Adobe Systems Co-founder Is Computer Science Alumnus

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University will award the honorary degree of Doctor of Science and Technology to computer science alumnus Charles M. Geschke, co-founder of Adobe Systems Inc., at its 116th Commencement May 19. Also that day, Geschke will speak at the School of Computer Science Diploma Ceremony in Carnegie Music Hall.

Geschke earned his Ph.D. in computer science at Carnegie Mellon in 1973 and has maintained close connections with the university and with fellow alumni ever since. Last year, he and his wife, ancy, endowed the directorship of SCS's Human-Computer Interaction Institute.

Geschke co-founded Adobe Systems in 1982 with John Warnock, creating software that helped launch the desktop publishing revolution and establishing a company that remains a leader in software and technologies for communications and collaboration. He retired as president in 2000, but he and Warnock remain chairmen of the Adobe board.

An influential leader in the software industry for more than 35 years, Geschke is the recipient of many honors, including the 2010 Marconi Prize, the equivalent of the obel Prize for the field of information technology. In 2008, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2009 President Barack Obama awarded him the ational Medal of Technology and Innovation.