Tag: Pioneers in Tech
Pioneers in Tech: An Wang, a key player in technology’s core memories
The layperson might not immediately name An Wang as a 20th-century technical giant, but we certainly should. The Chinese American computer engineer invented the magnetic pulse transfer controlling device, which, as you will learn in this edition of Pioneers in...
Pioneers in Tech: Happy birthday to Chief Yahoo David Filo
You’ve heard of Ben and Jerry, but are you as familiar with Jerry and David? Unless you’re a keen watcher of Silicon Valley, perhaps not. But the website founded in 1994 as “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide...
Pioneers in Tech: Carol Shaw, Atari video game designer
“I was good at math. I entered a bunch of math contests and won awards. Of course, people would say, “Gee, you’re good at math—for a girl. That was kind of annoying. Why shouldn’t girls be good at math?” This...
Pioneers in Tech: Gladys West, the “hidden figure” of GPS
We all rely on GPS nearly every day and may frequently marvel at how much easier it makes life. (Think about it: When was the last time you were lost?) But how often do we think about the people behind...
Pioneers in Tech: Aaron Swartz, co-developer of RSS
When you consider the life story of Aaron Swartz, many questions come to mind. Most notably, what if? What if Swartz had lived past age 26? What might have he accomplished? Let’s take a closer look at this month’s edition...
Pioneers in Tech: Happy birthday to code-breaker W.W. Chandler
This month marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of W.W. Chandler. In this edition of Pioneers in Tech, we will look into his impact on technology. Chandler was responsible for installation and maintenance of the World War II-era code-breaking...
Pioneers in Tech: Gene Amdahl, “father” of mainframe computing
When you walk around with a computer in your hand or on your wrist, it’s easy to forget how much of the world still runs on mainframe computers. In this Pioneers in Tech, we look at how an estimated 10,000...
Pioneers in Tech: Happy birthday to AI pioneer John McCarthy
This week’s Pioneers in Tech takes a look at John McCarthy, the technology pioneer who coined the term “AI” back in 1955. Born Sept. 4, 1927, McCarthy first used “AI” in his proposal for the 1956 Dartmouth Conference, a gathering...
Pioneers in Tech: Logging birthday greetings to Gordon Bell
In this month’s edition of Pioneers in Tech, we wish a happy birthday to technology visionary Gordon Bell, who turns 89 August 19. Born in Kirksville, Missouri, Bell is a co-founder of what is today the Computer History Museum in...
Pioneers in Tech: Joan L. Mitchell, co-inventor of the JPEG
This week’s Pioneers in Tech looks at how today’s social media influencers owe much to Joan L. Mitchell, a self-professed “Sputnik baby” who came of age during the space race and ended up co-creating one of the file formats most...
