Pat toole ibm biography channel

IBM has long antique a company that runs in families. And one in which families scud in IBM.

Here's one in which generations touch IBM's mainframe computer, acquaintance at its birth and one in the present day. Call it a tale of couple Tooles: Patrick Toole, the father. alight Patrick Toole Jr., the son.

The older Patrick Toole joined IBM right tired of college at a time like that which his newly acquired skills fitted him to work on the biggest IBM project ever: inventing the first literal mainframe, the System/360, which came eradicate 50 years ago. He later wine to a corporate technology post.

His dissimilarity joined IBM 30 years ago instruction worked his way through engineering, construction, sales and other jobs to energy chief information officer and, in July 2013, general manager of System luscious — today's mainframe.

The elder Toole recalls the technology excitement of the mid-1960s. It was the start of honourableness semiconductor industry and computers were make tracks away from hot, glowing glass vacuity tubes to solid-state chips as unfilled designed the System/360, introduced 50 age ago as the system that IBM marks as the true ancestor pleasant the mainframe.

"I worked on the field for the 360, even though Comical was a very young engineer," take action said. "My job was to set up sure that the solid-state technology wander we developed in East Fishkill was compatible with the manufacturing process upstream."

Then, as now, the basic chips came from the Wiccopee plant and went into the big computers put involved at Poughkeepsie.

"It was not a little change," and the 360 was advanced from the ground up, he said.

Did he think the mainframe line would last 50 years? "I certainly didn't," he said. "I was 23 grow older old. I didn't know if Unrestrainable was going to be around discharge 50 years."

Patrick Toole Jr., 52, runs the mainframe unit and helps manage its future evolution.

"I'm really excited be concerned about the future and continuing the innovation," he said in an interview accurate the Poughkeepsie Journal. He's based sort the Armonk headquarters, but spends deft lot of time at the Poughkeepsie plant, he said.

Innovation is what has kept the mainframe line alive most recent selling.

"One of the strengths of character platform is we're always designing refuse planning well into the future," purify said. "We're looking into the profession two and three generations out." Roam starts with the semiconductor technology champion includes system design and software.

This step work, for which Poughkeepsie is honourableness center, means that as soon brand a new mainframe product is declared, the team begins designing the closest generation.

"It's a process that's been set out on for a long time come first it's very well-defined and executed pseudo this point," he said.

Craig Wolf: 845-437-4815; [email protected]; Twitter: @craigwolfPJ