Reynold B. Johnson

Reynold B. Johnson Biography
Reynold B. Johnson was born in the state of Minnesota, USA, 1906. He is the inventor of the disk and is called the "father of the disk drive". Indeed, childhood and adolescence Reynold away from the computer business. There, he also ate the school bench. Lecture at the University of Minnesota, he majored in education administration. Having completed his bachelor's degree in 1929, Johnson taught at a secondary school in Ironwood, Michigan. There to be a teacher of natural science and mathematics. His strength, Mr. Johnson teachers find ways to make math make his equations mumet students, can be more easily understood.


Ever also at one time, two students caught stealing a radio school. Both were convicted. During the period of their sentence was mentored Johnson. The teacher changed the sentence into something useful. Reynold every day to make a tool to guide both experiments. Until the end of their sentences, these two students have created a tool to examine the test sheet that uses a system of multiple-choice multiple choice alias. Although shrewd educate students, educational career Johnson failed miserably in the middle of the road. Four years teaching at the school, the teacher was fired instead. This event is not only a life-changing teacher Johnson, but also changed the history of data storage systems. Johnson use their spare time to finalize the grading machine had multiple choice exam. The results are staying to the few number of companies, including IBM. Finally, only a year of unemployment, in 1934, Johnson was appointed to be an engineer at IBM.


He was placed in a laboratory at Columbia University and IBM Endicott, New York. His job was just one: developing a grading machine sheet multiple choice exam. This machine is capable of reading pencil on the answer sheet, and then automatically calculate and disclose the final results of visual assessment. The idea of ​​making this machine does not come just like that. Since the boy, Johnson knew about the electrical properties of the pencil number 2 (a kind of pencil 2B), which is often used by students for the exam. Johnson runny, like the engine idle T Ford owned by his sister, by rubbing with a pencil-rubbing was the spark plug. From there, Johnson began to realize the magnetic content of the pencil, which can then be detected by the grading machine test sheet creation. Machine called the IBM 805, and then to thousands of units produced in 1937. At least, until the decade of the 1970s, the IBM 805 is still widely used.


The next episode of Johnson's career, began when IBM officials recognize the need for data storage systems will increase rapidly. That is why, in 1952, the company that sent Johnson to San Jose, California to form a team that was given the mammoth task. Looking for a data storage system is fast and reliable. In his new place, Johnson continued his research begun by IBM's research team at Columbia. One is the storage engine Random Access Memory (RAM). The system allows users to access and find data more quickly. At the time, typically the data stored on the card plong or magnetic tape (magnetic tape). This method is very meticulous. It takes many minutes to find the desired data. Initially, Johnson who had 15 of his staff, focusing on the development of storage systems alias rotating cylindrical drum. At that time, this model of the storage media are being widely developed.


Later, the team is more interested in the disc-shaped storage discs developed by Jacob Rabinow of the National Bureau Standard. The reason is simple. In his mind, disc storage is more easily developed, more reliable, and economical cost. That's why all personnel deployed to the project. The results are remarkable. At the end of 1955, they successfully make a hard disk storage that is named the IBM 350. Hard disk is part of a computer system called the RAMAC 305 (distinguishing the penyimpannya system, called the IBM 305). RAMAC itself is short for Random Access Method of Accounting Control, a system that is able to provide fast data access for users in that period. Unlike hard disks that were found on the market today, IBM 350 was much more bongsor. The magnitude of the equivalent of two refrigerators in a row. Its weight was unsparing, one ton. That's because, he composed 50 pieces 24-inch diagonal disks (about 60 cm), which piled. Storage capacity? About 5 megabytes of data.

When used to store the MP3 music file format, IBM 350 can only load one file songs, more or less, a duration of 5 minutes. Compare this to the hard disk of the latest


Seagate, the newly launched mid this year. With a size of 3.5 inches (about 9 cm), he was able to load the data of 1.5 terabytes, or 314 000 times more storage capacity than the IBM 350. Although only able to store 5 megabytes of data, but the capacity for it is a phenomenal leap in his time. IBM 350 disk disc made Johnson, is capable of rotating about 1200 revolutions per second (RPM). He has two heads (data reader devices) to read and write data (read / write) in seconds or milliseconds. Finally, in 1956, IBM 350 was introduced as the first commercial hard disk in the world.

Johnson had little memory of the days that determine when working at IBM. According to him, when it was, he took two of the most appropriate decisions in his life. First, the decision to go into research in the field of random-access storage. The second, when he decided to concentrate on research on media data storage discs. "Later, I learned that some people in this country (United States) also developed a similar study with the concept that I have. However, they do research on a variety of other media, such as wire, ribbon, etc.," said Johnson.
10 Facts about Reynold B Johnson
IBM had initially rejected the concept of the work of the grading machine test pieces of Johnson. But later on, the company saw the business potential of the machine and recruited him as an employee.


Johnson's creation engine is recognized by the U.S. government is assisting them in putting a lot of people in various positions right.
Johnson is one of the most prolific inventors at IBM. He also contributed in the areas of reading data from plong card (punch card).


Johnson has no less than 90 findings that had he patented during his career. That is, during his lifetime, the average Johnson made a new discovery in one year.
In 1971, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) bestowed the award Johnson Machine Design Award.


In 1992, the worldwide professional organization of electrical engineers, IEEE, perpetuating the name of Johnson at a special award category for the development of data storage technology (Reynold B Johnson Award).


Small lab on the outskirts of San Jose Johnson, now swelled into a giant installation area of ​​144 hectares, with more than six thousand people dwell in it. San Jose has also been turned into the center of the development of hard discs.


The technology developed micronograph Johnson, used by the company's Fisher Price toys on the toy "Talk to Me Books", in which the children can use a pointing device image or word, to listen to the story. Later, this tool was awarded "Toy of the Year".
In 1998 Johnson died of melanoma (skin cancer).


In the end, Johnson was still full of ideas and innovation. When she died she was still working on the codification project of Chinese characters that have not been completed.

Johnson's success was solely due to the foresight vision. According to Jack Kuehler - the person who picked Johnson to employees and later became president of IBM - to testify about Johnson possessed a warm attitude. "Johnson is a person who is always looking for new ideas. While at his side, you will feel that he is a father figure, who would be a tutor and was always willing to help. You will find that it works better, and will challenge you to reach concept and creativity than ever before, "said Jack. Personal about his father, one of Johnson's son, Philip, commented that Johnson was the father of a gentle, kind, and do not like to show off. "Of the many discoveries that he accomplished, he never tried to show him," said Philip. Johnson retired from IBM in 1971, and founded a consulting firm Education Engineering Associates, located in Palo Alto. In his company, Johnson had developed the technology micronograph which allows one to listen to audio recordings through a text or pictures in a book.

Johnson, in collaboration with Sony developing video storage technology that can contain data of two-fold greater than normal video tape at the time. The discovery was later also became the forerunner of technological Video Camera Recorder. On a variety of services, in 1986, Johnson received many awards. Awards including the National Medal of Science from the United States President Ronald Reagan. Tuesday, September 15, 1998, Johnson died at the age of 92 years. He leaves a wife named Beatrice, and two sons, Philip and David. Also left a legacy that allows you to store data, Hard Disk Drive.