IBM Fellow

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An IBM Fellow is an appointed position at IBM made by IBM’s CEO. Typically only 4 or 5 IBM Fellows are appointed each year, at the annual Corporate Technical Recognition Event (CTRE) event in May or June. It is considered to be the highest honor a technologist at IBM can achieve. Similar positions are not unknown at other large companies in the computer industry, as for example the Technical fellow at Microsoft.

The IBM Fellows program was founded in 1962 by Thomas J. Watson, Jr., as a way to promote creativity among the company’s “most exceptional” technical professionals. The first appointments were made in 1963. The criteria for appointment are stringent and take into account only the most significant technical achievements. In addition to a history of extraordinary accomplishments, candidates must also be considered to have the potential to make continued contributions. IBM Fellows are given broad latitude to identify and pursue projects in their area of expertise.

Since 1963, 203 IBM Fellows have been appointed. Of these, 70 are active employees (in late May 2008). The IBM Technical Community numbers over 200,000 people, including 560 Distinguished Engineers.

A partial list, in chronological order (list from 2008):

[edit] References

The Corporate Technical Recognition Event commemorative book for each year lists the IBM Fellows designated in that year. The following have been used to verify the names and dates for those years in the list above:

  • IBM CTRE Book, June 5–8, 1984
  • IBM CTRE Book, May 16–19, 1988
  • IBM CTRE Book, June 4–7, 1990
  • IBM CTRE Book, June 5–8, 2000
  • IBM CTRE Book, May 29–June 1, 2001
  • IBM CTRE Book, June 4–7, 2002
  • IBM CTRE Book, June 2–5, 2003
  • IBM CTRE Book, May 25–28, 2004
  • IBM CTRE Book, May 24–27, 2005
  • IBM CTRE Book, May 23–26, 2006
  • IBM CTRE Book, May 14–17, 2007
  • IBM CTRE Book, May 12–15, 2008, Phoenix, Arizona

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[edit] See also

Microsoft has a similar recognition program entitled Technical Fellow and has at the start of 2007 hired IBM Fellow Donald F. Ferguson.

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