Mark Edward Dean (born March 2, 1957) is an American

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

and

computer engineer Computer engineering (CE, CoE, or CpE) is a branch of engineering specialized in developing computer hardware and software. It integrates several fields of electrical engineering, electronics engineering and computer science. Computer engine ...

. He developed the ISA bus with his partner Dennis Moeller, and he led a design team for making a one-

gigahertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base un ...

computer processor Cryptominer, In computing and computer science, a processor or processing unit is an electrical component (circuit (computer science), digital circuit) that performs operations on an external data source, usually Memory (computing), memory or som ...

chip. He holds three of nine PC patents for being the co-creator of the

IBM personal computer The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible ''de facto'' standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a ...

released in 1981. In 1995, Dean was named the first ever

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

IBM Fellow An IBM Fellow is a position at IBM appointed by the CEO. Typically only four to nine (eleven in 2014) IBM Fellows are appointed each year, in May or June. Fellow is the highest honor a scientist, engineer, or programmer at IBM can achieve. Over ...

. Dean was elected as a member into the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 2001. In 2000, Mark discussed a hand held device that would be able to display media content, like a digital newspaper. In August 2011, Dean stated that he uses a

tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers ...

instead of a PC in his blog.

Early life

Dean was born in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Dean displayed an affinity for technology and invention at a young age. His father, James, worked bob electrical equipment for

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

s and

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

s. Dean's father would often bring him on work trips, introducing him to engineering. When Dean was young, he and his father constructed a tractor from scratch. In middle school, Dean had made up his mind on becoming a computer engineer. He attended Jefferson City High School in Tennessee, where he excelled in both academics and athletics. While in high school during the 1970s, Dean built his own personal computer.

Recognition

Dean is the first

to become an

, which is the highest level of technical excellence at the company. In 1997, he was inducted into the

National Inventors Hall of Fame The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) is an American not-for-profit organization, founded in 1973, which recognizes individual engineers and inventors who hold a US patent of significant technology. Besides the Hall of Fame, it also operate ...

. He was elected to the

in 2001. In 1997, Dean was awarded the Black Engineer of the Year Presidents Award. From August 2018 to July 2019, Dean was the interim dean of the UT's Tickle College of Engineering. As of April 26, 2019, April 25 is officially Mark Dean Day in

Knox County, Tennessee Knox County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 500,669 as of a 2023 estimate, making it the third-most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Knoxville, which is the third-most populous city in Te ...

Career and Achievements

Dean graduated with a bachelors in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

during 1979. Soon after, he got a job at IBM as an engineer. His first task at the company was to create a word processor adapter for IBM's Datamaster terminal. During this time, he also created the ISA bus that allowed additional components to be connected to a PC. His work got him promoted in 1982 to chief engineer of PC design, where he worked with a team to develop the IBM PC. In the same year, Dean earned his master's degree in electrical engineering. In 1999, Dean and his team developed a gigahertz microchip, the first in the world. Dean was the President overseeing the company's Almaden Research Center in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. At one point, Dean was CTO for IBM Middle East and Africa. He retired from the company in 2013 and became a professor at University of Tennessee. Mark Dean is the John Fisher Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

. Dean now holds more than 20 patents, and his work led to development of the color PC monitor.

Patents by Mark Dean

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Mark 1957 births Living people People from Jefferson City, Tennessee African-American engineers 21st-century American engineers African-American inventors 20th-century American inventors African-American computer scientists American computer scientists IBM Fellows Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Computer hardware engineers Harvard University faculty University of Tennessee faculty University of Tennessee alumni Florida Atlantic University alumni Stanford University School of Engineering alumni 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics Inventors from Tennessee