J. Georg Bednorz and IBM Fellow K. Alex Mueller of IBM's Zurich Research
Laboratory receive the 1987 Nobel Prize for physics for their breakthrough
discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in a new class of materials. This
is the second consecutive year the Nobel Prize for physics has been presented to
IBM researchers.
IBM researchers demonstrate the feasibility for blind computer users to read
information directly from computer screens with the aid of an experimental mouse.
And in 1988 the IBM Personal System/2 Screen Reader is announced, permitting blind
or visually impaired people to hear the text as it is displayed on the screen in
the same way a sighted person would see it. This is the first in the IBM
Independence Series of products for computer users with special needs.
IBM Chairman John F. Akers adds a new goal - "to enhance our customer
relationships" - to the goals established in the early 1980s. The five goals now
are: to enhance customer relationships; to be the leader in products and services
- excelling in quality and innovation; to grow with the industry; to be the most
efficient; and to sustain profitability, which funds growth.
IBM Instruments, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary that markets analytical
instruments in the United States, ends operations.
The IBM 3090 Model 600E is introduced in January as the new top-of-the-line
processor. It features six processing units, and can deliver up to 60 percent more
computing power than the company's largest previous model. The American Federation
of Information Processing Societies names the IBM 9370 Information System the
"Hardware Product of the Year."
A powerful new generation of personal computing products - the IBM Personal
System/2 (PS/2) - is introduced. By November, IBM has shipped one million IBM
Personal System/2s, in just over six months after its introduction. By comparison,
it took 28 months to ship one million of the original IBM Personal Computer
product line.
During 1987 IBM introduces Systems Application Architecture, which is designed to
make application programs look and work in the same manner across the entire range
of the company's personal computing systems, midrange processors and System/370
processors.
In support of the new family of PC systems, IBM introduces a new operating system
- IBM Operating System/2 (OS/2) - which gives users of IBM PC systems access to
multiple applications, very large programs and data, while concurrently
communicating with other systems. OS/2 is the first offering in IBM's Systems
Application Architecture.
Among the other products introduced in 1987 are: a new expert systems development
package called KnowledgeTool; the IBM 4732 Personal Banking Machine, which
replaces IBM's previous generation automated teller machine; and the IBM 3892
document processor.
AMADEUS - a consortium of Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia and SAS - awards IBM a
contract to provide more than $100 million in equipment and systems software for a
global Travel Information and Distribution system. IBM is selected to develop an
advanced banking system for the Westpac Banking Corporation, based in Sydney, by
consolidating Westpac's existing independent computer systems into one integrated
system.
Frances E. Allen, John A. Armstrong, Richard C. Chu, James Economy and Janusz S.
Wilczynski are elected members of the National Academy of Engineering.
IBM researchers produce experimental magnetic disks with tracks that are 20
millionths of an inch (half a micron) wide. At such dimensions, future 3.5-inch
disks used in computer storage could each hold 10 billion bits of information (10
gigabits), or 620,000 double-spaced typewritten pages - 50 times more than 1987's
densest disks.
IBM researchers extend the boundaries of silicon-based computer chip technology by
developing a powerful experimental transistor. The device, with features one
thousand times thinner than a human hair, sends the strongest and clearest
electronic signals ever measured in silicon transistors of such size.
As personal computers become vulnerable to attack from viruses, a small research
group at IBM develops, practically overnight, a suite of antivirus tools. The
effort leads to the establishment of the High Integrity Computing Laboratory
(HICL) at IBM. HICL goes on to pioneer the science of theoretical and
observational computer virus epidemiology.
Other IBM researchers announce they have fabricated the first thin-film
superconducting devices to operate at temperatures high enough to be of a
practical use, and demonstrate new ceramic superconducting materials which carry
100 times more electrical current than previously observed.
The National Science Foundation announces that IBM will take part in a five-year
cooperative project to enhance the U.S. national supercomputing network. IBM, MCI
and Merit, Inc., will work together to upgrade the performance and capacity of
current research networks connecting the country's scientific research centers.
IBM and Supercomputer Systems, Inc., state their intention to form a partnership
for the development of advanced computing systems.
IBM Japan, Ltd. and Nissan Motors Co., Ltd. establish Nissan Systems Development,
a jointly-owned company to provide systems engineering services.
IBM receives from the U.S. National Alliance of Business special recognition for
its nearly 20 years of job training efforts for the economically disadvantaged.
More than 19,500 people in the U.S. have received training in information
processing and office skills at IBM-sponsored job training centers since 1968.
In Europe IBM announces a $40 million program over two years to encourage advanced
education in supercomputing. The program will also establish more than five
special centers of supercomputing competence within European universities and
research institutions.
Of the nearly 8,000 new employees hired in the United States in 1987, 40 percent
are women and 21 percent are minorities. About 17 percent of the total U.S.
employee population are minorities and 29 percent are women. Women hold more than
18 percent of the company's management positions, while minorities hold
approximately 12 percent. Of these, more than 600 women and 500 minorities are in
senior management positions.
