Mario Tchou (1924–1961), was an Italian engineer, of Chinese descent, a pioneer of computer science in Italy. Mario Tchou was an engineer who led a group of scientists from the
University of Pisa
The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe.
History
The Origins
The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...
to invent, in 1959, the
Olivetti Elea
The Elea was a series of mainframe computers Olivetti developed starting in the late 1950s. The system, made entirely with transistors for high performance, was conceived, designed and developed by a small group of researchers led by Mario Tchou ...
, world most powerful computer at the time. He was also a professor at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. Tchou earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from
the Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
in 1947. He graduated from the
New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering
The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United Sta ...
in 1949.
After the separation form his first wife, he married the artist
Elisa Montessori in 1955, and they had two daughters.
He died at the age of 37 during a car accident between
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
and
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. His wife and a large number of colleagues placed the death of Mario Tchou within a wider plan aimed to eliminating
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been par ...
from the international computer's scene. Soon after his death,
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been par ...
sold its computer division to
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
.
References
External links
*
It.wikipedia.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tchou, Mario
Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni
Italian engineers
Italian people of Chinese descent
Columbia University faculty
20th-century Italian inventors