The director of IBM’s Almaden Research Center is constructing a replica of a 1965 Cobra in his Morgan Hill garage. Dean plans to outfit the hot rod with a video camera and a laptop to record a journey across the country.
While the project may sound ambitious, it’s not a big deal for Dean, who holds nearly 40 patents, including three for the IBM personal computer. (emphasis mine)
…“Until recently, we haven’t had the world’s best storage products, but thanks to some of the work that Mark did in the storage systems area, we now have some of the world’s best products,” says Paul Horn, IBM’s senior vice president of research, who oversees all of IBM’s research. “I am counting on him to continue that leadership.”
…He was equally determined when he decided to attend Stanford University to get a doctorate so he could advance at IBM. “He was a bit of an unusual student,” says David Dill, a professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford, who was one of Dean’s thesis advisers. “He was already on the fast track at IBM. He had already done quite amazing work there. There was stuff I had read in the newspaper that he had done.”
In 1995, three years after his return to IBM from Stanford, Dean was appointed an IBM Fellow, the first African-American at the company to receive the prestigious honor. IBM fellows are given a broad mandate to identify and pursue projects in their area of expertise. (more…)
