Gene Amdahl

Updated: 12/30/2019 by Computer Hope
Gene Amdahl

Name: Gene Myron Amdahl

Born: November 16, 1922, in Flandreau, South Dakota USA

Death: November 10, 2015 (Age: 92)

Computer-related contributions

  • American computer architect and high-tech entrepreneur, best known for his work on mainframe computers at IBM and later his own companies, especially Amdahl Corporation.
  • He formulated Amdahl's law, which states a fundamental limitation of parallel computing.
  • By 1979 Amdahl Corporation had sold over a $1 billion of V6 and V7 mainframes and had over 6,000 employees worldwide.

Honors and awards

  • Recognized with the SIGDA Pioneering Achievement Award (2007).
  • Fellow Award from the Computer History Museum (1998).
  • Recognized as the Centennial Alumnus of South Dakota State University (1986).
  • Awarded the Harry H. Goode Memorial Award by the IEEE Computer Society (1983).
  • Member of the National Academy of Engineering (1967).
  • Became an IBM Fellow (1965).