Dr. Mark E. Dean

Mark Dean was born on March 2, 1957, in Jefferson City, Tennessee to James and Barbara Dean. He is credited with helping to launch the personal computer age because of his work in making the machines more accessible and powerful.As a child, Dean showed a love for building things even constructing a tractor from scratch with the help of his father, a supervisor at the Tennessee Valley Authority. Dean also excelled in extracurriculars, standing out as a gifted athlete. In 1979, he graduated at the top of his class at the University of Tennessee, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Engineering.

After college, Dean landed a job at IBM, a company he would become associated with for the duration of his career. As an engineer, Dean proved to be a rising star at the company. He worked closely with a colleague, Dennis Moeller, to develop the new Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) systems bus, a new system that allowed peripheral devices like disk drives, printers, and monitors to be plugged directly into computers. Dean’s research at IBM helped change the accessibility and power of the personal computer, leading to the development of the color PC monitor. In 1999, Dean led a team of engineers at IBM’s Austin, Texas, lab to create the first gigahertz chip—a revolutionary piece of technology that is able to do a billion calculations a second. As a result of his work, Dean holds three of the company’s original nine patents and has more 20 patents associated with his name.

Mark Dean continued to further his education and earned his Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Florida Atlantic University in 1982. Then, 10 years later, he completed his doctorate in the same field from Stanford University. Dean has been recognized for his work, notably his 1996 honor as an IBM fellow, making himself the first African-American ever to receive the award. A year later, he was honored with the Black Engineer of the Year President’s Award and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In 2001, he was tapped to be a member of the National Academy of Engineers. Mark Dean has been quoted stating “A lot of kids growing up today aren’t told that you can be whatever you want to be…There may be obstacles, but there are no limits.” These words and his life of continued success help to inspire the next generation of Black STEAMers.

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