Have you passed by the Warnock Engineering Building lately? Have you been using Adobe Photoshop since the new semester started? Did you know that these two things are closely related? The Warnock Engineering Building on the north side of campus was named after Dr. John E. Warnock, a University of Utah graduate who joined with Dr. Charles M. Geschke to co-found Adobe Systems, Inc.
Warnock received multiple degrees from the U, including a Bachelor of Science in math and philosophy, a Master of Science in Mathematics, a Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering and an honorary degree in science. The well-educated gentleman was also a part of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity during his undergraduate years at the U.
Warnock worked in Salt Lake City and in Palo Alto, Calif. before starting Adobe with his co-founder. He was president of Adobe for its first two years in business and CEO for the next 16 years. In 2000 Warnock retired as CEO, and in 2001 he retired as CTO. He and Geschke remain co-chairman of the board today.
Together, Warnock and Geschke have won multiple awards, the most notable being the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2009. This recognition is one of the nation’s highest honors awarded to scientists, engineers and innovators. And to think, such a large empire and innovative company all started right here at our own university.