Remembering ECE Professor Emeritus Donald Dietmeyer

Donald Dietmeyer (BS’54, MS’55, PhD’59), an influential researcher and educator in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, passed away on February 13, 2026, at the age of 93.

Born and raised in Wausau, Wisconsin, Dietmeyer had an early interest in radio and electronics that led to a lifelong dedication to electrical and computer engineering. Dietmeyer attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an undergraduate and graduate student, earning a PhD in electrical engineering in 1959. He joined the department as a professor, where he taught and conducted research for 40 years, retiring as an emeritus professor in 1998.

Dietmeyer’s work focused on the development of digital systems, which he studied throughout his career and during stints at Bell Labs and IBM. With his former student Jim Duley, Dietmeyer pioneered the use of the hardware description language DDL, or Digital systems Design Language. Later, he helped formalize ConLan and co-authored the 1983 CONLAN Report, which was a major influence on emerging hardware design languages. 

ECE Professor Parmesh Ramanathan describes Dietmeyer as an outstanding researcher. “He was well ahead of his time in building software tools to automate tasks that are time-consuming or challenging for humans to do. He pioneered the use of programming languages to describe hardware designs, an approach that is still so common today. His 1968 paper with graduate student James Duley, followed by a seminal chapter in a book entitled ‘Digital System Design Automation,’ are landmark works that influenced the development of Hardware Description Languages.”

“He truly believed in furthering the frontiers of computer engineering research,” recalls ECE Professor Emeritus Kewal Saluja. “Long before the words ‘open source’ became popular for the distribution of computing tools and programs, Don was distributing his research tools (DDL, CAFÉ) to researchers and industry users, and even helping them develop these tools further without any financial gain and expectation.”

Dietmeyer was also particularly interested in developing effective teaching techniques in the emerging field of digital design. In 1968, Dietmeyer and fellow ECE professor Allan Scidmore inaugurated the first capstone computer-design laboratory course at UW–Madison. In this constantly updated team-based class, students designed, constructed, programmed, and tested simple digital computers. His 1971 textbook, “Logic Design of Digital Systems,” which went through many editions, along with his instructional methods, helped formalize and define how digital logic and computer hardware design were taught for decades. 

“He was passionate about undergraduate education,” recalls Ramanathan. “In his role as Associate Dean in the College of Engineering, he was an early adopter and an early implementer of the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS), a software system we still use today to advise undergraduate students regarding their progress toward a degree.” Dietmeyer was instrumental in the development and implementation of UW–Madison’s first Computer Engineering, B.S. program.

Dietmeyer’s commitment to education extended well beyond the UW–Madison campus. He also developed the popular UW-Extension course “Digital Technology for Radio Broadcast Engineers,” which reached more than 1,000 professionals across the United States and earned accolades from the National University of Continuing Education.

During his career, Dietmeyer served as Associate Dean and Undergraduate Associate Chair. He was a member of many professional organizations, including the IEEE Computer Society, ASEE, ACM, and was selected as an IEEE Fellow.

“It was my privilege to have been a junior colleague of Professor Emeritus Dietmeyer,” Ramanathan shared. “I learned a lot from him on how to succeed as a researcher, educator, and administrator.”

An obituary page has been created with additional details about his life and information about memorial services.

Photo at top of page features Professor Dietmeyer (seated) with ECE Professor Allan Scidmore (standing).
Photos provided by the family of Donald Dietmeyer.