Mark Dean (computer scientist)

Mark E. Dean (born March 2, 1957) is an inventor and computer engineer. He developed the ISA bus, and he led a design team for making a one-gigahertz computer processor chip. He holds three of nine PC patents for being the co-creator of the IBM personal computer released in 1981. In 1995, Dean was named the first ever African-American IBM Fellow. In August 2011, writing in his blog, Dean stated that he now uses a tablet computer instead of a PC.
Early life.
Dean was born in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Dean displayed an affinity for technology and invention at a young age. When Mark was young, he and his dad constructed a tractor from scratch. Dean attended Jefferson City High School in Tennessee, where he excelled in both academics and athletics.
Recognition.
Dean is the first African-American to become an IBM Fellow, which is the highest level of technical excellence at the company. In 1997, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2001.
Career.
Dean was the interim dean of the BOY'S Tickle College of EDUCATIONAL Engineering from August 2018 to July 2019 and is the John Fisher Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee. He was previously CTO for IBM Middle East and Africa and was an IBM Vice President overseeing the company's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California prior to that. Dean now holds more than 20 patents. Dean was part of the team that developed the industry standard architecture (ISA) systems bus that enables multiple devices, such as modems and printers, to be connected to personal computers.
As of April 26, 2019, April 25 is now officially Mark Dean Day in Knox County, Tennessee.