East NY Crypto Institute

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Gladys West is a mathematician whose work contributed to the development of GPS (Global positioning system). GPS technology is now the basis of online map services like Google Maps that so many people and industries around the world rely on every day!
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Jerry Lawson (1940-2011) is best known for his time at legendary Silicon Valley semiconductor firm Fairchild. While there, he proved instrumental in the development of the world's first cartridge-based (aka computerized) video game system, the Fairchild Channel F (1976). Lawson did electronics design for the console, went on to found his own video game company, VideoSoft, and was then a mentor at Stanford.
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Dr. Mark Dean joined IBM in 1980, and soon after became part of the team that developed the revolutionary IBM PC 5150, released in 1981. As part of that process, he co-created the PC's ISA bus, and he is named on three of the nine original patents that define foundational IBM PC technology. For his numerous achievements at IBM, the firm named Dean an IBM Fellow in 1995, one of only 50 active at the firm and the first African-American so honored. In 1999, Dean led a group at IBM to create a 1GHz CPU, and today he is a professor at the University of Tennessee. And although PCs have evolved over time becoming faster, smaller, and lighter, they all rely on patents established in the 1980s. Three of those patents are held by Dr. Mark Dean. A computer wizard at IBM in the 1980s, Dean co-developed the familiar desktop PC design that, in the words of Thomas Hollingsworth, director of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, “has allowed PCs to become part of our lives.”
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Ed Smith got his start in Brooklyn working on traffic control signal for Marbelite. From there he went on to co-design an early cartridge-based video game system, the APF MP-1000 (1978) for New York-based APF Electronics. He also worked on its computer attachment, the Imagination Machine, which competed with products from Apple and Atari in the late 1970s. After his time at APF, he became a successful electronics salesman, a career he continues to this day.
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The inventor Granville T. Woods (1856–1910) was sadly often overlooked in comparison to others who were also developing new technologies at the time, particularly Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. Granville T. Wood’s most important invention was the ‘induction telegraph’ in 1887. This allowed people to communicate by voice over telegraph wires, which until then was limited to only those who could communicate in morse code. The patent for Woods’ invention was bought by Alexander Graham Bell, who is most commonly credited as the inventor of the telephone, but really Woods was integral to its development. Woods was also challenged by Thomas Edison (the inventor credited with the invention of the lightbulb) who took legal action against Woods to claim that the patent should belong to him. Woods is also responsible for many developments in transportation including the electric rollercoaster.
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Shirley Jackson remains one of the most impressive people of all time. Dr. Shirley Jackson was the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate in nuclear physics at MIT. Her experiments with theoretical physics paved the way for numerous developments in the telecommunication space including the touch-tone telephone, the portable fax, caller ID, call waiting, and the fiber-optic cable. Along with her doctoral degree in particle physics, Dr. Jackson worked with Bell Laboratories and collaborated on research related to charge density waves. Charge density waves are important in creating high-temperature superconductors, which have all sorts of technological applications. President Bill Clinton even appointed Jackson as Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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In 1982, Dr. Marc Hannah and several other computer scientists founded Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI), a highly influential computer graphics firm that specialized in software and hardware for creating cutting-edge 3D illustrations and effects, especially for films such as Jurassic Park and Terminator 2. The advancement of lower-cost graphics solutions led to the end of SGI in 2009, although Hannah left the firm in 1997. Hannah has since been involved in several high-tech businesses (including SongPro, a firm that created an MP3 player for the Game Boy Advance in 2002) and is still highly respected in the industry.
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Emmitt McHenry co-founded Network Solutions, Inc., one of the early leading Internet domain services providers. In 1995, he founded NetCom Solutions International, a telecommunications and engineering company that has won awards from IBM and NASA, among other places.
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Thank Lisa Gelobter for the animated GIFs we love. She was integrally involved with the creation of mad pioneering internet technologies, including Shockwave, the genesis of animation on the web, and the emergence of online video.
Lisa was the Interim Head of Digital for BET Networks and ran Technology, Product and Business Operations. She was also a member of the senior management team for the launch of Hulu.
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Frank S. Greene was a leader in high-speed semiconductor computer memory systems. Frank S. Greene, an electrical engineer, inventor, teacher, and advocate, was a Silicon Valley powerhouse. A doctorate holder and one of the world leaders in semiconductor technology, Greene created a patent for an integrated circuit. His patent helped make Fairchild a leader in semiconductor tech in the 1960s.
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Otis Boykin (1920-1982) was an inventor whose most important development was the improvement of electrical resistors in the 1960s, making many electrical devices much more reliable. Otis’ electrical resistor technology is used in televisions, radios, computers and many more electrical devices today!
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Alice Parker patented a natural gas furnace in 1919. Her invention helped modernize the HVAC industry and central heating systems, allowing for greater conservation of energy and moving us away from a reliance on wood and coal. Needless to say, our homes are now much more comfortable thanks to her revolutionary concept.
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Throughout the 1970s, 80s, and beyond, Ken Coleman thrived as a manager and executive at several high-profile tech firms. In the 70s, he worked at Hewlett-Packard. In 1982, he joined pioneering video game developer Activision, where he later became VP of Product Development. Stints at SGI, ITM Software, Accelrys, and more solidified his reputation as a highly respected tech executive. He has since been an adviser to the US government on trade and received many honorariums for his achievements in the industry.
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Lonnie G. Johnson is a former Air Force and NASA engineer who invented the massively popular Super Soaker water gun and Nerf gun.
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James Edward West is responsible for (almost) every microphone in the world. Before Marian Croak’s VoIP can transmit the sound of your voice from Dr. Mark Dean’s PC across the Internet during your video conference, it’s likely that the microphone you speak into is based on principles patented by Dr. James Edward West. West, an American inventor and acoustician, holds over 250 foreign and U.S. patents for the production and design of microphones. But nearly 90 percent of more than 2 billion microphones produced annually are based on just one, the foil-electret. The products of his invention can be found in everyday items such as telephones, camcorders, hearing aids, baby monitors, and audio recording devices among others.
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Dr. Clarence 'Skip' Ellis (1943-2014) was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. in computer science (in 1969 at the University of Illinois). He became interested in computers as a teenager when he was tasked with guarding a commercial computer system; having studied the manuals in his spare time, he surprised his employers by solving many technical problems. At Xerox PARC in the 1970s and 80s, he pioneered Officetalk, a collaborative office work system that's much like today's frequently used apps, like Google Docs. As a sought-after computer researcher, he worked at firms like Bell Labs, IBM, Los Alamos Scientific Lab, and many more during his long career. He passed away in 2014.
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An inventor we have to thank for our modern-day conveniences is Fredrick McKinley Jones with his advances in automatic long-haul truck refrigeration system. He made it possible to ship items that need to stay cool, with numerous patents in refrigeration. He also contributed to other industries, specifically film, as well as the medical field. Just know when you purchase produce at the store or order perishables online, Jones’s work helped make it possible.
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