Alumnus Benjamin M. Rosen (BS '54), chair emeritus of the Caltech Board of Trustees, a life member of the Caltech community, a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award (DAA) in 2007, and chair emeritus of Compaq Computer Corporation, passed away on August 23, 2026. He was 93.
"As a lifelong learner who demonstrated a deep and infectious interest in people and in the workings of the world, an innovator who helped shape how the world computes, and a leader who drew others into his orbit and proved to be most effective at mobilizing a team to make extraordinary things happen, Ben exemplified the very best of a Caltech graduate," says Caltech president Ray Jayawardhana, the Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and professor of astronomy. "He has had an enduring impact on the Institute—and the world around us—and his legacy will continue to inspire and empower generations to come."
Born on March 11, 1933, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Rosen showed an early aptitude for math and science and was encouraged by his siblings, Ruth and Harold (MS '48, PhD '51, DAA '76), the latter recognized as the father of geostationary satellite communications.
Inspired by Harold, Rosen followed in his brother's footsteps by pursuing engineering at Caltech. He earned a BS in 1954 and studied under luminaries Linus Pauling, who taught his introductory chemistry class and would go on to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Nobel Peace Prize, and Gordon Moore (PhD '54, DAA '75), who served as his TA and would become a pioneer of the modern electronics industry and a visionary philanthropist.
Rosen went on to earn his MS from Stanford in 1955 and began his career as an engineer at Raytheon and then at Sperry Gyroscope.
As his interests broadened, Rosen moved from California to New York and earned an MBA from Columbia University in 1961. He worked as an analyst, first at Coleman and Company, then at Morgan Stanley, where he was ultimately appointed vice president.
In 1981, Rosen made his first foray into venture capitalism, serving as co-founder and general partner of Sevin Rosen Funds. He is widely recognized for his role in shaping the modern computer industry, first by investing in more than 100 technology start-ups, including Compaq (where he also served as founding chairman), Citrix Systems, Electronic Arts, Lotus Development, and Silicon Graphics. He also championed the movement toward an open PC architecture, which made hardware and software components from different manufacturers compatible, encouraging competition and making computers more accessible to the public.
In 1992, he was named by Computerworld magazine as one of the 25 people "who changed the world." He received the Founders Medal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 1999 and Caltech's Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2007.
Rosen remained committed to the Institute throughout his life, crediting it for being the place that taught him how to learn.
"We shared our love of Caltech and its faculty and staff, as well as the opera and the bright lights of Broadway," says Kent Kresa, life member of the Caltech community and former chair of the Caltech Board of Trustees who succeeded Rosen. "Ben brought clarity of thought and levity to every situation and was a joy to be with."
In 1989, Rosen and his siblings established the Anna L. Rosen Professorship at Caltech in honor of their mother. In 1998, Rosen co-chaired the Institute's $100 million Biological Sciences Initiative, and a few years later, he endowed graduate fellowships in the biological sciences, which he later renamed to honor the late Caltech professor Arie Jan Haagen-Smit. In 2002, Compaq Computer Corporation established the Benjamin M. Rosen Professorship "as an enduring tribute to and legacy for an exceptional man and a singular leader." In 2020, Rosen formally requested the professorship be renamed the Harold A. Rosen Professorship in honor of his brother, who passed away in 2017.
In 2008, Rosen and his wife Donna established the Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Bioengineering Center, a hub for campus efforts to generate solutions to some of the biggest problems in science, medicine, and sustainability.
"Just as we had the digital revolution in the last century, we are having a biological sciences revolution in this century," Rosen said when the center was created. "And Caltech is the place to be."
The Rosen Center brings together faculty members from across academic divisions and is directed by Frances Arnold, the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry, and recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
"Ben's generous heart and love for Caltech have made a huge impact," says Arnold. "He inspired young scientists and engineers to explore the frontiers of bioengineering and lead this biological sciences revolution."
In 2015, the Rosens founded the annual nonprofit ideas festival KentPresents in Kent, Connecticut.
Rosen was first appointed to the Caltech Board of Trustees in 1986, served as chair from 2001–05, and was elected a life member of the Caltech community in 2005.
In 2018, the Board awarded Rosen the Institute's highest honor, the Caltech Medal, for his "longstanding commitment to Caltech; his leadership of this institution; his advancement of the Institute's mission through service, leadership, and philanthropy; and his steadfast goal of advancing science and technology for society's benefit."
Rosen was also an emeritus member of the board of overseers of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, an emeritus member of the board of directors of the New York Philharmonic, a former managing director of the Metropolitan Opera, and a former member of the board of overseers of the Columbia Business School.
He is survived by Donna, sons Jeffrey and Eric Rosen, and stepdaughter Melanie Perret.