Gene Amdahl, Computer architect and high-tech entrepreneur, Died at 92

  Business

Gene Myron Amdahl was born on November 16, 1922, and died on November 10, 2015.

He was an American computer architect and high-tech entrepreneur, chiefly known for his work on mainframe computers at IBM and later his own companies, especially Amdahl Corporation.

Gene formulated an Amdahl’s law, which states a fundamental limitation of parallel computing.

Gene was born to immigrant parents of Norwegian and Swedish descent in Flandreau, South Dakota.

After serving in the Navy during WWII, Gene completed a degree in engineering physics at South Dakota State University in 1948.

Gene went on to study theoretical physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and completed his doctorate there in 1952 with a thesis titled A Logical Design of an Intermediate Speed Digital Computer and creating his first computer, the WISC.

He then went straight from Wisconsin to a well-paid position at IBM in June 1952.

Gene passed away at age 92 in November 2015.