Tom Rolander

Thomas Alan Rolander is an American entrepreneur, engineer, and developer of the multitasking multiuser operating system MP/M created for microcomputers in 1979 while working as one of the first employees^[3][4] of Digital Research^{[5][6][7][1][8]} with Gary Kildall,^[1][9] the "father" of CP/M. CP/M and MP/M laid the groundwork to later Digital Research operating system families such as Concurrent CP/M, Concurrent DOS and Multiuser DOS. He also developed CP/NET.^[6]

Digital Research Employee Badge, THOMAS ROLANDER, I.D. #1

Tom Rolander
Born	Kiomboi, Tanzania[1]
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Software engineer, professor[2]
Known for	MP/M, iFolder

In 2013 he was granted with a 2013 Diamond Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence from the University of Washington (UW).^[10][1] In 2016 his Oral History was recorded for the Computer History Museum.

References

1. "Tom Rolander - Alumnus Tom Rolander – Avid Innovator and Athlete". Alumni Profiles. University of Washington, Electrical Engineering. 2009. Archived from the original on 2016-11-11. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
2. "Tom Rolander is new chairman of Big Sur International Marathon board of directors". Carmel, CA, USA: Monterey Herald. 2016-10-06. Archived from the original on 2016-11-11. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
3. "How IBM ended up using MS-DOS rather than CP/M (1995) [Computer Chronicles]". YouTube.
4. "DRI Personnel Report by Hiring Date" (PDF). Digital Research. c. 1981. CHM Catalog Number 102770767, ITCHP 44203e0563f13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-16. Retrieved 2021-08-16 – via Computer History Museum. […] Rolander, Thomas Alan 04/09/79 […] (1 page) (NB. Listing of the first 39 DRI employees listed by date of hire. Although commonly referred to as DRI's first employee, according to this list Rolander was hired after John R. Pierce and Kathryn B. Strutynski, so would actually have been DRI's third employee. Nevertheless, his badge shows ID #1.)
5. Kildall, Gary Arlen (2016-08-02) [1993]. Kildall, Scott; Kildall, Kristin (eds.). Computer Connections: People, Places, and Events in the Evolution of the Personal Computer Industry (Manuscript, part 1). Kildall Family. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2016-11-17. (1+2+78 pages) (NB. Part 2 not released due to family privacy reasons.)
6. "IEEE Milestone in Electrical Engineering and Computing - CP/M - Microcomputer Operating System, 1974" (PDF). Computer History Museum. 2014-04-25. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
7. Shustek, Len (2016-08-02). "In His Own Words: Gary Kildall". Remarkable People. Computer History Museum.
8. "Tom Rolander - Serial entrepreneur and Emergent Farming co-founder". Retrieved 2016-11-11.
9. Evans, Harold; Buckland, Gail; Lefer, David (2004). They Made America: From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine: Two Centuries of Innovators. Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 978-0-316-27766-2.
10. "2013 Diamond Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence". YouTube. 2013. Retrieved 2017-01-01.

Further reading

• Rolander, Tom (1994-07-15). "In Memory of GARY A. KILDALL May 19, 1942 -- July 11, 1994". Tom Rolander's Website and Album (Memorial service). Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, USA. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
• Rolander, Tom (2007-08-08). "Scoble Show". PodTech.net (Interview). Interviewed by Scoble, Robert. Retrieved 2016-11-11.