Ukrainian Lubomyr Romankiw, who actually gave birth to the computer era, died in the USA
By pressing the “Start” button on our PCs and laptops, we start at least seven processes patented by Lubomyr Romankiw.
Among them are the key ones for all personal computers: reading information with a magnetic thin-film storage head, soldering microcontacts and forming multilevel connections. All of them belong to the field of chemical engineering, which, as Romankiw joked, before him was used mostly only in the manufacture of costume jewelry. Today, at least a third of computer technologies belong to chemical engineering.
The fundamental inventions of Romankiw made it possible to create a hard disk, without which Steve Wozniak simply would not have been able to assemble the first Apple in 1976.
Romankiw made almost all of his scientific discoveries while working at IBM Corporation, which he joined in 1962 and retired only in 2007. He had about 180 discoveries to his credit, 68 of which he patented.
Lubomyr Romankiw died in the USA at the age of 93. In his last years he was working on an autobiographical book about how to remain Ukrainian while living abroad.
He was born in 1931 in Zhovkva, Lviv region. During World War II, his family emigrated to the United States.
Throughout his life Romankiw spoke Ukrainian perfectly, was a member of the Ukrainian scout movement “Plast”, helped its restoration in independent Ukraine and was elected Nachalniy Plastun (Chief Scout) three times.
The name of Lubomyr Romankiw, who actually gave birth to the computer era, is included in the US National Inventors Hall of Fame. Together with two other Ukrainians — Steve Wozniak and Igor Sikorsky.
A few years ago, Romankiw was added to the Hall of Fame along with Steve Jobs.
