Technology & Computing
The ISA bus and the open PC architecture
The problem
A personal computer that could not be extended was a dead end; every new capability meant a new machine.
The innovation
A standard internal expansion bus letting third parties build cards — graphics, sound, networking, storage — that any PC could accept.
How it worked
A published slot and signalling standard turns the computer into a platform rather than a product.
Why it mattered
Created the entire PC peripheral industry.
The legacy
PCI, AGP, PCIe and the modern component ecosystem descend from this decision. Dean holds three of the original nine IBM PC patents.
You use this today
Any desktop where you can add a graphics card.
Sources
IBM PC original patent records
Primary recordMark Dean inductee record
Institutional record
Follow the invention
The West Area computers become programmers
Dorothy Vaughan taught herself FORTRAN and machine operation, then taught her staff, converting a pool of hand calculators into the programming staff of the new Analysis and Computation Division.
The precision wire resistor
A wire-wound resistance element designed so its value held under thermal and mechanical stress, and could be manufactured cheaply and consistently.
Chemotherapy against solid tumours
Systematic patient trials of chemotherapeutic agents, including methotrexate, against solid tumours — and a method of testing candidate drugs on tissue taken from the patient's own tumour before treating them.