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Erwin Tomash (born in 1925), is the co-founder of Dataproducts Corporation which specialized in computer technology, specifically printers. He is recognized for his early pioneering work with computer equipment peripherals, and is responsible for The Adelle and Erwin Tomash Fellowship in the History of Information Technology, The Erwin Tomash Library, and has also contributed towards the formation of the Charles Babbage Institute.
Education[edit]
Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Erwin Tomash graduated from the University of Minnesota with his electrical engineering degree in 1943.[1]
Early Life[edit]
Upon graduating from the University of Minnesota, Tomash joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps, where he worked with radar, and was awarded the Bronze Star for his wartime activities, which had demobilized him. Following his time with the Army Signal Corps, Tomash served at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory briefly, before joining the Engineering Research Associates. As a research associate, he worked on developing electronic computers, including the ERA 1103 or UNIVAC Scientific. In 1956 he joined Telemeter Magnetic in Los Angeles. He became the company's president soon after and oversaw Telemeter Magnetics' design of core memories for computers. In 1962 he left Telemeter Magnetic, and co-founded Dataproducts Corporation.[1]
Dataproducts Corporation[edit]
Dataproducts Corporation was co-founded by Erwin Tomash in 1962, and specialized in computer technology, with a focus in printers. In 1966, core memory was added to the product line, and due to their resulting expansion, the company relocated to Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California in 1968. They started acquiring other businesses, including Staff Dynamics, a personnel agency and Uptime, a manufacturer of card readers. By 1970 the company had become the world's leading independent printer manufacturer. In 1971 Graham Tyson replaced Tomash as CEO.[1][2]: 112–128
Awards/Accomplishments[edit]
In 1987 Erwin Tomash was honored by the IEEE Computer Society, and received the Computer Entrepreneur Award in recognition of his early pioneering work with computer equipment peripherals.[3]
Erwin and his wife Adelle Tomash were instrumental in establishing the Charles Babbage Institute, which honorably named a highly regarded library, archives, a fellowship program, after them, and later, the CBI Reprint Series.[4]
Erwin and Adelle Tomach, as well as the Tomash Family Foundation, were recognized in a 2009-2010 philanthropy report by the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) as having contributed a gift of $1,000 or more to specific programs at the university.[5]
The Erwin Tomash Library[edit]
The Erwin Tomash Library on The History of Computing is an annotated and illustrated catalog at the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering. It documents a collection of books and manuscripts related to the history of computing. It was assembled over the course of many years, by Erwin Tomash using his knowledge as a pioneer in the development of computers. The collection is made up of over five thousand items from twelfth century manuscripts to modern publications, and documents the rarest items together with a series of essays that explain the uses of little known instruments and techniques that are discussed in the entries. Each entry consists of the bibliographic details, some biographical information on the author, a description of the contents, and illustrations of interesting pages and diagrams. The catalog is almost 1600 pages long. The library can also be found on the IEEE Computer Society website.[6][7]
The Tomash Fellowship[edit]
The Adelle and Erwin Tomash Fellowship in the History of Information Technology is awarded to a graduate student for doctoral dissertation research in the history of computing. The fellowship is to be held at the recipient's home academic institution, the Charles Babbage Institute, or any other location with appropriate research facilities, and the stipend is $14,000. It is intended for students who have completed all requirements for the doctoral degree except the research and writing of the dissertation.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Oral-History:Erwin Tomash. IEEE Global History Network. Accessed January 3 2011.
- ^ Webster, Edward (2001). Print Unchained: 50 Years of Digital Printing, 1950-2000 and Beyond. Dra of Vermont. ISBN 0-9702617-0-5.f
- ^ Past Recipients. IEEE Computer Society. Accessed January 3 2011.
- ^ Erwin Tomash: his life and work. IEEE Xplore. Accessed January 3 2011.
- ^ 2009-2010 Philanthropy Report. University of California Santa Cruz. Accessed January 3 2011.
- ^ The Erwin Tomash Library. University of Minnesota. Accessed January 3 2011.
- ^ The Erwin Tomash Library on The History of Computing. IEEE Computer Society. Accessed January 3 2011.
- ^ The Tomash Fellowship. University of Minnesota. Accessed January 3 2011.