Bob Rinker, Ph.D.

Bob earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Idaho in electrical engineering and his Ph.D. in computer science from Colorado State University. Bob is one of two current faculty who were founding members of the Computer Science Department, which was created in 1981. Bob served as director of the UI Engineering in Boise Program from 1989-1995.

Bob's research interests include computer architecture, reconfigurable computing and embedded systems. He is currently involved with software development for the Field Programmable Processor Array (FPPA), a reconfigurable co-processor chip sponsored by NASA and developed at the University of Idaho. The FPPA has been designed and fabricated using a radiation tolerant, low power technology, making it well-suited for spacecraft applications.