Driving innovation

Tim Bucher ’86 came to UC Davis with a interest for tractors. He left an electrical engineer with an entrepreneurial drive.

He went on to create several successful companies that either went public or were acquired by technology giants like Microsoft, Apple and Dell and many iconic consumer tech products — such as Xbox, WebTV, various Macintosh personal computers and the iPod — have Bucher’s fingerprints on them. Bucher also pursued entrepreneurial opportunities that have ties to his agricultural roots, including founding TastingRoom.com and wine and olive companies in Sonoma County, Calif.

Bucher credits UC Davis for introducing him to the world of possibilities in technology and entrepreneurship. For that reason, he and his family endowed the Tim Bucher Family Chair of Computer Science.

“I believe in making the impossible, possible,” Bucher said. “I hope that the endowed chair we established in Computer Science can inspire the leader of that department to keep that spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship alive and well amongst the faculty and students for generations to come.”