Tom Hardy

Every time you use your laptop or ThinkPad you have early innovators like Alabama native Tom Hardy to thank. Hardy studied industrial design at Auburn University under Eva Pfeil and Walter Schaer and then began a 22-year career at IBM as an industrial designer of award-winning IBM products, including the original IBM Personal Computer introduced in 1981. In 2016, two products directly influenced by Hardy were selected by Time magazine as being among “The 50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time.” No. 5 on the list is the first IBM Personal Computer 5150 and No. 21 is the iconic IBM ThinkPad 700C. Today, Hardy is Professor of Design Management at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Photo Credit: Tom Hardy