246 7So0/

April 20, 1976

Dr. Robert Noyce
Chairman

Intel Corporation

3065 Bowers Avenue

Santa Clara, California 95051

Dear Bob,

I called you just now to see if it would be convenient to make an
appointment to see you. Since I understand you will be away until next
month, I thought I might just as well drop you a brief line in anticipation.

The main thing I would like to have an opportunity to discuss with
you is how to get some forward motion on the development of the next
generation of computer technology: the very highly parallel machines
with 104 to 106 or more processors, which I believe we agree are
necessary to begin to emulate some of the more sophisticated analytical
functions exhibited by animal and human brains. I am hardly the one to
try to lay out a detailed architecture, but I believe that our work
on DENDRAL furnishes us with some very specific and important requirements
for guch systems.

Some time ago we had some dkscussion about the possibility of my
joining the board of Intel. As you know, I had to decline:in some
conflict about such an interesting and attractive proposition. I told
you then that there was a problem of available time and that a year or
two hence that might be not quite so pressing. Partly on account of
some amelioration along those lines, and partly on account of the
sense of urgency that I now feel about the multi-processors project, it
might now be somewhat more propitious as far as I am concerned than it
was previously. However, I can well understand that many circumstances
may have changed and I certainly do not want to press you on this issues
if it is no longer of current interest to you or the board.

In any event, I hope we might be able to get together to discuss
at least item one of this agenda and I hope we might be able to get
together on the phone early in May to try to see if we can find some
mutually convenient time.

Sincerely yours,

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Genetics
JL/rr

pet: gon bet
pt

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