Al Hoagland
Albert Smiley Hoagland | |
|---|---|
| Born | Albert Smiley Hoagland 13 September 1926 Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Died | 1 October 2022 (aged 96) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Electrical engineer, professor |
| Years active | 1953–2005 |
| Known for | Pioneer in hard disk drive technology, IBM RAMAC, Digital Magnetic Recording |
Albert Smiley Hoagland (known as 'Al Hoagland') (September 13, 1926 – October 1, 2022) was a prominent figure in the evolution of hard disk drives (HDD), beginning his work with the pioneering IBM RAMAC. His tenure at IBM in San Jose, California spanned from 1956 until 1984, after which he led the Institute for Information Storage Technology at Santa Clara University from 1984 through 2005. Hoagland authored the inaugural publication on Digital Magnetic Recording and was instrumental in safeguarding the IBM RAMAC displayed at the Computer History Museum, located in Mountain View, California. He died in Portland, Oregon, on October 1, 2022.
Background and education
Hoagland was born in Berkeley, California, as the son of Dennis Robert Hoagland, a professor specializing in Plant Nutrition at UC Berkeley. He completed his Bachelor of Science in 1947, Master of Science in 1948, and Doctorate in Electrical Engineering in 1954, all at the University of California, Berkeley. Under the mentorship of Paul Morton, he contributed to the CALDIC project by designing its magnetic drum memory. His master's thesis addressed "Magnetic Storage Methods for Electronic Computation," while his doctoral dissertation was entitled "Magnetic Recording of Binary Information." Between 1954 and 1955, he served as an assistant professor at Berkeley.
Career
While still at Berkeley in 1953, Hoagland was invited by Lou Stevens from IBM’s newly established San Jose laboratory to consult on the RAMAC hard disk drive initiative. He contributed significantly to the design of magnetic components and data detection systems. In 1956, just prior to the public introduction of RAMAC, Hoagland joined IBM’s San Jose facility, where he undertook foundational research on track-following servo mechanisms for HDDs and initiated experiments with perpendicular recording techniques. In 1962, he collaborated with Philips in Rotterdam to aid their transition of banking systems to disk storage and published Digital Magnetic Recording in 1963. At IBM, he also held the position of Director for Technical Planning within the Research Division.
In 1982, IBM appointed Hoagland to establish data storage centers aimed at promoting partnerships between industry and academia. He played a pivotal role in founding centers at UC San Diego and Carnegie Mellon University and was instrumental in founding the Center for Magnetic Recording Research (CMRR) at UCSD, briefly serving as its initial director. Observing that Santa Clara Valley—then a central hub for disk drive innovation—lacked a comparable facility, he proposed creating one at Santa Clara University (SCU).
Hoagland departed IBM in 1984 to assume the role of adjunct professor and founding director of SCU’s Institute for Information Storage Technology (IIST). This institute organized courses tailored to industry needs, along with symposia and yearly workshops focused on various data storage technologies such as magnetic and optical recording.
In 2001, Hoagland established the Magnetic Disk Heritage Center (MDHC) to conserve the history of magnetic disk storage at 99 Notre Dame Avenue in San Jose—the original site where RAMAC was developed. As director, he secured backing from the city council and achieved IEEE Historical Milestone recognition for this location. In 2002, he obtained an original IBM RAMAC; its restoration commenced at IIST and concluded at the Computer History Museum, where it is now regularly demonstrated. An archive of MDHC’s website is preserved by the museum.
After retiring from SCU in 2005, Hoagland moved to Portland, Oregon. He passed away there on October 1, 2022, leaving behind three children.
Awards and Recognition
Among Hoagland's distinguished honors are:
- The 1956 AIEE Outstanding Paper Award for his work titled "Magnetic Data Recording Theory: Head Design".
- His 1966 appointment as an IEEE Fellow in acknowledgment of his significant impact on magnetic recording and computer data storage technologies.
- Leadership roles including President of the IEEE Computer Society from 1972 to 1973 and serving as an IEEE Director between 1974 and 1975.
- Serving as President of the American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) from 1974 until 1980.
- Being awarded the IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984.
- Receiving the IEEE Computer Society Meritorious Service Certificate in 1990 for his committed contributions.
- Honored with the IBM RAMAC Pioneer Award in 1991.
- The IEEE Computer Society Golden Core Award presented to him in 1996.
- The IEEE Third Millennium Medal awarded in 2000.
Additionally, Hoagland held a trustee position at the Charles Babbage Foundation for the History of Computing.
He produced a substantial body of scholarly work centered on magnetic recording and hard disk drive technology. Notably, in 1963, he authored the pioneering book on digital magnetic recording, which was subsequently revised and expanded in a second edition co-written with Jim Monson in 1991.