President George W. Bush recently announced the recipients of the nations highest honors for science and technology, the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, for 2007. David Cutler, a 1965 alumnus of Olivet College, was among the eight laureates selected for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

Cutler is a noted software engineer and Technical Fellow at Microsoft. Responsible for the design of the Windows Operating System, he is generally considered one of the top programmers worldwide.

Cutler graduated from Olivet College with a bachelors degree in mathematics. Before joining Microsoft, he worked at Digital Equipment Corporation, where he designed and delivered several successful operating systems, including VAX/VMS, RSX-11M and VAXELN.

After arriving at Microsoft in 1988, he launched the Windows NT group and has since led the development of three major releases of the product. In addition to leading the Windows 2000 team, Cutler contributed to the architecture of all parts of the system.

In recognition of his significant contributions to the field, Cutler was awarded membership in the National Academy of Engineering in 1993. A native of DeWitt, he holds more than 20 patents and is an affiliate professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Washington.

Cutler recently contributed two donations totaling $4.3 million to Olivet College for the construction of the Cutler Event Center, which opened in August. The $5.1 million multipurpose facility includes a fitness center, 100-meter track, locker rooms, coaches offices and wrestling room.

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