Vinod Dham

Preston Merchant2009

In 1993, Vinod Dham “fathered” the Pentium chip used in computers worldwide.

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Title: Vinod Dham
Creator: Preston Merchant
Date: 2009
Story: Hotmail. The Pentium chip. Fiber optics. Noise-canceling headphones. All have Indian American inventors. And all are rooted in the influx of Indian engineers that began in the 1960s. In the 1960s, America was faced with the growing threat of a nuclear Soviet Union. A solution: the H-1B visa. This allowed immigrant scientists and engineers to join the nation’s efforts and keep the U.S. competitive in the global arms race. Meanwhile, engineering schools proliferated in India after its independence (in 1947), training a workforce that would come to work at Apple and Microsoft and eventually lead and support Silicon Valley’s startup boom. These new Americans embraced two enduring American traditions: innovation and entrepreneurship. Today, 36% of all H-1B visas are granted to immigrants from India.

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