Michael Stonebraker

Noted for pioneering research on relational database systems and for founding numerous database companies, Stonebraker's career can be broadly divided into two phases: his time at Berkeley, where he focused on relational systems, and his later decade at MIT, where he developed several new data management systems. In 1973, Stonebraker and his colleague Eugene Wong began researching relational database systems after reading a series of seminal papers published by Edgar F. Codd on the relational data model.

After founding Ingres, Stonebraker and Rowe began a "post-Ingres" effort to address the limitations of the relational model. The new project was named Postgres, and was designed to add support for complex data types to database systems and improve end-to-end performance of data-intensive applications. Postgres was also offered using a BSD-like license, and the code forms the basis of today's free software, PostgreSQL.

Stonebraker also led an effort to commercialize the code, creating Illustra, which was purchased by Informix. PostgreSQL has served as the basis for a number of other startup companies, including Aster Data Systems, EnterpriseDB, and Greenplum.