Alumnus of the Year

A Life And Career By Design: Qualcomm Exec Paul Jacobs

At an age when most boys are learning to throw a curveball and struggling with elementary algebra, Paul Jacobs was writing code. Simple code, to be sure, but code good enough to let him play the video game Adventure with his dad on a clunky, early laptop.

It’s no surprise that Jacobs, who was in sixth or seventh grade when he wrote his first programs, grew up to be an engineer. Read more about A Life And Career By Design: Qualcomm Exec Paul Jacobs »

From the Summer 2017 Adaptation issue of California.

Silicon Valley’s Merry Prankster Put His Degree on Hold and Reshaped the World

The recipients of the Cal Alumni Association’s Alum of the Year Award are an impressive group, to say the least. The list includes decorated military officers, Supreme Court justices, Nobel laureates, leading industrialists, and renowned authors. None, as far as we know, ever dropped out of the University. Read more about Silicon Valley’s Merry Prankster Put His Degree on Hold and Reshaped the World »

From the Spring 2015 Dropouts and Drop-ins issue of California.
Subscribe to Alumnus of the Year