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Year:1999​

Who: Mark E. Dean​

Where: Austin, Texas​

What: Mark E. Dean, born on March 2, 1957, in Jefferson City, Tennessee, is a trailblazing inventor and computer engineer whose contributions have profoundly shaped the personal computer industry. Dean is best known for co-creating the IBM personal computer in 1981 and for his development of the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, which allowed for the connection of peripheral devices to PCs. Additionally, Dean played a key role in the creation of the first one-gigahertz processor chip in 1999, a revolutionary advancement in computing technology.

Dean's passion for technology began at an early age. Raised by his father, an electrical engineer, Dean was exposed to engineering principles from a young age. By the time he was in middle school, he was already set on becoming a computer engineer. After graduating from Jefferson City High School, where he excelled in academics and athletics, Dean went on to earn his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1979. He then joined IBM, where his innovative work led to a series of significant breakthroughs.

In 1995, Dean became the first African American to be named an IBM Fellow, the company's highest honor for technical excellence. He has also been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Dean has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Black Engineer of the Year Presidents Award and Mark Dean Day in Knox County, Tennessee, declared in his honor in 2019.

After retiring from IBM in 2013, Dean became a professor at the University of Tennessee, where he continues to inspire the next generation of engineers. Dean holds over 20 patents, and his pioneering work continues to impact the world of personal computing.

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2800 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218

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