway’s Law. Published in 1968 and described in Wikipedia and Fred
Brooks’s The Mythical Man Month, the principle describes a necessary
relationship between the structure of a design organization and the structuresof the designs it is constrained to generate. Wikipedia characterizes it as “avalid sociological observation.”
Participation in multiple aspects of education for over thirty years. As apublic school teacher I wrote a collection of essays reflecting on thisexperience: http://web.me.com/melconway . I was intimately involved inthe planning and creation of two independent schools: the Primary
Unit of Notre Dame Children’s Class (pre-K to 2, Wenham, MA) andGlen Urquhart School (K-8, Beverly, MA). I wrote and presented to therespective governing bodies the initial financial plans for both schools,and I solicited bids and managed the process of the extensive
modifications of an existing building for the NDCC Primary Unit. I
designed and taught the middle-school integrated math class for one
year in the early days of The Waring School.
Major software patent filed September 1995, issued August 2001. Dataflow
Processing with Events, No. US 6,272,672. 151 claims, 115 figures.
Practical research in software technology whose impact has been felt at many
places in the computer industry. Two papers in Communications of the ACM
reported four innovations in compiler technology.
Design and construction of computer hardware. Under contract to Mass.
General Hospital I built the first freestanding digital video viewer for medical
CAT scanners. MGH’s experience led to two more contracts, from theWashington University Medical School and Brookhaven National Laboratory.
All of these machines were entirely of my design and execution; except foroutsourcing the construction of the memory boards which I had designed, I
did everything: proposal, negotiation, all design, drafting, purchasing,construction, test, documentation, installation, training, and service. I
delivered two radiology conference papers describing these machines.

Revision date: November 7, 2009

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