# Adam Kolawa

> Adam Kazimierz Kolawa (1957-2011) was the Polish-born co-founder and former CEO of Parasoft. A Caltech-trained theoretical physicist, he helped establish the company in 1987 and led its evolution from parallel computing into software development and quality tools. His books, technical inventions, and public writing advocated automated defect prevention and better development processes.

- **Role:** Software entrepreneur, theoretical physicist, and author
- **Organizations:** Parasoft, California Institute of Technology
- **From:** Poland
- **Nationality:** Polish
- **Education:** M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, AGH University of Science and Technology, M.Sc. in Physics, Jagiellonian University, Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Co-founded Parasoft in 1987 and led its transition into software development and quality tools., Los Angeles Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, software category, 2001., Co-authored Automated Defect Prevention: Best Practices in Software Management with Dorota Huizinga (2007).

## Career timeline

- **1983** — Moved from Poland to the United States to pursue a doctorate at Caltech.
- **1986** — Earned a Caltech Ph.D.; researched hypercube parallel computing with Geoffrey Fox.
- **1987** — Co-founded Parasoft with four Caltech friends, initially focusing on parallel processing.
- **1999** — Named a co-inventor on US5860011, concerning rule-based source code quality checks.
- **2001** — Received the Los Angeles Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in the software category.
- **2003** — Introduced Parasoft Automated Error Prevention for Java at JavaOne; Parasoft donated software valued at $1.5 million to Cal State Fullerton.
- **2004** — Reported 250 Parasoft employees worldwide and no outside funding in a socalTECH interview.
- **2007** — Co-authored Automated Defect Prevention with Dorota Huizinga.
- **2009** — Published The Next Leap in Productivity.
- **2011** — Died on April 26; his tenure as Parasoft CEO ended.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Parasoft in 1987 and led its transition into software development and quality tools.
- Los Angeles Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, software category, 2001.
- Co-authored Automated Defect Prevention: Best Practices in Software Management with Dorota Huizinga (2007).
- Authored The Next Leap in Productivity (2009).
- Co-authored Bulletproofing Web Applications with Wendell Hicken and Cynthia Dunlop.
- Co-inventor on patents covering software quality checks and testing technologies.

## Latest updates

- **2011-05** — Alan Zeichick published a remembrance of Kolawa on May 2, 2011.

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/adam-kolawa
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25