Frank S. Greene Jr. was raised in segregated St. Louis and became one of the first Black students to attend Washington University in St. Louis, and the first Black cadet to complete its four-year Air Force ROTC program. He earned a master's in electrical engineering from Purdue and later a Ph.D. from Santa Clara University while serving as an Air Force electronics officer developing computers for the National Security Agency.
Joining Fairchild Semiconductor's R&D labs in the mid-1960s, Greene became one of the first Black engineers in Silicon Valley, developing the fastest microchip then available and co-inventing the solid-state RAM device used in the ILLIAC IV supercomputer.
He went on to found two technology companies, then in 1993 co-founded New Vista Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to funding women- and minority-led startups — one of Silicon Valley's earliest such funds.
- Co-inventor of the solid-state RAM device used in the ILLIAC IV supercomputer
- One of the first Black engineers at Fairchild Semiconductor, Silicon Valley
- Co-founder of New Vista Capital, a pioneering minority- and women-focused VC firm
- Inductee, Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame
- Take the technical breakthrough and turn it into a career of opening doors.. His RAM innovation launched a career he later used to fund other underrepresented founders.
- Serve your community with your capital, not just your credentials.. New Vista Capital specifically targeted women- and minority-led ventures.
- Mentorship compounds; fund the next generation deliberately.. His scholars program and foundation still support STEM students today.