Editing Mark Spencer (computer engineer)

{{Short description|American computer engineer}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Mark Spencer
| image              = Mark Spencer (cropped).jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = Mark Spencer at the 2006 O'Reilly Emerging Telephony Conference
| birth_name         = 
| birth_place        = [[Alabama]]
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| nationality        = American
| other_names        = 
| known_for          = Pidgin, Asterisk, & XFS
| alma_mater         = [[Auburn University]]
| occupation         = [[Computer Engineer and Entrepreneur]]
}}
'''Mark Spencer''' (born April 8, 1977) is an American [[Computer engineering|computer engineer]] and is the original author of the [[GTK+]]-based instant messaging client Gaim (which has since been renamed to [[Pidgin (software)|Pidgin]]), the [[L2TP]] [[daemon (computer software)|daemon]] l2tpd and the Cheops Network User Interface.

Mark Spencer is also the creator of [[Asterisk (PBX)|Asterisk]], a [[Linux]]-based open-sourced [[Private branch exchange|PBX]]. He is the founder, chairman and [[Chief Technical Officer|CTO]] of [[Digium]], an open-source telecommunications supplier most notable for its development and sponsorship of Asterisk. Spencer shifted from [[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]] to chairman and CTO in early 2007.

== Early life ==
Spencer was born and raised in [[Auburn, Alabama|Auburn]], [[Alabama]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.al.com/42/index.ssf/2011/11/mark_spencer_of_digium_you_hav.html|title=Mark Spencer of Digium: 'You have to have internal inspiration to do exceptional work'|last=Marshall|first=Mike|date=November 17, 2011|work=The Huntsville Times|access-date=2018-03-29|language=en-US}}</ref> He attended Auburn University where both his parents were professors.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0410/063.html#2ab1ef1e45fe|title=Dial D for Disruption|last=Hardy|first=Quentin|date=March 24, 2006|website=Forbes|access-date=2018-03-29}}</ref> In high school, he was mentored by another Auburn professor, Thaddeus Roppel,<ref name=":1" /> and Mark Smith, co-founder of [[ADTRAN|Adtran]].<ref name=":0" />

== Career ==
As a computer engineering major at [[Auburn University]], Mark was the original author of the GTK+-based instant messaging client Gaim (which has since been renamed to Pidgin), the L2TP daemon l2tpd and the Cheops Network User Interface. He also co-oped at Huntsville-based networking and telecommunications corporation Adtran, and started a Linux technical support business. Unable to afford a PBX for his new company, he created the Asterisk™ Linux-based open-source PBX and founded [[Digium]] Inc, an open-source telecommunications supplier. Mark served as CEO, Chairman, and CTO as Digium and Asterisk spearheaded the global telecom revolution that allowed businesses and developers to build affordable, scalable communication systems without the need for expensive proprietary hardware or software, including Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hardy |first=Quentin |title=Dial D for Disruption |url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0410/063.html |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> Today Asterisk continues to be the world’s leading open-source framework for integrating real-time, multi-protocol communications applications.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Get Started ⋆ Asterisk |url=https://www.asterisk.org/get-started/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=Asterisk |language=en-US}}</ref>

When Digium was sold in 2018, Mark focused his software skills on the aviation industry. As an FAA-certified air transport pilot, Mark knew that aerospace avionics suffered some of the same oligopolistic problems that had plagued telecom: reduced competition, high costs, and high barriers to entry. Mark founded [https://www.avilution.com/ Avilution, LLC] to create Android apps including QuickWeather and AviationMaps. AviationMaps was later spun off to FlightPro, then DroidEFB.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-09 |title=Sit Down With Success: Mark Spencer Of Avilution - Huntsville Business Journal |url=https://huntsvillebusinessjournal.com/technology/2022/02/09/sit-down-with-success-mark-spencer-of-avilution/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=huntsvillebusinessjournal.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Adapting a similar strategy as Asterisk, he developed the eXtensible Flight System (XFS), a modular open-system avionics software architecture. XFS has integrated whole avionics suites in civil light aircraft such as the Zenith CH750,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-07-24|title='Unpanel' replaces traditional instruments on new Zenith model|url=https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/july/24/unpanel-replaces-traditional-instruments-on-new-zenith-model|access-date=2021-04-08|website=www.aopa.org}}</ref> customized flight test instrumentation in developmental eVTOLs such as the Beta Technologies Ava XC technology demonstrator, and contributed to an FAA-approved supplemental type certificate for integrating a replacement air data computer into the popular Eclipse 500 light business jet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dynamic Regulatory System - Supplemental Type Certificates |url=https://drs.faa.gov/browse/excelExternalWindow/CB9B78EC9F2D7715862580ED00571B0C.0001 |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=drs.faa.gov}}</ref> Since 2020 the U.S. Dept of Defense has become Avilution’s largest customer, as XFS has proven an ideal framework for implementing modular open-system approaches (MOSA) to achieve higher interoperability, faster upgrades, and lower costs for military avionics and mission systems.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-11 |title=Huntsville's Avilution Successfully Demonstrates New Experimental Technologies At EDGE - Huntsville Business Journal |url=https://huntsvillebusinessjournal.com/news/2023/08/11/huntsvilles-avilution-successfully-demonstrates-new-experimental-technologies-at-edge/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=huntsvillebusinessjournal.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2023, Avilution received the DoD MOSA Summit Innovation Challenge Award for “innovation with the potential to solve our nation’s most critical MOSA challenges.”<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Chowdhry |first=Amit |date=2025-02-18 |title=Avilution: Interview With Founder Mark Spencer About His Avionics Design Company |url=https://pulse2.com/avilution-profile-mark-spencer-interview/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=Pulse 2.0 |language=en}}</ref> In 2024, Mark Spencer and others authored a paper, “Avilution’s eXtensible Flight System (XFS)–Making Modular Open-System Approaches Practical”, selected for both ''Best in Session'' for Modular Open Systems Approach ([https://www.dsp.dla.mil/Programs/MOSA/ MOSA]) and ''Best in Track'' for Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA). In addition to that, Avilution was also honored to be further selected for Third Place in the overall ''Best of Conference'' awards for the best of the 235 academic papers submitted to the 2024 Digital Avionics Systems Conference.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Spencer |first1=Mark |last2=Stough |first2=John |last3=LaStrapes |first3=Ty |chapter=Avilution's eXtensible Flight System (XFS) Software: Making MOSA Practical |date=August 2024 |title=2024 AIAA DATC/IEEE 43rd Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC) |chapter-url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10748992 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1109/DASC62030.2024.10748992|isbn=979-8-3503-4961-0 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.marko.net/ Mark Spencer's previous homepage] (copies at the [[Internet Archive]])
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060315171520/http://osdir.com/Article8156.phtml Interview with Mark Spencer] at OSDir.com
*{{webarchive |date=2013-01-19 |url=https://archive.today/20130119194857/http://news.com.com/Is+the+telephone+industry+ready+for+open+source/2008-1082_3-5737703.html?part=rss&tag=5737703&subj=news |title=Interview with Mark Spencer}} at CNet
*[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081218180926/http://tllts.org/mirror.php?fname=tllts_108-11-02-05.mp3 Linux Link Tech Show interview (audio), 2005]
*[https://archive.today/20130222165733/http://www.techistan.net/2009/12/28/global-open-source-enthusiasts-interview-mark-spencer/  Global open source enthusiasts interview Mark Spencer December 2009]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930014735/http://www.al.com/business/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fbusiness%2F1170238940197250.xml&coll=1 News story regarding changing roles at Digium]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Mark}}
[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Huntsville, Alabama]]
[[Category:Free software programmers]]
[[Category:Auburn High School (Alabama) alumni]]
[[Category:Auburn University alumni]]
[[Category:Asterisk (PBX)]]