Frank Soltis
{{Short description|American computer scientist}}
Frank Gerald Soltis (born 1940), is an American computer scientist. He joined IBM Rochester in 1969, and is most well known for his contributions to the System/38 and IBM AS/400 architectures, in particular - the design of the single-level store used in those platforms, and the RS64 processor architecture.{{cite web |last1=Woodie |first1=Alex |title=Frank Soltis Discusses A Possible Future for Single-Level Storage |url=https://www.itjungle.com/2020/11/23/frank-soltis-discusses-a-possible-future-for-single-level-storage/ |website=itjungle.com |date=23 November 2020 |publisher=IT Jungle |access-date=4 December 2020}} He retired from IBM in 2008 upon the merger of the System i and System p product lines into IBM Power Systems.{{cite web|url=https://www.itjungle.com/2008/12/08/tfh120808-story01/|title=Soltis Exiting IBM, But He's Not Leaving the '400|date=2008-12-08|access-date=2021-03-15|first=Alex|last=Woodie|website=itjungle.com}} Prior to his retirement, he held the title of Chief Scientist at IBM.
Career
In 1968, Soltis completed his PhD in electrical engineering from Iowa State University.{{cite web
|url = http://www.cs.iastate.edu/alumni2/phd.jsp
|title = Department of Computer Science - Alumni Database
|accessdate = 2008-07-01
|publisher = Iowa State University
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080512122810/http://www.cs.iastate.edu/alumni2/phd.jsp
|archivedate = 2008-05-12
}} His PhD dissertation was titled "Automatic Allocation of Digital Computer Storage Resources for Time-sharing".{{cite journal
| last=Soltis
| first=Frank Gerald
| title=Automatic Allocation of Digital Computer Storage Resources for Time-sharing
| publisher=Iowa State University
| year=1968
| doi=10.31274/rtd-180813-4787
}}
In November 1968, he took a position with IBM in Rochester, Minnesota. Soltis led the design of the "Amazon" instruction set architecture, an extended version of the 64-bit PowerPC architecture; the Amazon architecture is implemented by the RS64, POWER4, and POWER5 processors used in the IBM iSeries and pSeries computers.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, in addition to his IBM responsibilities, Soltis served as an adjunct professor of electrical engineering at the University of Minnesota where he taught graduate courses on high performance computer design.{{cite web
|title = The AS/400's Grandfather Talks Past, Present, and Future
|work = ITJungle Volume 17, Number 25 -- June 23, 2008
|url = http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh062308-story01.html
|accessdate = 2008-06-23
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080904213225/http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh062308-story01.html
|archivedate = September 4, 2008
Soltis retired from IBM on December 31, 2008{{cite web
| url=http://www.iprodeveloper.com/blog/maxed-out-18/industry-issues/frank-soltis-calls-it-quits-698906
| title=Frank Soltis Calls It Quits
| accessdate=2012-07-26
| publisher=iprodeveloper.com
}} after 40 years with the company.
In February 2009, Vision Solutions announced that Soltis had joined their Technology Advisory Board.{{cite web
|url = http://www.visionsolutions.com/Downloads/releases/VTAB-Italy-%20France-Road-Shows.pdf
|title = Vision Solutions Names Dr. Frank Soltis to Advisory Board
|accessdate = 2009-02-12
|publisher = VisionSolutions.com
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110211105251/http://visionsolutions.com/Downloads/releases/VTAB-Italy-%20France-Road-Shows.pdf
|archivedate = 2011-02-11
}}
Soltis' By Design column appears in iPro Developer magazine.{{cite web
|url = http://www.iprodeveloper.com/archives/magazines/ipro-developer
|title = By Design
|accessdate = 2008-04-15
|publisher = iPro Developer
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120428021314/http://www.iprodeveloper.com/archives/magazines/ipro-developer
|archivedate = 2012-04-28
}}
His books include Inside the AS/400 and Fortress Rochester, The Inside Story of the IBM iSeries.
Books
- Soltis, Frank G. (1997). Inside the AS/400, Duke Press. {{ISBN|1-882419-66-9}}
- Soltis, Frank G. (2001). Fortress Rochester: the Inside Story of the IBM iSeries, NEWS/400 Books. {{ISBN|1-58304-083-8}}
References
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