Lydia E. Kavraki

Known for research in robotics, bioinformatics, and algorithms, Kavraki left Greece to pursue a PhD in computer science at Stanford University. Drawn to the human potential of robotics, Kavraki studied how robots—from...

Severo M. Ornstein

Co-designer of Mockingbird, the first interactive computer-based music-score editor, and overseer of its programming, Ornstein is a retired computer scientist and son of Russian-American composer Leo Ornstein. He joined MIT's Lincoln Laboratory...

Paul Eisler

Inventor of the printed circuit board, Eisler forfeited rights to his invention when he neglected to read the contract before signing it. In 1941 Paul was able to engage Henderson and Spalding,...

Michael (Mike) James Massimino

Researcher on human operator control of space robotics systems resulting in two patents, and developer of laptop computer displays to assist operators of the Space Shuttle remote manipulator system, Massimino is an...

James T. Russell

Inventor of the concept of optical digital recording and playback, Russell joined the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory of Battelle Memorial Institute in Richland in 1965. There, that same year, he developed the...

Stanley Mazor

Co-designer of the world's first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, Mazor also co-patented "Symbol," a high-level language computer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, as a youth his family moved to California, where he attended...

Reynold (Ray) B. Johnson

Developer of the first manufactured hard disk drive, Johnson began his career as a teacher after graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1929, and invented an electronic test scoring machine, for...

Ralph H. Baer

Known as the "father of video games" and inventor of the home video game console, Baer transformed interactive entertainment. In 1949, Baer went to work as chief engineer for a small electro-medical equipment...

Jeffrey Chuan Chu

A core member of the engineering team that designed the first electronic computer, ENIAC, in 1946, Chu went on to become a leading figure in computing and a tireless advocate for modernizing...

Harry Sello

Responsible for the transfer of silicon transistor technology to Societa Generale Semiconduttore in Italy, negotiating cultural and industrial boundaries, Sello is an American chemist born in Russia whose family emigrated to the...

Don Hammond

Developer of time standards for space navigation, high-speed computer printers, and medical ultrasound technology, Hammond built a 50-year career on these and other significant contributions. While at HP from 1959 to 1987, Hammond...

Arimasa Naitoh

Popularly known as the "father" of the ThinkPad Notebook PC, Naitoh has served as Vice-President of Development for Lenovo's Notebook division. While at IBM's development facility in Yamato City, Japan, he worked...

Charles Kuen Kao

Pioneer in the development and use of fiber optics in telecommunications, Kao is known as the "Godfather of Broadband," "Father of Fiber Optics," and "Father of Fiber Optic Communications." He was jointly...

Robert (Bob) E. Lorenzini

Co-designer and developer of a crystal growing furnace, Lorenzini joined Rheem Semiconductor in 1960, the first spin-off from Fairchild Semiconductor, where he was involved in the design and development of that furnace....

Jim Tice Ellis

Co-creator of Usenet, Ellis changed how people communicate online. It was 1979 when Ellis and a fellow Duke University student, Tom Truscott, decided to use e-mail programs and university computers to establish...

Edson (Ed) de Castro

Designer of the Data General Nova series of computers, de Castro was a computer engineer born in Plainfield, New Jersey, but his family moved to Newton, Massachusetts when he was six, and...

Morgan Sparks

Co-inventor of the microwatt bipolar junction transistor, Sparks helped create a semiconductor device that led to personal computers, cell phones, and DVD players. He was born in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and grew...

Boris N Malinovsky

Designer of early Soviet computers and control systems, Malinovsky worked with noted Russian computer pioneer Lebedev in the design of early Soviet computers. In 1955–1958, he designed a specialized computer for ground-based...

An Wang

Inventor and co-founder of Wang Laboratories, Wang transformed business computing through pioneering work in calculators, word processors, and minicomputers. Wang founded Wang Laboratories in June 1951 as a sole proprietorship. By 1970...

Edwin (Ted) Joseph Selker

Developer of the TrackPoint pointing stick technology and designer of the ThinkPad 755CV notebook computer (which doubles as an LCD projector), Selker is an American computer scientist known for his user interface...