Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

June 27, 1998.

(delivered without reading - spontaneous performance)

Today, I have a pleasure and privilege to announce and deliver the Tesla medal for Computer Engineering to the Department of Computer Architecture of the UPC (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya).

This is the Tesla medal for institutional achievements. By the way, this year, the Tesla medal for individual achievements goes to Professor Michael Flynn of Stanford University (a living legend of computer engineering), and will be delivered at a conference later this year.

You all know, Tesla was a famous American scientist of Serbian origin. As a matter of fact, centennial issue of IEEE SPECTRUM (back in 1984) lists that 2 of the top 10 contributors to electrical engineering of all times, were born in what used to be Yugoslavia - both of them Serbs (Tesla being one of them).

Tesla medal for Power Engineering and the Tesla gold coin get delivered annually by IEEE and TESLA societies. The TESLA society alone, in cooperation with the Serbian Academy of Sciences, delivers golden medals in 12 additional fields of science and engineering.

When I had learned that the protocol gives about 3 minutes for this ceremony, the first thing, which crossed my mind, was an anecdote about short talks on long topics.

Once, at a similar occasion, a famous professor was asked to give a three-minute keynote address, and to start immediately. His answer was: If he has to start immediately, he can easily talk for three hours; but, if they want him to talk for three minutes, he needs three days to prepare.

However, in this particular case, in the case of the DCA/UPC, I am lucky. It is easy to talk elegantly in only 3 words: VENI, VIDI, VICI.

VENI means - it came, it started less than 3 decades ago.

VIDI means - someone saw, someone noticed, of all European schools, it is the most represented one, with papers, at major conferences, in the field of computer architecture, which is what had motivated the Tesla society to give this prestigious award to the DCA/UPC.

VICI means - the name of the game in this field is, ON THE SHIELD OF WITH THE SHIELD - you all know these famous antic words. The DCA/UPC carries its shield proudly, and paves the computer architecture and education ways, per aspera ad astra!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Here is the medal!