Greene, Frank S. Jr.
1938-2009 · Contribution: 1960s
Designed high-speed semiconductor computer memory systems at Fairchild Semiconductor in the 1960s — among the fastest memory chips of their time — used in the ILLIAC IV supercomputer; pioneered redundant solid-state RAM
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
One of the first Black engineers in Silicon Valley; his memory-chip work advanced modern computing. Later a tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist (co-founded New Vista Capital) supporting women- and minority-owned firms. National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee.
Life & background
African-American electrical engineer, inventor, and venture capitalist born Oct 19, 1938 in Washington, DC; raised in St. Louis. BS Washington University (1961); PhD electrical engineering, Santa Clara University. First Black cadet to complete his university's Air Force ROTC. Died 2009.
Sources
- BlackPast.org; National Inventors Hall of Fame; Purdue ECE; The Carolinian
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