U.S. inventor of Ukrainian origin Lubomyr Romankiw, 89, was awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise on March 22.
President Volodymyr Zelensky issued the award to Romankiw at the Consulate General of Ukraine in New York, Ukraine’s Department of Foreign Affairs announced on March 22.
The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, established in 1995 by former President Leonid Kuchma, is given to prominent Ukrainians and foreigners for exceptional service to Ukraine.
Romankiw, a Kyiv-born inventor, current IBM Fellow, and progenitor of personal computing, received the award for his numerous technological innovations.
One of his inventions is particularly celebrated.
More than 40 years ago, in the late 1970s, Romankiw, together with fellow IBM researcher David Thompson, invented thin film storage heads for recording information. The thin film heads greatly increased storage density, making smaller disks possible and paving the way for the creation of hard drives and personal computers.
“Romankiw’s contribution to world science has long been recognized around the world,” the U.S. Embassy said in a statement, naming him the ‘Ukrainian Elon Musk.’
Romankiw and Thompson are the de facto creators of the hard drive.
“When people ask me to demonstrate my invention, I ask them to press the start button and see the picture on the screen — that’s my film head working,” Romankiw said.
Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, used Romankiw’s invention when developing his first computer models.
In an interview with Voice of America in 2017, Romankiw recalled how Apple started.
“Steve Wozniak bought the discs from us and created his first personal computer in his garage,” said Romankiw. “The invention attracted Steve Jobs. He wasn’t really aware of how the system works, but he was a good salesman. Since then, Jobs started Apple.”
Romankiw’s colleague, IBM inventor Eugene O’Sullivan, praised his contribution to the company and the world.
“I think his work on magnetic heads, hard drives that we use on modern computers today, is probably his greatest contribution. And his work has earned IBM millions of dollars, so he is highly valued by the company and highly respected,” O’Sullivan said.
Romankiw was born in the town of Zhovkva in Lviv oblast, western Ukraine, in 1931. In 1944, his family fled from the Soviet army through Germany to Canada. Romankiw studied at the University of Alberta before moving to the U.S., where he received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in metallurgy and materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
In 1962, the inventor joined IBM, where he has worked ever since. He currently serves as chief scientist at the company.
Romankiw has made 180 discoveries, 67 of which were patented.
He and aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky are the only two Ukrainians in the U.S. National Inventors Hall of Fame.
