Birth: December 31, 1945

Major Academic Events: He received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from U.C. Berkeley.

Contributions to Computer Science: He invented DNA Computing (computing and storing data with DNA instead of silicon chips) with a couple colleagues while teaching at MIT in 1994. DNA Computers are much faster and smaller than normal computers. He also contributed much to the RSA algorithm (which can encrypt data).

Leonard Adleman Biography

Leonard M. Adleman-American computer scientist

Leonard Adleman – The Father of DNA Computing:

Birth: November 9, 1994

Death: January 19, 2000

Major Academic Events: She never had formal education but she did attend a famed acting school in Berlin.

Contributions to Computer Science: She invented frequency hopping (rapidly switching frequencies) in 1941. This was a major development in wireless communication and was a huge help to the Navy because it reduced the risk of detection by enemies.

Highlighting the Legacy of Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr

June 1941: Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil submit patent for radio frequency hopping

Birth: March 2, 1957

Major Academic Events: He attended an integrated school, Jefferson City High School, where white teachers and classmates were amazed by his intellect and straight-A grades. He reportedlyhad an interest in science and a love for technology from a your age. The son of a supervisor at the Tennessee Valley Authority, as a boy Dean’s early building projects included building a tractor from scratch.

Major Contributions: The first IBM personal computer was released in 1981. It began with nine patents including three from Mark Dean. His early contributions were to the IBM PS/2 Models 70 and 80, the Color Graphic Adapter, and the internal architecture which allows PCs to use peripheral high speed devices such as a mouse, keyboard, or scanner.

Computer Scientists of the American Diaspora

National Inventors Hall of Fame

Mark E. Dean: co-inventor of the PC