The Bruce J. Nelson Distinguished Speaker Series has been made possible through the generosity of the family of Bruce J. Nelson ’74, whose life and sudden death in 1999 had a tremendous impact on the many people whose lives he touched.

A brilliant technologist and great leader, Bruce was entirely unconventional and eclectic, a true free spirit. Friends from Harvey Mudd College vividly remember his passionate tirades against peas as well as his many daring outdoor adventures. He was an avid photographer, mountaineer and world traveler who cherished the tranquility and wonder of nature.

Bruce Nelson graduated from HMC in 1974 and went on to earn a master’s and doctoral degree in computer science from Stanford and Carnegie Mellon, respectively. While pursuing his Ph.D., he developed the Remote Procedure Call (RPC), for which he was awarded the prestigious Association of Computing Machines (ACM) Software Systems Award. At the time of his death, Bruce was the chief science officer at Cisco Systems.

The speaker series was designed to introduce social, economic and political considerations into global problems that pose difficult technical challenges, and is an important factor in enriching campus intellectual life.

The lectures are free, open to the public and are held on the HMC campus.

For additional information, please visit the Nelson Speaker Series website.