Mr. Last played a large role in establishing what is today the research and development hub for the software industry, assembling engineers, researchers and other talent from the University of California, Berkeley. Today, CalTech is the first research university in the world that offers a specialized computer science degree.
Jay Last, who laid the groundwork for many of the innovations that have propelled Silicon Valley, has died. He was 92.
Mr. Last played a large role in establishing what is today the research and development hub for the software industry, assembling engineers, researchers and other talent from the University of California, Berkeley. Today, CalTech is the first research university in the world that offers a specialized computer science degree.
CalTech said Mr. Last passed away on Wednesday in San Francisco. He had struggled with respiratory issues for some time.
He created the consultancy Search Advisory Board, which since the 1990s has developed partnerships with other companies. His work helped fuel firms such as Google, Facebook, Netflix and Tesla, which rely on CalTech for research and research breakthroughs. He also served as an advisor to the government, advising Stanford University on security systems and spending, the National Institutes of Health on health issues and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on environment and energy policy.
Mr. Last was born in Baltimore and grew up in Monroe, New York. He spent 10 years at Cornell University before he earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh in 1947.
He then returned to Cornell to earn his master’s and doctorate in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley.
“He was incredibly strong in the community of people who made Silicon Valley what it is today,” retired CalTech President Fred Waksman said in an interview. “We always looked up to him because he got stuff done.”
During his decades at CalTech, Mr. Last served on the school’s board of trustees, most recently in the late 1990s. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Minnesota.
Mr. Last is survived by his wife, Jeanne, and their two children. Funeral services will be held Aug. 3 at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco.
The Washington Post’s Marcus Brauchli and John Benson contributed to this report.