Robert Maxfield

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Robert Roy Maxfield (September 30, 1941 – August 13, 2024) was an American entrepreneur, electrical engineer, and philanthropist. He co-founded ROLM, a pioneering Silicon Valley computer company, and helped grow it into a major business before it was bought by IBM. He later built a diverse career in education, research, and philanthropy.

Early life and education
Maxfield was born in Detroit and grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas. He showed an early interest in computers, building a small two-bit computer as a high school project. He attended Rice University, earning a BA in Electrical Engineering in 1963 and a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1964, graduating at the top of his class. He then pursued graduate studies at Stanford, earning an MS in Electrical Engineering in 1966 and a PhD in Electrical Engineering in 1969. His doctoral work, under advisor David G. Luenberger, focused on optimal control for linear systems.

Rolm: entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley
In 1968/1969, Maxfield and three Rice classmates—Gene Richeson, Ken Oshman, and Walter Loewenstern—founded ROLM (initially focused on military computers, later expanding into telecommunications equipment). The company grew into a Fortune 500 firm. In 1984, IBM acquired ROLM in one of the era’s largest tech deals, and Maxfield served as Vice President of ROLM under IBM until his retirement in 1988.

Later career and philanthropy
After leaving ROLM, Maxfield remained active in business, academia, and philanthropy. He served on multiple boards (including Software Publishing Corporation, Saratoga National Bank, Vadis, Knowledge Revolution, and Fogdog Sports) and became a Consulting Professor at Rice, teaching “Business Management for Engineers” from 1989 to 1991. He joined Kleiner Perkins as a venture partner from 1989 to 1992 and, starting in 1991, became a long-time trustee and researcher at the Santa Fe Institute, contributing to work in evolutionary economics.

Maxfield also supported OpenStax, a Rice University project offering low-cost, peer-reviewed textbooks. He served on Rice’s Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2012, chaired the finance committee, and advised the School of Engineering. The Maxfield Foundation, established in 1985, funds scientific research and education, with a focus on cancer research, including leukemia.

Personal life
Maxfield married Melinda Harrison in 1964, and they had two daughters before divorcing. Their younger daughter died of leukemia in 1986. Around 1980, he married Katherine “ Kathie” Holman, a former ROLM product marketer who later wrote a book about ROLM.

Legacy
Rice University named Maxfield Hall in the Department of Statistics in honor of Robert and Katherine Maxfield, funded by the Maxfield Foundation. Maxfield’s work bridged engineering, business, and public policy, and his philanthropic efforts continue to support cancer research and education.

Death
Robert Maxfield died on August 13, 2024, near Marble Falls, Texas, at the age of 82.