Induction: February 2014

Craig MacKenna, Cecil Kaplinsky, and John Black developed the first draft of the VMEbus specification. Craig was the designer of Mostek’s first VME processor board but has not been heard from in recent years.

In October 1981, at the System ‘81 trade show in Munich, West Germany, Motorola, Mostek, Signetics/Phillips, and Thomson CSF announced their joint support of the VMEbus.

Craig MacKenna was the chief technical representative from Mostek in the discussions with Motorola and Signetics that led to the VMEbus. He was later the designer of Mostek’s first VME processor board. After that, he “hung in” through several years of tedious standardization efforts that led to IEEE 1014 and IEC 821, which are official specs describing the VMEbus.

Key Contributions

• MacKenna was the chief technical representative from Mostek in the discussions with Motorola and Signetics that led to the VMEbus
• He was the designer of Mostek’s first VME processor board
• MacKenna, along with John Black of Motorola, and Cecil Kaplinsky of Signetics, developed the first draft of the VMEbus specification