Mr. Norman (Norm) Leo Rasmussen

A computer software innovator from Boston, Massachusetts, he pioneered IBM's first multiple user time-sharing system. His family emigrated from Denmark in 1947 and he spoke three Scandinavian languages. Working for IBM from the mid-1960s until the early 1970s, he founded the IBM Cambridge Scientific Center (CSC) in February 1964. The CSC was located at 545 Technology Square (Tech Square), Cambridge, Massachusetts in the same building as MIT's Project MAC. It was later renamed the IBM Scientific Center. He led and inspired the team that developed the Virtual Machine Operating Systems, which later became an IBM product known as CP/CMS, an early entry allowing multiple users to tap into a single computer mainframe. VM opened the way for cooperative computer programming development. With his business acumen, scientific expertise, and fiery entrepreneurial spirit, he soared into the brave new world of high-tech. In 1971, he asked Edson Hendricks to find a way for the CSC machine to communicate with machines at IBM?s other Scientific Centers. Hendricks and Tim Hartmann, of the IBM Technology Data Center in Poughkeepsie, NY, produced RSCS, which went into operation within IBM in 1973. RSCS was later renamed and released to IBM customers as the VM/370 Networking PRPQ in 1975. IBM closed the center on July 31, 1992. In 1975, after he left IBM, he was co-founder of GSG Inc., a company that developed applications for various Department of Defense users of Arpanet, a progenitor of the Internet. From 1980 to 1991, he was President and CEO of Teleprocessing Inc., (TPI) a company he founded. TPI specialized in communications-based systems integration solutions for private sector organizations. In 1991, he was recruited to become President and CEO of Softech, Inc., a troubled computer services company. He succeeded in restoring Softech's viability before the company was sold in 1996. He was also a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Advisory Committee on Information Technology from 1984 to 1994. Most recently, he was Chairman of the Swedish-based Internet equipment company, Effnet Group AB until he retired in 2001. He died of multiple myeloma Sunday, January 26, 2003 at Brigham and Women's Hospital at the age of 74. He was survived by his wife, Ellen Parker, and their two children, a daughter and a son.